Recipes: Feta cheese adds extra oomph to these 3 dishes

"In ragtag crumbles or genteel chunks, feta cheese gives a frisky flavor edge to food. Its salty, sour-sweet sharpness gives a classic Greek salad its signature taste; romaine, olives, cucumbers and red onions would be just another salad without feta's tart earthiness. Its flavors also add oomph to everything from black beans to pasta to tacos. Feta dates back thousands of years in Greece, where it's made with goat's milk or sheep's milk."

"This rindless, bed-sheet-white cheese is cured and stored in a brine made with salt and either water or its own whey (the watery liquid that separates from the curd during the cheese-making process). Brining stops the ripening process, keeping the cheese fresh and flavorful. Because of this brining procedure, it's often dubbed "pickled cheese." And because of the salt content of the brine, this cheese acts as a salty element in recipes, something to keep in mind when adding salt to those dishes."

"At about 264 calories for a 3 1/2-ounce serving (21 grams of fat), feta hovers midway between the higher-in-fat cheddars at about 403 calories and the low-in-fat part-skim ricottas at about 138 calories. Feta can range in texture from soft to semidry, and "fetaphiles" differ in their preferences. Made in Bulgaria, France, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Romania and Italy, as well as Greece and America, products vary in texture as well as saltiness and tartness."

Feta provides a salty, sour-sweet sharpness that defines Greek salad and enhances black beans, pasta, and tacos. Traditional feta originates in Greece and is made from goat's or sheep's milk, while American commercial feta commonly uses cow's milk. The cheese is rindless, white, cured, and stored in a salt brine or whey, which halts ripening and preserves flavor, earning it the nickname "pickled cheese." The brine increases saltiness, so recipes should account for added salt. A 3.5-ounce serving contains about 264 calories and 21 grams of fat, and textures and flavors vary by country of production.

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