You keep hearing how great, delicious and healthy certain types of foods are. The Mediterranean diet is incredibly healthy and the French gastronomy is tremendously delicious. Feta cheese and goat cheese are among these fine foods and dairy delicacies you should not miss out on. And since not all dairy is created equal, there are notable differences between them. Care to find out what they are?
Summary Table
| Feta Cheese | Goat Cheese |
| A dairy product with a protected designated origin | A dairy product that can be made anywhere |
| Made from 30% goat milk and 70% sheep milk | Made from 100% goat milk |
| Is made in Greece | Is widely consumed in France |
| Must age for 3 months | Does not need to age |
| 100g has 264 calories and lots of sodium | 100g has 364 calories and less sodium |
| Salty, tangy and even a bit bitter in taste | Similar to cream cheese in taste |
| Chunky in texture | Soft texture |
| White in color; crumbles when it is cut | White in color, although varieties made from older goat milk can be darker |
Definitions
Feta cheese is a Greek cheese variety. It has been a product with protected designated origin in the European Union since 2002. Therefore, only cheeses produced in a traditional way and in specific areas of Greece can bear the name “feta.” But since the Greeks were not the only ones who thought of mixing sheep milk with goat milk and getting a similar product, there are versions of the product all around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
It was a good way to keep the milk for several months.
To meet the requirements of the classification, a cheese needs to be 30% goat milk and 70% sheep milk and it must age for three months. To make sure it is the real thing, they test both the contents and the period of aging. Real feta cheese is salty and tart, even a bit bitter. It is white and soft and it crumbles when you cut it.
Goat cheese is made from 100% goat’s milk. The French are big goat cheese consumers as they use the dairy in a number of delicious dishes and they love to experiment with the taste.
This dairy variety does not need to sit for very long and you can eat it as soon as you salt and form the cheese. There are differences between young goat milk cheese and older goat milk cheese as the older ones are darker in color. Goat cheese is soft and sweet in taste, a bit tangy even.
It resembles the taste of cream cheese.
It is white and crumbles when it is cut.
Feta Cheese vs Goat Cheese
So what is the difference between feta cheese and goat cheese?
Feta cheese is a dairy product with a protected designated origin in the EU. Also, feta cheese is tied to Greece and it must be made there to be considered real feta. On the other hand, you can make goat cheese anywhere.
As far as the composition goes, feta cheese is 30% goat milk and 70% sheep milk. Goat cheese is 100% goat milk. The production process also differs as feta cheese needs to mature for 3 months, while goat cheese does not need to age. However, the longer it keeps, the more flavored goat cheese becomes, up to 3 months.
Nutritionally speaking, feta cheese has double the amount of sodium goat cheese has, yet fewer calories. 100g of feta cheese has 264 calories, while 100g of goat cheese has 364 calories. Therefore, the feta cheese is tart and salty in taste. Some people may even say it is bitter. Goat cheese, on the other hand, is firm and tangy. As it ages, goat cheese does not become saltier, but the taste gets more complex.
They are both soft in texture, are both white, and both crumble when cut.
However, feta is chunky in texture, while goat cheese is soft.
