That’s How the Cheese Crumbles: A Feta Shortage Is Coming

I have a standing Friday night date with a Greek salad. Made by a Park Slope takeout spot, it’s an “American style” salad with lettuce chopped spaghetti-thin, a handful of herbs, and a huge crumble (I mean, huge) serving of feta cheese, topped off with a lemon vinaigrette. But last week, the typically gargantuan feta mountain was more like a molehill—all because of a feta cheese shortage starting in Greece.

For those who aren’t feta fanatics, here’s a quick breakdown of the cheese from Sarah Schneider, the co-owner of Gus and Marty’s in Williamsburg: “True Greek feta is made from sheep’s milk, sometimes blended with a bit of goat’s milk for brightness and complexity. While cow’s-milk versions tend to be milder and lack that depth.” A sheep pandemic means less milk, which in turn means less feta cheese.

“It is very much a looming concern,” Schneider adds. The current menu has four feta-heavy dishes, including a saganaki, which is an entire block of the cheese wrapped in phyllo and baked until crispy and topped with thyme honey. “Swapping to non-traditional feta isn’t really a solution; maintaining the integrity of the ingredient is essential to the food we serve.”

In wellness and health-obsessed circles, feta has been heralded as an easy way of adding protein to basically any savory dish. It’s also high in calcium (key for bone strength), along with being filled with vitamins A, B, and K as well as minerals such as calcium, selenium, zinc, and phosphorus. Emily Leeming, PhD, RD, suggests Parmesan or cottage cheese as the ideal alternatives—both of which have similar nutrition profiles.

The dinner table isn’t the only place feeling the feta famine. It can also be witnessed at happy hour, specifically at the Feta Brine Martini at Mr. Mello. Founders Nikolas Vagenas and Nate Ulsh say they have been feeling the shortage when it comes to their brand of choice, Dodoni, already. “We have had to switch brands when Dodoni was sold out, which has been happening about every other week,” they share. But dirty drinkers need not fret: the Feta Brine Martini won’t be going anywhere, “even if it means flying to Greece” to source the good stuff.

Still, it may be affecting your saganaki, spanakopitas, and Greek salads (slash my Friday night dinner) for a while. “We’re monitoring the situation closely, and for us, swapping to non-traditional feta isn’t really a solution,” Schneider says. “Maintaining the integrity of the ingredient is essential to the food we serve.”