Feta is such an integral part of our daily life here in Greece, it pairs amazingly well with almost every traditional Greek dish, one could say most of them were developed to be eaten with feta and bread on the side. One of the most humble meals, usually associated with being poor (a remnant of the hard times Greece has had through the ages) is a tomato, a few olives, a cucumber, some feta and some bread.
This channel is amazing, the exact type of thing I like, I really hope you get more subscribers. Feta is a fantastic cheese and the different varieties are all fantastic
wow...cheese really can lay history bare, and give us glimpses into the prehistoric. From skins far back in the day, to brine-filled pottery (or even earlier clay-lined pits?) later..and then cloth (muslin, etc); it's amazing to think about. Why this channel hasn't got a bajillion subscribers, I don't know. Such an amazing and unique subject deserves far more attention.
As also a cheese and history lover today's Feta it's completely different product of ancient cheeses. Why ? Refrigeration need in a hot country as Greece. Spanish or Portuguese are more likely to be closer to ancient Mediterranean times. These cheeses are dry , good for travels, no refrigerator need etc. Cheers ps - I love feta.
I LOVE how you started with Homer! Although, What kind of cheese do you think WAS being made on those wicker mats in the cave? Sounds fun! I think you're really likely onto something when it comes to the amphores... probably someone just stuck some cheese in a jar and it made it's own brine and they were like 'wow, well that worked' and just... kept going haha. Especially with all the ship movement in that area. I love this. Also.... maybe I'll make some feta next....haha thanks for the video!
Thanks. It is hard to say what cheese Polyphemus was making in Homer because we don't get the full process or a description of the cheese itself. It could be an early form of a cheese still made today or one that no longer exists.
Feta is a really versatile cheese. I like to use it in salads all through summer (which is coming up in my part of the world). What are some other great ways to eat feta?
Of all the PDO cheeses, this is the one I have a bit of a problem with. I'm totally on board with Denmark not being able to make a feta. I'm much less on board with countries like Bulgaria not being able to call their cheese feta. And, as you point out, Crete not being an accepted feta region is just a bit crazy. My understanding is that there is a fair amount of documented evidence of countries in that area making traditional cheeses, called "feta" for many hundreds of years. Anyway, I think that feta cheeses have almost certainly been made since rennet was discovered. One thing I find fascinating is taking a halloumi recipe, a tomme recipe and a feta recipe. They are practically the same (milk type notwithstanding). With the halloumi, while the cheese is still at a *very* high pH (6.4 or 6.5) you simmer it to stop it from getting more acidic. With a tomme, you salt it at a pH of about 5.3. With a feta you ferment it all the way down to 4.6 or 4.7. This is as basic as you can get for renneted cheeses. With the feta it's just a choice of when to salt. At some point, somebody is going to get the bright idea that holding the cheese in its own whey might be a cool idea. When it goes rotten, they get the idea to add more salt. After that, it *never* goes off. Whoo hoo! I can imagine this kind of invention happening in less than 100 years. So basically, feta is as old as cheese and probably was invented many times in any country that has a hot climate.
“I’m totally on board with Denmark not being able to make feta” Why? Protectionism is dumb. By calling it feta they’re acknowledging the origin while spreading the joy of Greek culture (literally lol) around the world
We must remember that Homer (being a writer), had a tendency to stretch the truth. We can never truly rely on his writings, but he is still entertaining nevertheless.
You said in another video that rennet was not in the oldest cheeses. YOU SAID the oldest cheese was just milk that was in a clay jar. You are now saying Feta, which is made with rennet, is maybe the oldest cheese. It seems like you don't really know what you are talking about. Please correct me.
Thanks for your comment. I point out at the start of the video that some people claim that feta is the world's oldest cheese and go into what information there is about how it might go pretty far back to some of the earliest cheeses we have evidence for. I don't necessarily agree with all these claims, but try to present what information there is in my videos so people can make up their own minds. I could've phrased it better in this video, specifying that the claims are about feta possibly being the world's oldest cheese still being made today (a surprising number of cheese try to claim that one) or the oldest renneted cheese. We don't know a lot about the first cheeses ever made because not much evidence has survived about them. I'm learning about the history of cheese as I make these videos and don't claim to always get every detail right or know everything to start with. I'm finding out what I can and sharing it with others who are interested. I always list my sources in the description for anyone who wants to look into what I am saying.
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Feta is such an integral part of our daily life here in Greece, it pairs amazingly well with almost every traditional Greek dish, one could say most of them were developed to be eaten with feta and bread on the side. One of the most humble meals, usually associated with being poor (a remnant of the hard times Greece has had through the ages) is a tomato, a few olives, a cucumber, some feta and some bread.
So interesting, thanks
Don't give up, this channel is EXCELLENT. Deserves at least 150K followers by now!!!
Thank you. I am enjoying making these videos too much to stop any time soon 😁
was so excited when i saw this had dropped on Insta. Another smashing video, thanks Julia. x
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it
This channel is amazing, the exact type of thing I like, I really hope you get more subscribers. Feta is a fantastic cheese and the different varieties are all fantastic
Great videos! Love this channel and subscribed :)
Thank you
Awesome video, keep up the good work.
Thanks
As always, a lot of research here and interesting facts from Homer's Odyssey to EU, thanks!
Thanks Fred
wow...cheese really can lay history bare, and give us glimpses into the prehistoric.
From skins far back in the day, to brine-filled pottery (or even earlier clay-lined pits?) later..and then cloth (muslin, etc); it's amazing to think about.
Why this channel hasn't got a bajillion subscribers, I don't know. Such an amazing and unique subject deserves far more attention.
Thank you so much. I agree it is such an interesting topic and every cheese is different.
@@cheesehistory I'd love to see how this channel is doing in 5 years!
I'd totally bingewatch
As also a cheese and history lover today's Feta it's completely different product of ancient cheeses. Why ? Refrigeration need in a hot country as Greece. Spanish or Portuguese are more likely to be closer to ancient Mediterranean times. These cheeses are dry , good for travels, no refrigerator need etc. Cheers ps - I love feta.
"We have to start whey back..."
Thanks for this video. Very interesting indeed.
I LOVE how you started with Homer! Although, What kind of cheese do you think WAS being made on those wicker mats in the cave? Sounds fun! I think you're really likely onto something when it comes to the amphores... probably someone just stuck some cheese in a jar and it made it's own brine and they were like 'wow, well that worked' and just... kept going haha. Especially with all the ship movement in that area. I love this. Also.... maybe I'll make some feta next....haha thanks for the video!
Thanks. It is hard to say what cheese Polyphemus was making in Homer because we don't get the full process or a description of the cheese itself. It could be an early form of a cheese still made today or one that no longer exists.
Feta is a really versatile cheese. I like to use it in salads all through summer (which is coming up in my part of the world). What are some other great ways to eat feta?
Of all the PDO cheeses, this is the one I have a bit of a problem with. I'm totally on board with Denmark not being able to make a feta. I'm much less on board with countries like Bulgaria not being able to call their cheese feta. And, as you point out, Crete not being an accepted feta region is just a bit crazy. My understanding is that there is a fair amount of documented evidence of countries in that area making traditional cheeses, called "feta" for many hundreds of years.
Anyway, I think that feta cheeses have almost certainly been made since rennet was discovered. One thing I find fascinating is taking a halloumi recipe, a tomme recipe and a feta recipe. They are practically the same (milk type notwithstanding). With the halloumi, while the cheese is still at a *very* high pH (6.4 or 6.5) you simmer it to stop it from getting more acidic. With a tomme, you salt it at a pH of about 5.3. With a feta you ferment it all the way down to 4.6 or 4.7. This is as basic as you can get for renneted cheeses. With the feta it's just a choice of when to salt. At some point, somebody is going to get the bright idea that holding the cheese in its own whey might be a cool idea. When it goes rotten, they get the idea to add more salt. After that, it *never* goes off. Whoo hoo! I can imagine this kind of invention happening in less than 100 years. So basically, feta is as old as cheese and probably was invented many times in any country that has a hot climate.
“I’m totally on board with Denmark not being able to make feta”
Why? Protectionism is dumb. By calling it feta they’re acknowledging the origin while spreading the joy of Greek culture (literally lol) around the world
We must remember that Homer (being a writer), had a tendency to stretch the truth. We can never truly rely on his writings, but he is still entertaining nevertheless.
Maybe the myth involved overly salted leather made into baskets(!)
Maybe
Cheese is awesome!
You said in another video that rennet was not in the oldest cheeses. YOU SAID the oldest cheese was just milk that was in a clay jar. You are now saying Feta, which is made with rennet, is maybe the oldest cheese. It seems like you don't really know what you are talking about. Please correct me.
Thanks for your comment. I point out at the start of the video that some people claim that feta is the world's oldest cheese and go into what information there is about how it might go pretty far back to some of the earliest cheeses we have evidence for. I don't necessarily agree with all these claims, but try to present what information there is in my videos so people can make up their own minds.
I could've phrased it better in this video, specifying that the claims are about feta possibly being the world's oldest cheese still being made today (a surprising number of cheese try to claim that one) or the oldest renneted cheese. We don't know a lot about the first cheeses ever made because not much evidence has survived about them.
I'm learning about the history of cheese as I make these videos and don't claim to always get every detail right or know everything to start with. I'm finding out what I can and sharing it with others who are interested. I always list my sources in the description for anyone who wants to look into what I am saying.
@@cheesehistory What a thoughtful and kind response. You are great!
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