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	Upcoming Events Recent Events Calendar Regional Groups Calendar Archive About SIGS	Tasting SIG Finds Much to Discuss about Fetas By Rosemary Mark How do you silence 11 talkative SFPFS members at a food event? Display 15 different feta cheeses, hand them pencils and evaluation sheets, and expect them to select their favorite feta. The concentration of this group meeting on June 4 was impressive—most of us had never thought this seriously about feta cheese before, although admitted to wondering which we liked best when selecting French, Bulgarian, Greek etc. Salty as it may seem to taste that many fetas, the group narrowed their choices and had definite opinions. The cheeses were grouped by country of origin with at least two comparisons within each type—French, Bulgarian, Greek, cow’s milk, various crumbled varieties as well as an oil-packed and a fat-free. We learned that we didn’t mind saltiness, but there was preference for the type of milk the cheeses were made from. Traditional feta is made with sheep’s milk although up to 30% may come from goats. The top vote went to the French Feta, from Berkeley Bowl Market at $7.99/pound. Tasters described it as buttery, creamy, not salty and slightly fruity. Mt. Vikos Greek Feta from Safeway at $5.29/7 ounces rated well for it’s creamy texture and mild tangy flavor; others enjoyed Fetiri with Herbs, made by Mt. Vikos available at The Pasta Shop at $13.99/lb, although I thought it unnecessary to add herbs to a good feta. Least favorite were Berkeley Bowl’s cow’s milk version, Bulgarian feta from The Pasta Shop, and Trader Joe’s Crumbled Feta. The SFPFS Tasting SIG meets four times a year to participate in focused product tastings, describing and discussing flavors together. The next tasting will take place September 4, in Oakland, tentatively tasting vanillas. Email Rosemary Mark at reciperose@aol.com if you’d like to be notified of future Tasting SIG’s. (Thanks to The Pasta Shop for generously donating four of the cheeses!)	List of Recent Events August 2008 Coffee Cupping June 2008 Honey Tasting SIG June 2008 Food Writing Book Club SIG June 2008 Digs Bistro June 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Showdown May 2008 A Visit to Careme 350 May 2008 Cooking Teachers SIG May 2008 San Mateo Members Meet May 2008 South Bay Members Connect April 2008 Wine SIG takes a Beaujolais Cruise April 2008 Demystifying the Food/Wine Dilemma March 2008 Pasta tasting March 2008 Cooking Teachers' SIG March 2008 Traveling Table to Ubuntu March 2008 Gelato Making February 2008 Best of Show Cabernet Sauvignons January 2008 AGM 2008 January 2008 Cooking SIG at Ramekins January 2008 Stirring the Pot: Future of Chinese Cuisine December 2007 Marmalade tasting November 2007 Wine SIG samples sparklers November 2007 United States of Arugula review November 2007 Decoding Molecular Gastronomy October 2007 Career Change Roundtable October 2007 B Star Bar September 2007 Barbary BBQ on Maiden Lane September 2007 Vanilla Tasting August 2007 Wine SIG tastes Rieslings June 2007 Wine SIG Rosé Tasting June 2007 Wines from Livermore June 2007 Tasting Sig Explores Fetas June 2007 Dinner at B Restaurant May 2007 An Evening with Jaques Pepin April 2007 Knockout Santa Cruz Wines March 2007 Feasting at Chef Chus February 2007 Annual General Meeting February 2007 Lessons from a Master Taster: Darrell Corti February 2007 East Bay Urban Wine Tour January 2007 Traveling Table: Radio Africa and Kitchen December 2006 Holiday Cookie Exchange November 2006 Southern Foodways Alliance October 2006 Stirring the Pot with Chuck Williams October 2006 Wine Sig Looks for Varietal Character August 2006 SFPFS Barbeque on the USS Hornet August 2006 Stirring the Pot: Building your Culinary Pedigree June 2006 Antony Bourdain at the Commonwealth Club May 2006 Expo West 2006 May 2006 Table Travelers visit Old Mandarin January 2006 The Annual General Meeting January 2006 Impressions of Fancy Food, the 31st annual trade show September 19, 2005 Stirring the Pot: The History, Dynamics, and Ethics of Luxury Dining June 22, 2005 Stirring the Pot with Nell Newman, Els Cooperrider and Guinness McFadden May 25, 2005 Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust Fundraising Dinner May 18. 2005 Philippe Stark and Michel Rolland at the SF W Hotel April 28, 2005 Roundtable: The Food and Culture of Burma February 15, 2005 Stirring the Pot with Harold McGee October 22, 2004 Food Fight! A Lively Discussion of Today's Most Challenging Food Choices July 12, 2004 Blenheim Apricot Food Tour May 17, 2004 Stirring the Pot: A Conversation with Hubert Keller, Michael Mina and Bradley Ogden March 15, 2004 Stirring the Pot: A Conversation with Gerald Asher February 10, 2004 SFPFS Traveling Table goes to New Delhi Restaurant January 26, 2004 AGM / NMR Review November 10, 2003 Reel Food - Castro Theatre September 25, 2003 Food Tour - Heritage Fruit Orchard at Filoli Gardens September 17, 2003 Rick Knoll on Organic Farming June 16, 2003 A Conversation with Thomas Keller: The Soul of Haute Cuisine in America May 19, 2003 The SFPFS Traveling Table - Roxanne's in Larkspur April 28, 2003 Stirring the Pot: A Conversation with Marian Burros and Marion Cunningham March, 2003 Stirring the Pot: A Conversation with Marion Nestle


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