4 ms·

It seems crazy that you can have Greek immigrants in Australia making feta cheese the traditional way and not being able to sell it as Feta. It seems to me to b

It seems crazy that you can have Greek immigrants in Australia making feta cheese the traditional way and not being able to sell it as Feta. It seems to me to be protectionism pure and simple. But that is what Europeans seem to want. In the long run the reputation of products will match their quality, and if it is any good, people will be eating Australian white goat cheese instead of Greek Feta. You see that happening already with Monterey Jack instead of Mozzarella.

cheese_goddess 5y ago
> It seems crazy that you can have Greek immigrants in Australia making feta cheese the traditional way and not being able to sell it as Feta. It's not crazy at all. The PDO for feta protects only certain regions in Greece so for example the cheesemakers in Crete, the Ioanian Islands or the Cyclades, cannot sell their white, sheep's milk cheese as "feta" anymore than Canadians of Greek origin can. If not all Greeks in Greece can sell their cheese as feta, why should Canadians? Now, there are a couple of misconceptions about cheese technology in your comment that I'd like to correct: > You see that happening already with Monterey Jack instead of Mozzarella. Jack cheese is nothing like mozzarella cheese. Mozzarella is a pasta fillata cheese while Jack is not. I'm not sure why you can't tell the two apart but a possible reason might be the inferior quality mozzarella sold in the US market (I assume you are in the US if you're speaking of Jack). You wouldn't confuse Mozzarella di Buffala Campagna or Fior di Late for Jack if you were drunk on good Italian wine. > In the long run the reputation of products will match their quality, and if it is any good, people will be eating Australian white goat cheese instead of Greek Feta. Australian white goat cheese is not comparable to feta. Feta is a cheese made with sheep's milk and with the addition of up to 30% goat's milk. Goat's milk adds characteristic flavours but a 100% goat's cheese made in the same way as feta would have very different organoleptic characteristics than feta. Also, most feta cheese made in Australia is made with cow's milk.
mint2 5y ago
If I bought California olive oil and it turned out to be made in France I would feel deceived. As a consumer, If I buy something that it’s named for a region it should either come from the region or say “style” if it’s made exactly the same way but somewhere else. If not, I feel duped.

cheese_goddess 5y ago

> It seems crazy that you can have Greek immigrants in Australia making feta cheese the traditional way and not being able to sell it as Feta. It's not crazy at all. The PDO for feta protects only certain regions in Greece so for example the cheesemakers in Crete, the Ioanian Islands or the Cyclades, cannot sell their white, sheep's milk cheese as "feta" anymore than Canadians of Greek origin can. If not all Greeks in Greece can sell their cheese as feta, why should Canadians? Now, there are a couple of misconceptions about cheese technology in your comment that I'd like to correct: > You see that happening already with Monterey Jack instead of Mozzarella. Jack cheese is nothing like mozzarella cheese. Mozzarella is a pasta fillata cheese while Jack is not. I'm not sure why you can't tell the two apart but a possible reason might be the inferior quality mozzarella sold in the US market (I assume you are in the US if you're speaking of Jack). You wouldn't confuse Mozzarella di Buffala Campagna or Fior di Late for Jack if you were drunk on good Italian wine. > In the long run the reputation of products will match their quality, and if it is any good, people will be eating Australian white goat cheese instead of Greek Feta. Australian white goat cheese is not comparable to feta. Feta is a cheese made with sheep's milk and with the addition of up to 30% goat's milk. Goat's milk adds characteristic flavours but a 100% goat's cheese made in the same way as feta would have very different organoleptic characteristics than feta. Also, most feta cheese made in Australia is made with cow's milk.

mint2 5y ago

If I bought California olive oil and it turned out to be made in France I would feel deceived. As a consumer, If I buy something that it’s named for a region it should either come from the region or say “style” if it’s made exactly the same way but somewhere else. If not, I feel duped.