The Marinated Cheese That Quietly Went From Hidden Gem to Cult Favorite

I thought I’d stumbled onto a hidden gem at a cheese shop the first time I bought a jar of Meredith “feta.” This was about eight or nine years ago, when I was living and cooking professionally in Beacon, New York. Somehow this Australian dairy farm’s cheese had found its way onto the shelves of specialty grocery stores there. Inside the jar were big, pillowy blocks of goat’s and sheep’s milk cheese—more like marshmallows than neat cubes—floating in golden olive oil with herbs, garlic, and peppercorns. The cheese was lush and tangy, the oil too good not to drizzle over everything. I fell in love instantly.

For a while, I thought I’d uncovered a secret, until friends and coworkers kept asking me, “Have you tried that cheese? The one in the glass jar?” Apparently, my hidden gem wasn’t so hidden after all. At some point, people started to refer to it as simply “Australian feta”—an odd, unfamiliar label that only deepened the allure.

I even decided to put Meredith’s marinated cheese on a menu once, back when I was working in restaurant kitchens in the Hudson Valley—spread over flatbread with caramelized fennel, candied fennel, and a drizzle of buckwheat honey. Admittedly, it was a bit of a lazy cop-out; delicious cheese on warm bread was always going to be a hit. But the response confirmed what I’d been seeing everywhere: Diners couldn’t get enough of it. Reddit threads only drove the point home—gushing posts about the cheese, with users describing how they eat it and why they love it. Reddit user ciaohow even declared, “It is the most delicious thing I’ve eaten all year.” It was clear by then that almost everyone had caught on. 

Over the years, I started spotting those jars in bigger grocery stores too—Whole Foods, Foodtown, corner markets in New York City. A cheese once tucked away in specialty shops was suddenly right there next to your everyday mozzarella.

So what is it about Meredith “feta” that’s kept me hooked all these years—and why has this jarred cheese inspired such devotion in others as well?

What Is Meredith “Feta,” and How Is It Different From Greek Feta?

First things first: Meredith “feta” isn’t technically feta. In 2002, the European Union granted Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status to feta, which means only cheese made in Greece, under specific conditions, can use the name. Meredith Dairy—an Australian farmstead creamery about 50 miles west of Melbourne—had to rebrand and drop “feta” from its label, and today the jars are officially labeled Meredith Dairy Marinated Sheep and Goat Cheese. Still, everyone I know (and most cheese counters) continues to call it Meredith feta, much the way we casually refer to Sirene as Bulgarian feta.

Traditional Greek feta is made either entirely from sheep’s milk or from a blend of sheep’s and goat’s milk, with goat’s milk capped at 30 percent; it is always preserved in brine. The brine not only significantly salts the cheese but also allows it to continue aging, which sharpens the tang and deepens the funk. The result is creamy yet crumbly, with a salty, funky tang. 

Meredith’s version is different. To start, it’s made from a mix of goat’s and sheep’s milk. Sheep’s milk is prized in Australia for its richness: It’s naturally higher in fat and protein than cow’s or goat’s milk, with about 5.4 grams of protein per 100 grams, compared to 3.2 grams in cow’s milk, and 3.1 grams in goat’s milk. That extra richness translates into a creamier texture and a rounder, more mellow flavor—richer than goat’s milk and more flavorful than cow’s. Goat’s milk, by contrast, brings sharper, barnyard notes, the kind of funk that gives the cheese dimension and keeps it from reading as purely creamy. Together, the two create Meredith’s signature balance: full-bodied from the sheep’s milk, with a distinctive edge from the goat’s.

The Australian cheese also skips the brine altogether. Instead, the blocks are packed in olive oil infused with garlic, herbs, and peppercorns, which gives the cheese a creamier, plush, and spreadable texture. As someone who usually chases down funkier cheeses, I’m surprised by how much I like Meredith’s creamier, more rounded profile. It’s sumptuous, fiercely tangy, and herb-laced. And once the cheese is gone, that oil doubles as a flavor booster—perfect for drizzling on salads, roasted vegetables, or even eggs.

The Story Behind Meredith Dairy and Its Famous Marinated “Feta”

Meredith Dairy began in 1991, when Sandy and Julie Cameron—he a veterinarian, she an ICU nurse—decided to rethink their farming future in rural Australia. At the time, they were raising sheep for wool, but when wool prices collapsed, they turned to milking instead, and cheesemaking seemed promising. Their first sheep gave them just 200 milliliters of milk, a tiny start that they slowly built on. Today, according to the company’s own site, Meredith is the largest sheep-and-goat dairy farm in Australia.

The company’s reach extends beyond Australia. Meredith began selling cheese in the US in 2008, first under the 34 Degrees label before transitioning to their own name, according to a December 2021 article by Elisa Shoenberger in The Cheese Professor. Today, their marinated cheese shows up everywhere from specialty shops to Costco stores, with US sales accounting for about 10% of their business at the time Elisa’s article was published—and it’s still growing.

Serving and Cooking Ideas for Meredith “Feta”

Meredith “feta” doesn’t crumble quite like traditional Greek feta, but that’s part of its charm. Creamy and spreadable, with an arresting yet balanced flavor, it works effortlessly into dishes where you want savory richness without the assertively sharp saltiness of brined cheese. Here are some of my favorite ways to use it:

• Spoon over a tomato-cucumber salad. Instead of crumbling, add small pieces right on top; their creamy texture plays well against the crunch of the vegetables.
• Spread on toast. A swipe of Meredith topped with slices of tomato and smoked salmon makes for an instant upgrade to breakfast or a light lunch.
• Turn it into a pasta sauce. Whisk the cheese with a little of its infused oil, pasta cooking water, and lemon zest, then fold in blistered cherry tomatoes and caramelized garlic slices—the mixture melts into a savory, bright sauce that clings to the noodles.
• Top flatbread. Spread it as the base layer, then finish with roasted maitake mushrooms and butternut squash for something earthy, savory, and rich.
• Pair with pita and za’atar. Scoop it up with cucumbers, warm pita, and a sprinkle of za’atar for a simple mezze-style snack.

Tuck into an omelet. Its creamy texture melts into the eggs, adding a salty kick. It’s especially good topped with a sprinkle of finely chopped herbs.

The Takeaway

It may not be Greek feta, but Meredith Dairy’s marinated sheep and goat cheese has earned its own devoted following for being creamy, tangy, and versatile enough to anchor a salad, enrich a sauce, or serve as a snack straight from the jar. It always impresses my dinner guests when I serve it, but more importantly, it impresses me on the nights when I need an exceedingly delicious snack and can’t be bothered to cook. At first, it felt like a chance discovery; now it’s a staple I can’t imagine my fridge without.