# Thousand holes in feta, what to do?



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I made feta yesterday, and I didn't have any mesophilic starter, so I used buttermilk, but followed all the other directions. The fiascofarm.com website said this was ok.

When I cut it into cubes today, the body of the cheese has lots of little holes.

According to "The Fabrication of Farmstead Goat Cheese," this is an UNcommon defect caused by bacteria. 

I tasted it, and it's not bad. I went ahead and put it in the brine.

What do I do now?

Edited to add: Should I throw it away?


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## BlueHeronFarm (Feb 9, 2007)

I posted in the goat forum, too - but I don't worry about a few small air pockets/holes. I have seen it before in store-bought feta and I often get a couple tiny holes in mine, too. Not sure about getting a bunch, though.


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## Julia (Jan 29, 2003)

That's e. coli contamination, Rose. Thousands of little holes and a sort of slightly swollen appearance. Uncommon in chevre (that's all Le Jaouen covers in his book), but very common in home cheesemaking, especially with beginners.

Of itself, e.coli is not usually pathogenic (except for that strain you hear about on TV that shuts down the kidneys of little kids who eat hamburgers), but its presence is used in cheesemaking as an indicator of other very serious pathogens (like listeria bacteria) also found in fecal contamination of cheese. 

What should you do? Well, you could never offer a blown cheese like that for sale if you were commercial, and if your dairy inspector found out about it, they'd shut you down for a good month to go over your sanitation with a fine tooth comb before they'd ever let you offer another cheese to the public to be eaten. 

It's not a good thing, and I'd dump the cheese, if it were me, and thoroughly review my sanitation procedures.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I know what I did wrong in retrospect. 

1. No mesophilic culture.
2. The buttermilk wasn't fresh.

OK, will toss it today. It makes good compost. 

THANK YOU! I suspected that was what I needed to do. Just needed the push.


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## Julia (Jan 29, 2003)

Rose said:


> I know what I did wrong in retrospect.
> 
> 1. No mesophilic culture.
> 2. The buttermilk wasn't fresh.


No, Rose, e.coli is caused by fecal contamination of the milk. It's gross, I know, but it is what it is...

(Buttermilk is a mesophilic culture.)


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## BlueHeronFarm (Feb 9, 2007)

New question: were the hjoles regular or irregular in shape?

From Fiasco Farms:
*"I made the feta and I let it hang as directed in your recipe. Today I cut it to put into jars and it has holes in it."*
*or
"My cheese it spongy and has little holes in it."*

Are the holes irregular shaped or are they perfectly round like little tiny Swiss cheese holes?
The irregular shaped holes are perfectly normal and the cheese is OK to eat.
If you have the tiny, round, "Swiss cheese" holes or the cheese is "spongy", this means the cheese has gotten contaminated at sometime while you were making it (by some sort of yeast or bacteria). This is not a good thing and you should probably not eat this cheese. Next time, make doubly sure all your equipment is sanitized.


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## BlueHeronFarm (Feb 9, 2007)

And one more reference to holes (emphasis mine):
http://homecooking.about.com/cs/atozfoodindex/a/aa042103a.htm

Feta cheese is classified as a soft cheese made of 45 to 60 percent fat whole sheep's or goat's milk. The better fetas are aged (but not ripened) four to six weeks, cured in a salty whey and brine. Known as a pickled cheese, the flavor of feta becomes sharper and saltier with age. It is creamy white in color *with small holes*, a crumbly texture, and is normally found in square cakes with no rind.


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## Julia (Jan 29, 2003)

BlueHeronFarm said:


> It is creamy white in color *with small holes*


Any cheese can have mechanical holes, but they're never in the thousands and are always irregular. If they're perfectly round and in large numbers, it's e.coli.



BlueHeronFarm said:


> Next time, make doubly sure all your equipment is sanitized.


Particularly your milking practices. You would be amazed at how small a draft or breeze can contaminate an open bucket with dried manure.


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## BlueHeronFarm (Feb 9, 2007)

Whew-- I've had little raggedy holes in my feta before. I hoped it was normal - and it sounds fine. ..have never seen round holes - am glad I know what to look for.

...sorry it's at the expense of your batch, Rose - but thanks for bringing it up!


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## Birch Greenway (Mar 23, 2007)

I think the emphasis on the sponge texture is important. I've had holes in my cheese too, but twice I have had the sponge texture and you just KNOW its not good. The okay holes are irregular, the bad ones look like your cheese has been frothed and when you press down it feels like a sponge, the density is not there and the cheese feels light.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

If you have a male person in the house who is known to drink from the milk carton....well, you know what I mean.

Anyway, it's in the compost.

He hasn't noticed yet, and I'll probably have to deal with his reaction, but I'd rather be safe.

I'm not sure he milks the first squirts out into the strip cup, either.

And, I'll be pouring boiling water over everything before I make the next batch of cheese.

Thanks, folks!


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## Julia (Jan 29, 2003)

You do better to pasteurize the milk, Rose...


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Yeah, I think so, too. That did occur to me. LOL

This is all so new!


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