My headbanger of the week is a 20 litre feta thet fizzed up into something resembling a foam rubber cushion. I put all the whey on it in a bucket to try and hold it down but still it has the texture of a bath-sponge! I guess I must have got got contaminated by a yeast or a gas producing bacteria. Anyone out there had a similiar experience?

Nope, do u have it in a brine solution (proper proportions of salt/water)?

It is now, but it foamed up the moment I ladled the curds onto the draining rack, long before the brining stage. I guess this is one of the ‘interesting’ aspects of using raw milk unpasteurised, although I have to say in my defence that my dairy hygiene is good, being based on that used in the dairy industry, and using the same cleaners / sanitizers.
  The brine I use is either the standard 20% salt in water, or more usually 12.5% salt in the acidified whey, which is the traditional brine. The lactic acid in the ripened whey is also mildly preservative (e.g. as in sauerkraut)  allowing the salt content to be reduced somewhat & resulting in a less salty tasting cheese.

maybe something got in their, as long as trhe milk is kept refrigerated till use it should be ok. Does it have a smell of fermentation?

Well no, I did give it a good sniff before I brined it, and I ate the edge pieces that I trimmed off and it seemed pretty much the usual bland flavour of unripened curds. I am making another batch as I write this and I am pleased to report that everything seems to be back to normal again. I took the precaution of washing all the kit in ‘DeLaval Acidsan ULF’ which is the dairy cleaner I use. I am doing 2 x 10 litre batches so as not to waste milk if anything goes wrong and am presently scalding the curd on the second batch….....

Maybe its one of those good little accidents. Wont know till its fully ripened and u have a go at it

Susie’s grated it and put it in the freezer. we will use it fer cooking cheese in pesto, frittata etc. Have made four sucessful ones since that one so only a minor setback.

i guess we need to open new section in the forum for food recipts, i will be a good active member there.
i suggest home wine making also

what do u think guys? Rick?

LOL, recipes would be nice. 100 ways of melting cheese I used my blue as salad dressing last night, one of my fav ways of using it as a dip/dressing.

Are you allowed to do that in Syria, Nabil? I suppose it is a secular state- unlike some places in the middle-east.