Soy milk feta cheese
Servings 7 oz/200 grams
Ingredienser
- 4 cups unsweetened soy milk*
LEMON MIXTURE
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 clove of garlic minced (use it only if you enjoy the taste of raw garlic)
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 1 tsp cane or white sugar or syrup* optional but recommended for the taste
SPICES
- 3 tsp fine salt you might want to drizzle more on top after final tasting
- 2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder*
If making herbal feta cheese also add to the spices:
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped herbs (oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme) or 1 tsp dried.
TOOLS YOU'LL NEED:
- - Preferably a tofu press with bottom drain. Using a TofuXpress like model turn it upside down to allow the whey to run off. I use a flat bottomed colander. You need to be able to apply quite a lot of pressure i.e. with a flat plate and then a heavy objects like a pile of books, a gold bar or even your golden retriever if you can make it sit still. I've even used two boards and a couple of clamps with great results.
- - A smooth kitchen towel or piece of cheesecloth mousseline or the like, to line the colander or tofu press.
Sådan gør du
CURDLE THE SOY MILK
- Gently heat the soymilk until it is hot but not boiling.
- Make the lemon mixture by combining lemon juice, garlic and the 2 tsp fine salt and sugar) in a bowl big enough to add the milk later. Stir it until the salt and sugar is as dissolved. I like to strain out the minced garlic so that the taste is not too overwhelming.
- Pour the warm soy milk over the lemon mixture, trying to distribute it evenly into the mix. It should end up looking like this:.
- Gently stir it if you see areas where it hasn't curdled properly, as illustrated above.
- Put a lid on and leave it undisturbed for about 20 minutes.
ADD SPICES
- Mix the dry ingredients (3 tsp salt, nutritional yeast, mustard powder and optional herbs) in a small bowl. Rub it between your fingers to powderize the nutritional yeast. Prepare your cloth-lined colander or a tofu press, as described in the GIF above.
- Sprinkle your spices on top of the curdled milk. Gently stir it to incorporate, but do it in slow motion to disturb the lovely little curds as little as possible.
- Now slowly pour the spiced, curdled milk into the cloth-lined colander or tofu press.
WRAP AND PRESS (if you own a tofu press with bottom drain just press it as you would tofu, and then you don't have to do the following:)
- Neatly pack the cloth around the soy mass, one side at a time, to get a more or less even piece of feta in the end. You should wind up with a 'package' about 4" by 6" wide. Place something flat on top and apply pressure. You want it to be mobile since it should be chilled while it's under pressure. Start pressing gently and spend the next 5-10 minutes applying more and more preessure until the feta block is just about ½ inch (1,2 cm) in height. You'll want to build your 'tower of pressure' in a way that enables you to move it to a cold place since it's supposed to chill and press for at least a couple of hours and preferably over night.
UNWRAP AND CUT
- This feta is more fragile than regular feta so be gentle when doing this.
ADJUST TASTE
- Now taste to see if it needs more salt. If so, sprinkle some finely ground salt on top and consider adding more salt to the spice mix the next time you make it to better accomodate your tastebuds.The consistency can be slightly adjusted to a more dry and less creamy state by wrapping the feta in a new and dry kitchen or paper towel. Or simply put it all into an airtight container and top it with a piece of paper towel that you change when it gets moist.
Noter
- I know that almond milk has some of the same properties as soymilk when it comes to the ability to curdle. I just haven't gotten around to testing it in this recipe. I would recommend a homemade or at least unsweetened almond milk (if it exists?) for best result.
- Mustard powder can be left out - I would love to add some light miso to the spice mix, but can't get my hands on miso powder which would be easier to incorporate than paste. Try it if you can get it. - If you can get your hands on lactic acid this can partially replace the lemon juice for curdling adding a VERY authentic flavor to your feta. Note that not all types of lactic acids will be strong enough to induce curdling. I know that The Gentle Chef uses lactic acid from ModernistPantry.com
and this brand is supposed to be able to curdle your milk. - The herb version of this cheese might benefit from the herbs being slightly heated with the milk in the very first step of the recipe. But since 80% of the milk is being strained afterwards it's hard to say without further testing how much of the taste will be washed out.
- Mustard powder can be left out - I would love to add some light miso to the spice mix, but can't get my hands on miso powder which would be easier to incorporate than paste. Try it if you can get it. - If you can get your hands on lactic acid this can partially replace the lemon juice for curdling adding a VERY authentic flavor to your feta. Note that not all types of lactic acids will be strong enough to induce curdling. I know that The Gentle Chef uses lactic acid from ModernistPantry.com
and this brand is supposed to be able to curdle your milk. - The herb version of this cheese might benefit from the herbs being slightly heated with the milk in the very first step of the recipe. But since 80% of the milk is being strained afterwards it's hard to say without further testing how much of the taste will be washed out.
