Feta cheese and the best way to store it. I wish I’d done the research before I fell ill, twice. You’d think I would’ve learned after the first time. After I did a bit of research, I soon found out there is in fact a better way to store it so it does last longer. Let me explain.
How to buy feta cheese
Feta cheese is available to buy from the delicatessen section in the supermarket also the refrigerated section where all the other packaged cheeses are available.
It can be bought in shrink wrapped plastic, in olive oil or in brine.
Feta in Brine 
Feta in Olive Oil 
Feta in shrink wrapped plastic
I prefer to buy it in the shrink wrapped plastic. It’s the perfect amount to crumble a bit in a Greek Salad or Pumpkin & Feta Pastry Triangles. A little bit goes a long way.
Usually, any unused feta I freeze and crumble from frozen. On these 2 separate occasions when I fell ill, I didn’t freeze it but thought I had weeks until it spoiled. But I was wrong.
When I say I was ‘ill’, I had terrible stomach cramps and was really not feeling well at all. Lesson finally learned.
How to store feta cheese
I have always bought feta cheese in the shrink wrapped plastic and have observed the best before date on the package only to realise that this date is the date it will keep till unopened. Once you open it, it should be eaten with 5 days.
If you don’t see yourself eating your shrink wrapped feta cheese within the 5 day period once you’ve opened it, you can pop it into the freezer. It will keep for 6 months in the freezer.
Remember that once frozen, the feta cheese won’t defrost as well as you bought it and really is only good for cooked recipes.
Or you can store it in brine or olive oil yourself.
Keep it in brine
To store your opened packet of feta cheese in brine, dissolve ¼ cup of salt into three cups of cold water. Place the block of feta into a large, sealable container, and pour the brine solution on top until the cheese is completely covered.
Tightly seal the container, and store it in the refrigerator. It should keep like this for a month. (Be sure to mark the container with the use by day as a reminder).
Keep it in olive oil
An alternative to storing it in brine is to store it in olive oil. This is a great way to add a boost of flavour and marinate the feta cheese to your taste.
Using a clean glass jar, cube the feta cheese and pour over a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
Add any of the following to your taste:
- Fresh or dried rosemary
- Oregano sprigs
- Dill
- Thyme
- Lemon zest
- Roasted garlic
- Red Chilies
- Peppercorns
- Olive oil
- Roasted Vegetables
The great part about this is once the feta has been consumed, you have a wonderful salad dressing, stir through cooked pasta or a dipping oil for bread.
Feta cheese will keep for another 2 weeks keeping it in olive oil.
Summary
Purchasing feta in shrink wrapped plastic will keep for as long as the date on the pack stipulates as long as it remains unopened. Once opened, it will only last 5 days.
You can put the opened packet of feta into a brine solution or olive oil yourself or purchase it this way from the supermarket. It is always much cheaper to do this process yourself rather than buying it already done for you.
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