There’s nothing wrong with serving feta on a cheese plate, but if you have a few minutes to spare, I suggest transforming it into the traditional Greek dip tyrosalata. It’s practically effortless: Just process the cheese with extra-virgin olive oil until it turns smooth, and then season it with additions such as lemon juice, garlic, and fresh herbs. As part of a meze spread (small plates served with drinks) with crudités or pita, the creamy, milky, salty dip is a real standout.
Feta varies widely depending on the type of milk it is made from—cow’s, sheep’s, goat’s, or some combination thereof. I defaulted to our favorite high-quality cheese made from sheep’s milk. Its richness and distinct tang are not only authentic (most Greek fetas are made from sheep’s milk) but also the test kitchen’s preferred feta profile.
But something strange happened when I buzzed together my first batch. The consistency was oddly loose—more like yogurt than dip—even though I’d added nothing more to the feta than a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a splash of lemon juice. Stranger still, the dip continued to thin as it sat at room temperature.
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