deb4o
Lovin' The Homestead
I would like to pick up a few books on goat cheese making,so which are your favorites?
Thanks for input
Thanks for input
cheese making books
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ohiofarmgirl
Sipping Bacon Martinis
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ricki carrolls home cheese making and the fiascofarms site
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deb4o
Lovin' The Homestead
Thanks Ohio,
Iam off to that site now.
Iam off to that site now.
freemotion
Food Guru
I got Rikki's book first, and www.fiascofarm.com was actually more useful in the beginning. The book was overwhelming, and the goat stuff is not really all in one place. There are little tips throughout it that it is assumed that you will memorize. These tips are not indexed. I come across yet another one that I'd forgotten each time I pick up the book.....little mysteries that remain unanswered.
Now don't get me wrong...the book has been invaluable to me. I'm just warning you that you might get overwhelmed, too. So don't give up. Cheesemaking is kind of about feel, and with no one to walk you through it in person, it is hard to learn from a book. So I really like the step by step instructions and pictures, using goat's milk, on Molly's site.
Important tip: even your "failures" are still cheese. I've made many cheeses that are in my freezer, marked "failed mozzarella: did not stretch" that are perfectly delicious cheeses to slice and eat, but no good for pizza or lasagna. I have made cheddars that will not melt in a sandwich, but are lovely grated and sprinkled on things or just eaten out of hand.
Tip two: the cultures on Molly's site no longer exist. BUT....the Dairy Connection has lovely people who are very helpful and will get your answers for you and get the proper cultures to you, and help you solve problems.
Tip three: The recipes in the book, like all recipes, should be looked at as mere suggestions! I enjoy cheesemaking much more now that I do my best and hope for the best, knowing that each cheese will be a mystery and a surprise. Don't expect it ever to turn out like storebought. Unless you are used to very, very expensive cheese, apparently, which I am not, but a wealthy friend tells me that my cheeses are very high quality.
Apparently, I'm a creton.
Now don't get me wrong...the book has been invaluable to me. I'm just warning you that you might get overwhelmed, too. So don't give up. Cheesemaking is kind of about feel, and with no one to walk you through it in person, it is hard to learn from a book. So I really like the step by step instructions and pictures, using goat's milk, on Molly's site.
Important tip: even your "failures" are still cheese. I've made many cheeses that are in my freezer, marked "failed mozzarella: did not stretch" that are perfectly delicious cheeses to slice and eat, but no good for pizza or lasagna. I have made cheddars that will not melt in a sandwich, but are lovely grated and sprinkled on things or just eaten out of hand.
Tip two: the cultures on Molly's site no longer exist. BUT....the Dairy Connection has lovely people who are very helpful and will get your answers for you and get the proper cultures to you, and help you solve problems.
Tip three: The recipes in the book, like all recipes, should be looked at as mere suggestions! I enjoy cheesemaking much more now that I do my best and hope for the best, knowing that each cheese will be a mystery and a surprise. Don't expect it ever to turn out like storebought. Unless you are used to very, very expensive cheese, apparently, which I am not, but a wealthy friend tells me that my cheeses are very high quality.
Apparently, I'm a creton.
PeeperKeeper
Power Conserver
I have Ricki Carroll's book also. It's my cheese making bible. We have a Jersy cow, but the book makes me wish we had a goat , instead. DH says NO WAY! ever again as the last time we had a herd of milk goats they got loose and destroyed the small orchard we'd been babying for 5 years!
The major trick to cheese making? Stainless Steel!
The major trick to cheese making? Stainless Steel!
ohiofarmgirl
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Lehmans and New England Cheese Making Supply and.. Hoeggers have the supplies and yes stainless is a must....as well as a really good thermometer!
I'll pitch in with the 'non-creton' Free... the whole process still kind of is a mystery to me. i'd love to take a class but most of them are wildly expensive so i'm just finding my way thru.
i also like this guy:
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese.html
because of his explanations...altho i'm not sure i live up to his expectations.
the thing i've found confusing is that if you search on 'how to make mozzerella' you'll get 90 different ways to do it.
both Mother Earth and Hobby Farms have had recent articles about how to make cheese so you can check them out too.
good luck!
I'll pitch in with the 'non-creton' Free... the whole process still kind of is a mystery to me. i'd love to take a class but most of them are wildly expensive so i'm just finding my way thru.
i also like this guy:
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese.html
because of his explanations...altho i'm not sure i live up to his expectations.
the thing i've found confusing is that if you search on 'how to make mozzerella' you'll get 90 different ways to do it.
both Mother Earth and Hobby Farms have had recent articles about how to make cheese so you can check them out too.
good luck!
patandchickens
Crazy Cat Lady
IMO it's really worth the effort to find other books in addition to Ricki Carroll's... hers is certainly useful but I find that it seems to leave out an awful lot of information so that, when you are actually sitting there making the cheese, you realize you are just not clear on what precisely you're being told to do. Frustrating!
Our local library has a really good book whose author I absollutely cannot remember, sorry, but I believe its title is *something* like "Artisan cheesemaking at home" or that general gist of things. It is an excellent complement to Ricki Carroll's book, as it has more-precise explanations. I do not remember how much in the way of goat cheese (specifically) it has, though.
The Fankhauser website is good but I'm not sure how much help it would be for goat cheese? His basic (buttermilk-cultured) hard cheese is a really good grating or mac-and-cheese cheese once you let it age for a month or two, though! It has been my most successful hard cheese to date (with cow milk)
I think that if you go to Ricki Carroll's website (store), she sells a book or two (written by others) that are about making goat cheeses SPECIFICALLY? They would probably be well worth obtaining.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
Our local library has a really good book whose author I absollutely cannot remember, sorry, but I believe its title is *something* like "Artisan cheesemaking at home" or that general gist of things. It is an excellent complement to Ricki Carroll's book, as it has more-precise explanations. I do not remember how much in the way of goat cheese (specifically) it has, though.
The Fankhauser website is good but I'm not sure how much help it would be for goat cheese? His basic (buttermilk-cultured) hard cheese is a really good grating or mac-and-cheese cheese once you let it age for a month or two, though! It has been my most successful hard cheese to date (with cow milk)
I think that if you go to Ricki Carroll's website (store), she sells a book or two (written by others) that are about making goat cheeses SPECIFICALLY? They would probably be well worth obtaining.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
