Feta cheese: a new-found favorite on pizzas

It’s one of America’s favorite foods, and with plenty of room for creativity, pizza will never get boring. Exploration has been part of the pizza experience from that first appearance of pineapple. The crust serves as a blank canvas, inviting diners to get inventive with a seemingly endless assortment of toppings.  

Creativity can just as much apply to your choice of cheese. While mozzarella is traditional, delicious and ever reliable, feta cheese has made some big gains among those seeking something different. The firm, white, crumbly cheese continues to earn new fans and pizza lovers have discovered the delicious, new dimension it brings to their slices. 

Feta cheese is a staple of the Greek culinary tradition and brings a piquant brightness to dishes both sweet and savory. Once an exotic flavor in the US, it’s risen to become an American favorite.  Cheesemakers produced nearly 130 million pounds of feta in the US in 2019, according to US Department of Agriculture statistics. That’s up from about 77. 6 million pounds produced in 2010.  

Feta had long been regarded as a salad cheese, best served among the crisp vegetables of summer.  Yet cooks have steadily taken notice of its capacity to elevate a variety of recipes and throughout the year. As for pizza, feta melds perfectly with all the traditional flavors. Its fresh, lemony tang and brine-infused saltiness bring perfect balance to sweeter tomato sauces, and it pairs well with conventional seasonings such as garlic, basil and oregano. Carrying a different melt and consistency than mozzarella, it adds a new texture to the bite. 

Feta is lower in calories and saturated fat than many cheeses, making it a popular choice among health-conscious diners. Its taste has made it popular among many more. 

On a traditional pizza, use feta as the primary cheese or as a complement to your stretchy mozzarella. Either way, it’s an opportunity to bring an innovative spin to one of your staple meals.  

Paired with garlic, it’s become a popular choice for white pizzas.  Many take its Mediterranean inspiration further, adding artichokes, spinach or kalamata olives. It tastes great with fresh tomatoes or as part of a chicken and pesto pizza.  

The contrasting, sweet-salty dynamic makes feta a prime choice for dessert pizzas. Trade a traditional crust for sugar cookie dough and top it with cream cheese, feta, blueberries and strawberries for an enticing treat. 

The feta cheeses produced by Agropur at its Weyauwega, WI facility rank among the world’s finest. Agropur produces a variety of feta cheeses including reduced-fat and fat-free styles. Its delicious, traditional feta is joined by delectable flavored styles including basil & tomato, garlic & herb, peppercorn and Mediterranean.  

They’ve consistently ranked among the top finishers in both U.S. and world cheese championship events. Agropur’s feta varieties earned gold and silver medals in the 2020 World Championship Cheese Contest. Its Weyauwega cheesemakers also crafted a 2020 gold medal product in the low free feta category and took home a bronze for flavored feta. 

Demand for feta continues to grow as more discover its ability to make great foods even better. It’s still a delicious choice for salads. Many are finding that it’s also the ideal, flavor-packed change of pace when crafting an extraordinary pizza.