"Ditzy Goat CHEESE Recipes" Samssimonsays/Blazing Acres

[samssimonsays]

RICOTTA

INGREDIENTS

• ½ gallon whole milk
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 tsp. salt
• juice of two lemons (about ½ cup)
• 1 Tbsp. vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a heavy pot, heat milk and cream to 180'F .
2. When the mixture reaches temperature, remove from heat and add lemon juice, salt, and vinegar.
3. Gently stir a few times to combine. Allow it to sit undisturbed for 10-15 minutes.
4. Place a colander lined with cheesecloth over a large container.
5. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the colander.
6. Gather the cheesecloth around the ricotta and tie it with kitchen twine.
7. Hang from your faucet and let it drip for about 1 hour, gently squeezing excess moisture every 15 minutes or so.
8. Store in a glass container for up to three days. Makes about 2 cups.

 

[samssimonsays]

Farmer’s Cheese

Supplies:

• Large stock pot
• Slotted spoon
• Colander
• Cheesecloth

Ingredients:

• Whole milk – either Vitamin D milk from the store or farm fresh milk
• Vinegar – Apple Cider Vinegar is my favorite, but you could also use White Vinegar

Step 1
Heat your milk slowly, then, as it begins to froth, add the Apple Cider Vingear. Use 1/4 cup for every gallon of milk.

Step 2
Stir thoroughly until the milk begins to curdle.

Step 3
Line your colander with cheesecloth and gently ladle the curds in to drain.

Step 4
Hang your curds to drain for 3-4 hours, depending on preference. Don’t allow them to drain for too long, or they will become dry.
Refrigerate the cheese, it will keep for 7 days in the fridge.

 

[samssimonsays]

Cheddar Cheese

2 gallons whole, non-homogenized, filtered, pasteurized cow’s milk (I use Natrel Organic)
1⁄2 teaspoon mesophilic starter, or 4 tablespoons fresh starter
1 teaspoon liquid, or 1⁄4 tablet rennet crushed and diluted in water
1⁄2 teaspoon calcium chloride diluted in water
2 tablespoons non-iodized salt
Optional flavoring (garlic, dried tomato and basil, or anything you wish!)
Cheese wax

In double boiler, heat milk to 85°F. Stir in starter. Remove pot from heat, cover and allow to sit for 1 hour.

Heat mixture to 85°; add rennet and mix gently. Add calcium chloride and mix gently. Let sit for 1 hour at 85°.

Test curds by cutting with a knife; be sure there’s a clean break. Using double boiler, increase mixture temperature to 100° over 30 to 40 minutes. Gently turn curds occasionally with slotted spoon for another 30 minutes.

Line colander with cheese cloth and drain curds for 15 to 20 minutes. (Collect the whey, if you want, for use in bread or muffin baking.)

Cut curds into slices. Pour curds back in double boiler. Let sit for 2 hours with water in double boiler at 100°.

Add salt and any flavoring, if desired. Mix gently.

Line press with cheese cloth.

Pour curds into press, cover and apply pressure.

Drain whey as necessary and turn every 15 minutes for 1 hour. Then turn every 12 hours for 36 hours.

Place on drying rack and turn every 12 hours for 3 days. (A rind should form.) Brush wax on cheese. Allow to dry. Brush with second coat of wax. Allow to age in cool room (50 degrees) for up to 45 days, if you can wait.

It really is worth the wait!

 

[TexasLisa]

Mmmmmmmm....THANK YOU for the recipes. I've never made cheese but I may try these.

 

[samssimonsays]

I have many more to share. I am trying to start out with the "easier" ones before moving up. I have upwards of 50 recipes so stay tuned!

 

[NH Homesteader]

Room temperature does to some extent. @frustratedearthmother is in TX, she makes cheese too!

 

[samssimonsays]

It may not have been "correct" but we aged ours in our crisper and fridge... after we waxed the ones that required aging. I tried vacuum sealing them but they got moldy anyways.... the wax, as long as you don't have air bubbles did great!

I also have a how to make cheese wax recipe

 

[samssimonsays]

Colby Cheese

Equipment you will need:
Large thick bottomed pot
Laboratory thermometer
Long handled spoon
Colander
cheesecloth
cheese press
Bamboo cheese mat
Wax (optional)

This is how I made it:
Ingredients
2 gallons of fresh goats milk
50 drops annatto coloring
1 pkt Mesophillic starter
1/4 tsp vegetable rennett
Saturated salt brine
Sanitize your equipment.

Pour milk into a thick bottomed pot and add the coloring. Bring the temperature to 90 degrees. remove it from the heat. Add the starter. Sprinkle it on the top of the milk and then wait 2 minutes for it to rehydrate. Then stir it into the milk very well with an up and down motion making sure that every square inch of the milk has been agitated with the starter. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes.

Check temperature. It should still be at about 90 degrees. Dilute the Rennett in 1/4 cup of cool water. Then mix this solution into the milk. Replace the lid and allow to set another 45 minutes.

When your curd is set so that you get a clean break. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes with a long thin knife. Wash your hands and arms well and reach into the curds and pull up the bottom ones to make sure they are cut small. They can be smaller than 1/2 inch but no bigger. Cut them smaller if you need to. Do not crush, squeeze or mash the curds.

Cutting the curd

Cook the curd. You must bring the temperature very slowly up to 104 degrees. I set my electric stove all the way down on low. You want to raise the temperature over the course of about 45 minutes. Then remove the pot from the heat, cover and let rest 15 more minutes. Make sure you stir the curds every few minutes so that they do not stick together. If you forget you will have one huge mass of curd! They should fall to the bottom of the pot.

Cooked curds

After you have cooked your curds pour the whey off carefully down to the level of the curds. Then replace with the same amount of water. The cooler the water the moister your cheese will be. I used 100degree water as I wanted a cheese with the same texture as store bought cheddar. Mix it well with your clean hands so that all of the curds are well rinsed.

Line a colander with cheesecloth. then pour the off the water and then pour the curds into the colander. Let it sit and drain for about 15 minutes.

Line your cheese press with a clean cheese cloth and place the curds into the press. Press at 10lbs for 15 minutes.

Press with a 10lb weight on top

After about 15 minutes remove the cheese from the press, turn it over, redress with cheese cloth and place back into the press.Press it at 20lbs for 30lbs then remove flip and redress

Back into the press at 40lbs for 2 hours

Remove flip and redress (get the routine)
Back into the press at 50lbs overnight.
In the morning remove the wheel of cheese from the press and carefully peel off the cheese cloth. Then put the wheel into about a gallon of saturated salt brine. (About 2lbs of canning salt to 1 gallon of water. Do NOT use iodized salt)

The cheese will float.

Just flip it over every couple hours.. You can let the cheese float in the brine for 8-24 hours depending on taste. I let mine soak for 8 hours and it was not salty enough for me.
Then place a bamboo cheese mat on a plate and place your cheese on that to dry off. This will take a day or two.

Now at this point you can either choose to eat it or wax it and age it. It will taste wonderful at this point but the cheese will still squeak when you chew it.

After about a week of aging the squeak will go away.
Or you can wax it at this point and age it for as long as you wish. The longer you age it the sharper it will be. If you eat it about a week after you make it then the taste will be like that of store bought Colby. The longer you wait the more like Cheddar it tastes.

 

[TexasLisa]

Texas has cooler weather????

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Texas has cooler weather????

We had two days of cold this past winter, lol!