Keep feta in the refrigerator, fully covered in its brine. No brine left? Make your own: 2 teaspoons of salt in 1 cup of water (Krinos). Unopened, follow the date on the package. Once opened, we found no maker-backed number of days: keep it fully covered in brine and follow the manufacturer’s storage instructions. Without brine, feta lasts only a few days. Don’t leave it out for more than 2 hours, and don’t freeze it if you want to keep its texture.
You open a pack of feta, crumble a bit over your salad, and put the rest back in the fridge. Three days later it’s dry, hard and a little too sour. Sound familiar? Feta is a bit of a diva: it wants to swim.
The good news is that keeping feta fresh is easy once you know why it’s packed in salty water. This guide explains it in plain words: how to store feta after opening, how to make your own brine, how long it really keeps, and whether the freezer is a good idea (spoiler: not really).
One honest note before we start: many websites give you one number, like “feta lasts 3 to 4 weeks after opening”. We looked for that number at the USDA and at feta makers, and we could not find a manufacturer-backed number of days for opened feta. So we’ll show you what the sources really say, and where they disagree.
Why Feta Is Stored in Brine
Brine is simply salty water. For feta, it is not an extra: it is part of how the cheese is made. According to the European Commission, real Greek feta ripens in brine for at least two months, first at a controlled temperature and then in the cold.
The feta maker Krinos puts it even more strongly: brine is “the lifeblood of Feta cheese”. Without it, they say, feta could not be kept for more than just a few days. When feta is out of its brine, the air dries it out and the taste turns sour or too sharp.
So the main rule for feta is short: keep it cold, and keep it under water. Salty water.
Greek Feta vs. Feta-Style Cheese
Not every cheese sold as “feta” is the same cheese. It helps to know which one is in your fridge:
- Feta PDO (Greek feta): in the European Union, “Feta” is a protected name. It can only be made in Greece, from the milk of native sheep and goats, and it must ripen for at least two months (European Commission).
- Feta-style cheese: outside the EU, cheese sold as feta can be made elsewhere and from other milk. Krinos, for example, makes a feta line from cow’s milk, next to its Greek feta from sheep and goat milk.
For storage, both work the same way: cold and covered in brine. The video shows how authentic Greek feta is made, brine and all.
How to Store Feta After Opening
- Keep the brine. Don’t pour the liquid from the package down the sink. That salty water is your feta’s best friend.
- Put the feta in a clean container with a lid, like a glass jar or a small food box.
- Cover the cheese completely with the brine. Krinos advises filling the container all the way, even if only a small piece is left, so the cheese can’t float up and touch the air.
- Close the lid and put it in the fridge, at 40°F or below (USDA). Président, another feta maker, says feta should always be refrigerated.
- Write the date you opened it on the lid. Your future self will thank you.
How to Make Your Own Brine
Ran out of brine, or bought feta without it? Krinos gives this simple recipe:
- Dissolve 2 teaspoons of salt in 1 cup (250 ml) of water.
- Pour it over the feta and close the container well.
Good to know: America’s Test Kitchen tested a brine with the same amount of salt (2 teaspoons per cup) and found that this brine made their feta too salty and dry after 10 days. If you use homemade brine, be aware that the salt level can become unpleasant over time.
Crumbled or Dry-Packed Feta
Crumbled feta and feta sold in a sealed pack without liquid have no brine to protect them. Keep them in their closed package or in an airtight container in the fridge, and follow the date on the package.
Once opened, this kind of feta dries out fastest. Krinos says feta without brine keeps for only a few days. If you have a block that came without brine, you can give it a homemade brine to help it last longer. Crumbles are best simply used up soon: on a salad, in an omelet, on top of pasta. Nobody ever complained about extra feta.
How Long Does Feta Last?
This is what the sources really support. No guessing, no copied numbers.
| Situation | What we can back up | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Unopened | Follow the date on the package. Krinos gives its feta 12 months from the packaging date, as long as it stays covered in brine. | Package, Krinos |
| Opened, in brine | Keep it fully covered in brine. We found no maker-backed number of days for opened feta. Follow the manufacturer’s storage instructions. | Krinos |
| Opened, without brine | Only a few days. | Krinos |
| Out of the fridge | No more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F. | USDA FSIS |
| In the freezer | Not recommended. If you do: 0°F or colder, thaw in the fridge, eat within 3 to 5 days. | Président |
Why no USDA number? The USDA FoodKeeper, the government’s storage guide, simply has no entry for feta. We didn’t want to borrow a number from another cheese, because feta in brine is a different kind of product.
Can You Freeze Feta?
You can, but the makers would rather you didn’t. Président does not recommend freezing any of its cheeses, because freezing can change the look, texture and taste. They also say not to freeze a product after you have opened it.
If you still want to freeze feta, Président gives these rules:
- Freeze it at 0°F or colder and keep it at that temperature.
- Thaw it in the refrigerator, not on the counter.
- After thawing, keep it in the fridge and eat it within 3 to 5 days.
Because freezing can change the texture, thawed feta may work better in cooked dishes than where you want the original texture.
Feta in Olive Oil: An America’s Test Kitchen Storage Test
America’s Test Kitchen ran its own test with feta that did not come in brine. They stored pieces in homemade brine, in tap water, in olive oil, in plastic wrap and in an airtight container, and compared them after 10 days. In their test, the feta covered in olive oil came out best. Their method: put the feta in a zipper-lock bag, add just enough oil to cover it, and keep it in the fridge. Stored this way, they report, feta keeps for up to four weeks.
Why this is interesting: Krinos, a feta maker, recommends keeping feta submerged in brine, while America’s Test Kitchen reported better results with olive oil in its own test. These are different recommendations from different sources, so we don’t present either method as a universal rule. Whichever you choose: keep it in the fridge.
How to Tell If Feta Has Gone Bad
Président keeps it simple: check the smell, the texture and the color. If something seems off, don’t eat it. Feta is supposed to smell salty and a little tangy. It is not supposed to smell like old socks.
Mold on feta? Throw it away. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service says to discard soft cheeses and crumbled cheeses with mold. Feta is soft and crumbly, so unlike a hard cheese such as Parmesan, you can’t just cut the mold off.
Your Feta Storage Cheat Sheet
| If you have... | Do this |
|---|---|
| An open block in brine | Keep it fully covered in the brine, in a closed container in the fridge. |
| A block but no brine left | Make brine: 2 teaspoons of salt in 1 cup of water, and keep the feta fully covered. |
| A tub of crumbles | Close it well, keep it cold, and use it up within a few days. |
| Feta left out at a party | Back in the fridge within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), or throw it out. |
| Mold on your feta | Throw it all away. Sorry, feta. |
Your Feta Questions, Answered
How long does feta last after opening?
We found no maker-backed number of days for opened feta. Keep it fully covered in brine in the fridge and follow the manufacturer’s storage instructions. Without brine, feta keeps only a few days, according to the feta maker Krinos.
Does feta have to be refrigerated?
Yes. Feta makers such as Président say feta should always be refrigerated. The USDA advises not to leave perishable food out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F.
How do you make brine for feta?
Krinos advises dissolving 2 teaspoons of salt in 1 cup (250 ml) of water, pouring it over the feta and closing the container. Fill it all the way so the cheese can’t float up. In a test by America’s Test Kitchen, this brine made feta too salty and dry after 10 days, so the salt level of homemade brine can become unpleasant over time.
Can you freeze feta cheese?
It is not recommended. Président advises against freezing its cheeses because the look, texture and taste can change, and says not to freeze a product after opening. If you do freeze feta, keep it at 0°F or colder, thaw it in the fridge and eat it within 3 to 5 days.
Is olive oil better than brine for feta?
The sources disagree. Krinos recommends keeping feta in brine. In its own test, America’s Test Kitchen got better results with feta covered in olive oil in the fridge, and reported it keeps up to four weeks that way. Neither is an official rule.
Can you cut mold off feta?
No. The USDA says soft cheeses and crumbled cheeses with mold should be thrown away. Feta is soft and crumbly, so moldy feta goes in the bin.
How can you tell if feta has gone bad?
Check the smell, the texture and the color, as Président advises. If something seems off, or you see mold, don’t eat it.
Sources & Transparency
Facts about Feta PDO come from the European Commission. Storage advice comes from the feta makers Krinos and Président. The olive oil results come from a storage test by America’s Test Kitchen. Rules for the refrigerator, food left out and mold come from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. The USDA FoodKeeper has no storage time for feta.
Feta is a soft cheese, like brie, but it plays by its own rules because of the brine. Hard cheeses are much more forgiving: see how to store Parmesan and how to store hard and aged cheese. For every type of cheese in one place, visit the complete cheese storage guide, or the dairy and egg storage guide for milk, butter and eggs.
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