Let's first determine what kind of cheese is feta cheese? The benefits and harms of this product largely depend on what it is made of and how it is developed. Brynza is prepared from sheep’s, less often - from
cow’s milk. Unlike
hard cheeses, this sour-milk product is not boiled. That is, milk is left to sour. This is at home. And in industry it is curdled with the help of
rennet, heating milk to 30-35 ° C. It turns out a clot of tender curd. But in order to extend the
shelf life of this short-lived cheese, it is placed in barrels in saturated brine. A good feta cheese should be kept there for about 20 days. In Russia, this product is sold in sealed packaging with a small amount of brine so that a crust does not form on the product. In the Carpathians, the feta cheese is extracted from saline and dried. Then the product becomes dark yellow and crumbling.
How to distinguish good from bad cheese?
Cheese purchased at the store must be in sealed packaging. When you open it, together in the cheese should be a certain amount of liquid - the remains of saline. Cheese should resemble pressed cottage cheese of white or beige color. On the cut you will see several voids of irregular shape. The very structure of cottage cheese will be slightly porous. If at such a store product the edges are weathered (become dry and hard), and inside the steel yellow, orange and greenish blotches are visible - this is stale cheese. The benefits and harms of cheese largely depend on its maturity and salt concentration. It also matters what kind of milk is made of feta cheese - sheep is valued more. But the most healthy curd cheese is the ghoul. It is made in the Carpathians from sheep colostrum, the first milk.
Brynza composition
But what is in this type of cheese? What minerals and trace elements does sheep cheese consist of? The benefits and harms of this product are directly dependent on this. Brynza is distinguished from hard varieties by its salty taste. And this is not surprising - after three weeks spent in brine! This is almost the only harm of hard cottage cheese: even a healthy and young person to eat a lot of salty is not recommended. You should also be careful with brynza for people with sick kidneys, impaired blood circulation and those who have problems with the urinary and cardiovascular system. Also, such cheese is contraindicated for people with gastritis, with increased acidity of the stomach, as well as those who can not tolerate lactose. But this does not mean that you need to completely abandon the feta cheese. If you keep the head of cheese in cold water for about a day before use, the excess salt will leave the product, and numerous beneficial properties will remain. And if there is no time for soaking, just pour cheese over with boiling water.
Useful properties of feta cheese
If you compare this product with hard cheeses, then pressed cottage cheese is much more useful. Indeed, for the preparation of feta cheese, milk is not subjected to heat treatment, which means that vitamins A, B1, B2, C, E and minerals (calcium, potassium, fluorine) are not destroyed. There is also less fat in it than in hard cheeses, but more protein. For the human body, the composition of Brynza is better balanced than in Maazdam or Gouda. Like any dairy product, this salty cottage cheese contains a large amount of phosphorus, sodium and easily assimilated calcium. But the opinion that feta cheese helps intestinal motility is a myth. In salt brine, not only lactic acid bacteria, but also all sorts of microorganisms die completely.
To whom cheese is especially useful
This product can be used by people of all ages, except perhaps for infants and young children. And for pregnant women, feta cheese is even recommended, because the calcium contained in it helps to form the skeleton of a small body. For the same reason, salted cottage cheese is indicated for people recovering from fractures, as well as suffering from osteoporosis, rickets and other bone diseases. This cheese is rich in amino acids and vitamins of group B. The benefits of feta cheese are manifested in its beneficial effects on hair, bones and teeth. It also has a good effect on the digestive system. In the Carpathians, Brynza is called “Hutsul Viagra,” because it increases the overall tone of the body and helps increase potency.
Brynza: benefit and harm for losing weight
But in terms of energy values - is it possible to use this cottage cheese to people on a diet? We are glad to inform you that, unlike hard cheeses, feta cheese contains very little fat. In one hundred grams of the product, only 260 calories are hidden. This is if the product is made from cow's milk. Sheep cheese is more nutritious - 300 kcal. But modern chemistry can do anything! Look in stores for dietary fat-free cheese. Its energy value is only 160 kcal. It is known that milk and hard cheeses can lead to gastric and intestinal upsets. But not feta cheese! The benefits and harms of this product depend only on the quality of preparation and storage conditions. Keep in mind that after opening the package, the feta cheese can be stored in the refrigerator (preferably in its own brine) for no more than a week.