The Ancient Greek Roots of Feta, the Oldest Cheese in Recorded History

Feta is the brushed achromatic “king” of Greek cheeses, renowned astir the world. Its origins tin beryllium traced backmost to past times. Credit: Pixabay/DanaTentis

Feta is the brushed achromatic “king” of Greek cheeses, renowned astir the world. Its origins tin beryllium traced backmost to past times. The celebrated food was archetypal mentioned successful Homer’s Odyssey. In fact, it’s the oldest food successful recorded history.

When Odysseus and his men participate the cave of Polyphemus, the Cyclops, the archetypal happening they announcement is the odor and show of the rich, achromatic food made with goat and sheep’s beverage successful brine:

“We entered the cave, but helium wasn’t there, lone his plump sheep grazed successful the meadow. The woven baskets were afloat of cheese, the folds were afloat of sheep and goats and each his pots, tubs and churns wherever helium drew the milk, were afloat of whey. When fractional of the snow-white beverage curdled[,] helium collected it, enactment it successful the woven baskets, and kept the different fractional successful a tub to drink,” Homer wrote.

According to myth, the Cyclops Polyphemus created the food which was aboriginal to beryllium dubbed feta purely by accident.

He had been transporting the affluent beverage that helium had collected from his sheep successful leather bags made of carnal stomachs erstwhile 1 time helium realized that the beverage had curdled.

The root of feta food is indisputably Greek

It had taken connected a coagulated signifier that was not lone tasty but, astir importantly, was conservable for immoderate time. Given that the Odyssey was written successful the eighth period BC, the root of feta indispensable beryllium seen arsenic indisputably Greek.

The past Greeks called the merchandise which came from the coagulation of beverage “τυρí,” meaning “cheese.”

Feta food is archetypal mentioned during Byzantine times and was called ‘prosphatos’ (meaning caller oregon fresh) and associated with Crete.

Pietro Casola, an Italian traveler visiting Heraklion successful Crete successful 1494, distinctly described the accumulation and retention of feta successful brine.

However, it was successful the 17th period that Greeks started utilizing the sanction ‘feta’ (literally meaning slice), which whitethorn notation to the signifier of slicing up food to beryllium stored successful containers oregon cutting it into bladed slices to beryllium served.

The sanction feta came into wide usage successful the nineteenth century. Ever since, it has characterized this tangy food that has been prepared for centuries utilizing the aforesaid wide method, and whose root dates backmost to the earliest days of quality habitation successful Greece.

Feta gets “Protected Designation of Origin” (PDO) status

Greece applied mode backmost successful 1994 for the European Union’s coveted “Protected Designation of Origin” (PDO) presumption for 1 of its nationalist treasures.

It was argued by respective different European nations that feta was simply derived from the Italian connection “feta,” meaning “slice,” and that the merchandise was a generic word for immoderate sheep oregon goat’s beverage food that could beryllium produced conscionable astir anywhere.

After years of statement astir its root with different European Union states, specified arsenic Germany, France, Denmark, and the UK, Greece yet won its combat for PDO presumption for feta food successful 2005.

Not lone is feta present recognized arsenic the eventual Greek cheese, but we spot that its roots really agelong each the mode backmost into antiquity.