Feta Cheese: The Perfect Pairing for Fruit, Wine, and Fun! (2024)

FAQs

What fruit goes well with feta cheese? ›

Feta cheese pairs wonderfully with tart fruits like cranberries, apples, and pears as well as sweet honeycomb. It also goes amazingly well with olives and tomatoes—all of which can be used to create amazing salads or appetizers.

Traditionally (and legally within the EU and other territories where it is protected), feta is produced using only whole sheep's milk, or a blend of sheep's and goat's milk (with a maximum of 30% goat's milk). The milk may be pasteurized or not, but most producers now use pasteurized milk.

The addition of water will help balance out some of your feta's saltiness. The Spruce Eats recommends briefly washing your cheese under water to give the feta a mild, palatable taste. This rinsing step is beneficial if your feta comes in brine.

French Feta is made with Lacaune sheep's milk (if you remember, that's the sheep breed used for Roquefort production). It has a softer and creamier texture that Greek Feta and a milder, less tangy flavor (though it's sharper than Israeli Feta).

One wedge of feta cheese, which weighs about 1 ounce or 28 grams, makes up a single serving and contains 76 calories. Because feta cheese made from sheep's milk has a higher fat content, the calorie count per serving may be slightly higher, depending on the specific producer and the method used to produce the cheese.

We most enjoy Pinot Grigio when paired with Fresh Mozzarella, Humboldt Fog Chevre or Garrotxa, an earthy, firm-textured goat cheese from Catalonia. Riesling wine tends to have high acidity and a spicy, sweet, honey-like flavor, making it an excellent foil to washed rind cheeses.

What are the guidelines for cheese pairing? Typically, a good cheese pairing involves choosing a wine or cut of meat that matches the intensity of the cheese, provides a contrast in texture and or complements the flavors in the cheese.

Predictably, sauvignon blanc is excellent with many artisanal cheeses, but its favorites tend to be brick, Cheddar, Gouda, Havarti, Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, Muenster, Parmesan, and Swiss and other alpine-style cheeses.

Fruit and Cheese Pairings

Grapes and Brie: Sweet and juicy grapes pair beautifully with the creamy and slightly tangy flavor of Brie cheese. Pears and Gorgonzola: The sweet and slightly grainy texture of pears contrasts nicely with the pungent and creamy Gorgonzola cheese.

What jam goes with feta cheese? ›

Fig jam loves to be paired with Mediterranean flavors, from oregano and feta cheese to almonds and just about anything lemony. And it's great with meat, in part because it is loaded with an enzyme that is a potent (and delicious) tenderizer.

Pairing sweet juicy fruit with salty cheese is a classic flavor combination: the contrast in flavors between the two play together to make the watermelon taste even more abundantly sweet and the feta even more savory and salty.

When it comes to cheese, feta is a healthy choice. Not only is it packed with protein and fat – both essential nutrients for helping you to feel full and energised – it's also good for your gut. Probiotic yeasts in feta may lower the PH in your stomach, which is key for a healthy gut.