Farmers Cheese/Chevre'

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

I made cheese last night. Tried using lime juice but after adding a lot and it still not curdling, I added the apple cider vinegar and it immediately separated like it's supposed to.

Maybe I didn't add enough?

Didn't measure (yes, I'm one of THOSE cooks!) so no idea how much I used. But it was about the same as I do with vinegar and didn't have any kind of separating at all.

On the good side, tho, it tastes a LOT like lime! Made some taco meat for Hubby's lunch so I'll be adding some of the cheese to his melt on his taco meat. Perfect combo.

 

[Britesea]

you can make ricotta cheese from whey.

Heat the whey in a pot to between 200 degrees and boiling. Let it cool to about 140 degrees and strain through a coffee filter or cheesecloth/strainer . Let drain until all the liquid has run out. THEN you can feed your whey to any animals you got ( put it in our dogs food also, for extra calcium-- they love it)

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

Looking for a cheese mold and I'm really not happy with the prices. Got to thinking ... can I take a few lunch containers, those plastic things, and use them? Like ...

Bottom layer: no holes, will be used to catch whey

Middle layer: holes in the bottom, will put vinegar (goat) cheese in here after salting and flavoring

Top layer: no holes, used to hold something heavy like cans, to press whey out of middle section and down to bottom section.

Wrap whole thing and put in the fridge.

Would this work? Might make it a little thin but would nicer than me just squishing it in a bowl and calling it a day.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I know I saw directions for making your own somewhere, maybe Mother Earth News? I don't have time to look for it now, but that is were I would look first.

 

[CrimsonRose]

I know I saw directions for making your own somewhere, maybe Mother Earth News? I don't have time to look for it now, but that is were I would look first.

Here is one...
http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/cheesepress.html

And here is another one....
http://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/how-to-build-a-cheese-press/

I've been pretty lazy and just put the cheese in a cheese cloth in a colander over a bowl... then I put a gallon ziplock bag full of water on top.... It's not as heavy as a good cheese press but so far it works for the cheeses I've made. I haven't got all fancy with the hard cheeses like swiss or cheddar yet. So I don't know if it is heavy enough for something like that...

 

[savingdogs]

Looking for a cheese mold and I'm really not happy with the prices. Got to thinking ... can I take a few lunch containers, those plastic things, and use them? Like ...

Bottom layer: no holes, will be used to catch whey

Middle layer: holes in the bottom, will put vinegar (goat) cheese in here after salting and flavoring

Top layer: no holes, used to hold something heavy like cans, to press whey out of middle section and down to bottom section.

Wrap whole thing and put in the fridge.

Would this work? Might make it a little thin but would nicer than me just squishing it in a bowl and calling it a day.

I couldn't afford all that stuff! So this is what I do. I have one of those metal strainers, you know, like they sell in the grocery store? I have that all super clean and then set it on top of a deep pot that I want to store the whey in overnight (for ricotta). I just strain the watery part first, then ladle the farmer cheese over, and finally dump the whole thing through it. I use a big flat spoon to press the excess moisture through. Then instead of putting it into a cheese mold, I use plastic containers I bought at the dollar store that have a nice shape. I think I got four for a dollar. I do have to let them set and then drain the whey out again a couple times is all. You could probably dedicate some as drainers and some as storing devices if you wanted to buy more and make your own cheese draining containers. I just turned about 10 gallons of goat milk yesterday into a whole row of farmer cheese containers that I froze for when the goats are not giving milk. Worked great! I'm sure "real" cheese making supplies would work better but I just didn't have the budget at the moment for those things.

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

Can't afford all the supplies to make a "real" press either. Thinking I'll experiment with what I have (or can find at the dollar store). Some people at Hubby's work have asked about buying some of our soft cheese so I was thinking about pressing out the whey in something that will leave my final product looking good.

So far I've been just squishing it into a snack-size baggie (usually) and not getting all the whey out so it just kinda clumps.

Anybody else here sell their soft goat cheese?


ETA: Just want to sell a little bit to help pay for the feed and alfalfa. We have only two does so it's not like we'll be starting a business with this!

 

[savingdogs]

I've given some to family and friends but never sold. I don't have a way of labeling or dating the cheese and it does have a shorter shelf life than regular hard cheese, so I would not want to be responsible for that. I know how many times I've checked a date on things and realized it was WEEKS older than I realized.....

 

[CrimsonRose]

I've never tried to sell any cheese (don't have a milk animal so any cheese I make with bought milk is MINE! LOL) but I know in Ohio you have to have a license and be inspected and all that to sell cheese... I think a lot of other states it's the same... but you might be able to do a herd share thing... I am pretty sure that's legal in Ohio, but again laws differ from state to state.

 

[snapshot]

I can't afford a cheese press either. Your ideas sound great! I used part of a sheer curtain (clean) as re-usable cheesecloth. Worked perfectly!