Cheese-making has intrigued me since we first started milking our own dairy goats.  I have read many books, articles, and blog posts describing the how-to, but I was always left feeling overwhelmed.  I was intimidated by the process. 

I ordered a cheese-making kit from an online home dairy supply store.  Reading the information and booklet included with the kit I found myself back in the same state of intimidation.  I have literally put off making cheese for almost one year.

Then I met an employee at our local co-op feed store.  We began discussing the subject of compost tea.  I was picking his mind for all the information and experience he would give me.  At the end of our discussion, he told me that he has a small home goat dairy.  I told him about our Nubians.  This lead us into a different discussion.

Making cheese came up.  He makes it all the time and he shared his process with me.  Coming from him, it did not sound so hard.  It does not include items like rennet or a kit of any kind.  If you have goat milk, you most likely have everything you need to make cheese in your home.

Straining the whey from the curds.

The items you need are:

a gallon of goat milk
2 oz. of apple cider vinegar
sieve and cheesecloth
seasonings
plastic wrap

As I said before, you need one gallon of goat milk.  I use raw milk, but some people make cheese with the storebought goat milk.  Some people use their own pastuerized milk.  If you have are using your own goat milk, make sure that the milk was properly chilled and handled for the best results.  To read more on proper chilling, go to my article, “Grade A Milk.”

In a large pot bring the goat milk to a temperature of 208 degrees.  Turn off the heat and pour in the vinegar.  Let it sit for 20 minutes.  The curds separate from the whey.  It makes me understand the rhyme about Little Miss Muffet.  I could not help reciting it while I was straining the cheese.

Line a small-holed colander/sieve with cheesecloth.  Place it over a large bowl if you want to catch the whey.  Otherwise let the whey go down the drain.  Slowly pour the curds and whey into your cheesecloth lined colander.  The curds stay in the cheesecloth and the whey pours out into your bowl or down the drain.  Once all the curds and whey have been poured out into the cheesecloth, then gather the edges of the cloth to help remove all the whey.  You can let it drain for a while over a bowl to ensure that all the whey is gone. 

Flavoring the cheese. Later in the plastic wrap, it becomes one big lump of cheese, which is easy to cut with a knife and spread on crackers, toast, etc.

Put the curds into a bowl.  Season them however you desire.  The possibilities are truly endless.  From sea salt to chopped up spinach to chopped pineapple, you can be as creative as your imagination will allow.  I asked the gentleman what his favorite flavors were.  He replied that bacon and cayenne was his favorite, but turkey and green onions was great, too. 

Traditionally chevre (goat cheese in French) is seasoned with salt and sometimes pepper.  Herbs de Provence is another popular seasoning for goat cheese. 

I decided to try my new-found friend’s favorite flavor.  So I fried six strips of bacon and chopped it up.  After adding the bacon, I stirred in 1 tsp of cayenne pepper to the cheese.  I weighed the cheese to see what my yield was.  One gallon of goat milk yielded 2 pounds of goat cheese.

I divided it up into three sections and wrapped them up in plastic wrap.  The cheese freezes well; therefore, I froze two of my cheeses.  This easy cheese does not need to age.  It will not keep for a long time in the refrigerator, but it tastes better when served cold.

I am so impressed with my cheese.  Honestly I did not know what to expect.  It is creamy.  It is delicious.  It does NOT taste goat-ty.  I spread it on crackers.  I spread it on burger patties.  I eat it plain. 

Bacon and cayenne is a good combination, but I don’t think it will be my favorite.  I am excited just thinking about all the different flavors I can use to season my homemade goat cheese.  This is a good place to start for anyone wanting to make cheese.  You need no fancy equipment or ingredients.  In about one hour, you will be chilling your finished product.

Since this article is getting long, I will discuss what you can do with the whey at a later date.

Tags: curds, goat cheese recipe, how to make goat cheese, making cheese, whey

This entry was posted on Monday, November 22nd, 2010 at 5:45 am and is filed under Food Allergies, Homesteading. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.