Feta cheese - best ways to store it (and serve it)

Here is an answer to a question I received about storing feta cheese. The best feta comes already in the perfect storage solution and that is brine. The cheese should be completely submerged and should last about 3 months (not like it ever does in my house though!). If you need to make more brine solution, it's simply water and salt. I use a heaping tablespoon per cup of water. I don't recommend buying already crumbled feta cheese, unless you can't find anything else and you plan to use it quickly. It's inferior in taste and doesn't last as long. I'm not even sure if domestic feta that comes crumbled is made with goat's milk....go for the real thing.

Add feta cheese to all sorts of things besides the obvious salads. Try it in an omelette, tossed into pasta dishes, marinated vegetables, crumbled over roasted asparagus, mixed in with mashed potatoes, and so forth. It's salty, so play around with it to see if you need to adjust the salt in your recipe.

If you aren't eating it quickly enough and you are afraid it will spoil, my suggestion is to fry what you have left...and then of course, go buy some more!

Fried cheese is a fantastic appetizer. Cut feta cheese into slabs about 1/2 inch thick. Coat with flour, shaking off excess. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add feta and cook undistrubed 3-4 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Carefully turn over and cook 3-4 minutes on the other side or until crisp. Remove from skillet and serve with a sprinkle of chopped oregano and lemon juice, or better yet, with an olive relish of kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, parsley, oregano, and pine nuts! Some good crusty bread alongside wouldn't hurt here either...