Intermediate Cheesemaking: Beyond chevre

[Wildsky]

Can you make all these fancy cheeses with just goats milk?

I was planning on trying feta, but its only myself and my daughter that gobble that up - the entire family would tuck into a hard cheese for sure!

 

[freemotion]

You can use any recipe with any milk, but the texture and flavor will be very different. My cheddars were tasty but a bit dry and powdery, for lack of a better term....and don't melt like cheddar from cow's milk.

I am excited about the new book because there is a lot of information in it that I think will change the results I get, for the better. I've learned a lot just reading it before I fall asleep. Unfortunately, I forget a lot of what I read!

There are also a LOT of good recipes just for goat's milk!

Whatever you get, it is cheese. It is often not what you expected or hoped for, but keep this in mind and enjoy the adventure. You will NOT get creamy, gooey, orange cheddar from goat's milk. But follow the recipe and you WILL get cheese.

I am getting closer to checking out my last experiment, skipping the culturing step and going straight to the renneting step by starting with milk left out overnight to sour. I made feta with it and it is in the brine. It did not behave like the other fetas I made, but it sure smelled good the day I brined it! Taste test soon, results here. If it is good enough to repeat, you could make some cheeses without buying cultures, just buy rennet and you are good to go.

Keep an eye out for a thermometer. I've seen usable ones at discount stores in the past. Look for one that is easy to read at the 80-120 F range at a minimum. If it was really a cheapy, test it in water with ice for 32F and adjust from there.

 

[freemotion]

Oh, you simply must try feta grated over buttered popcorn!!!! To die for! It works on pasta, too, and on veggies....feta is not just for salad. I rarely use it on salad. YUM!

 

[Wildsky]

Oh, you simply must try feta grated over buttered popcorn!!!! To die for! It works on pasta, too, and on veggies....feta is not just for salad. I rarely use it on salad. YUM!

OH but you have to have it on pizza!
Grilled chicken, garlic and feta - OH YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! thats my favorite combo on a pizza.

 

[Wildsky]

You can use any recipe with any milk, but the texture and flavor will be very different. My cheddars were tasty but a bit dry and powdery, for lack of a better term....and don't melt like cheddar from cow's milk.

I am excited about the new book because there is a lot of information in it that I think will change the results I get, for the better. I've learned a lot just reading it before I fall asleep. Unfortunately, I forget a lot of what I read!

There are also a LOT of good recipes just for goat's milk!

Whatever you get, it is cheese. It is often not what you expected or hoped for, but keep this in mind and enjoy the adventure. You will NOT get creamy, gooey, orange cheddar from goat's milk. But follow the recipe and you WILL get cheese.

I am getting closer to checking out my last experiment, skipping the culturing step and going straight to the renneting step by starting with milk left out overnight to sour. I made feta with it and it is in the brine. It did not behave like the other fetas I made, but it sure smelled good the day I brined it! Taste test soon, results here. If it is good enough to repeat, you could make some cheeses without buying cultures, just buy rennet and you are good to go.

Keep an eye out for a thermometer. I've seen usable ones at discount stores in the past. Look for one that is easy to read at the 80-120 F range at a minimum. If it was really a cheapy, test it in water with ice for 32F and adjust from there.

I have a little infrared thermometer that might work, I'm not sure how acurate it will be, it would take the surface temp.

 

[freemotion]

Oh, you simply must try feta grated over buttered popcorn!!!! To die for! It works on pasta, too, and on veggies....feta is not just for salad. I rarely use it on salad. YUM!

OH but you have to have it on pizza!
Grilled chicken, garlic and feta - OH YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! thats my favorite combo on a pizza.

Oh, someone told me about that when Mya was dry and I FORGOT!!! First thing to be made with the first batch of the season.....feta pizza! This week!

BTW, I am eating a popsicle made from my leftover mint chocolate chip ice cream.....a perfect way to deal with homemade goat's milk ice cream that freezes rock hard. I have a few Tupperware molds, then the rest went into little half cup caps that I save from vitamin bottles, and I stuck a popsicle stick from the craft store in each. Perfect. Yummo! Raw milk, eggs, dark Lindt chocolate, and peppermint extract made from mint from my garden!

I get so tickled when I think about the gourmet foods we eat that would cost a FORTUNE if purchased in a store or restaurant. Oh, that reminds me.....(runs off to post on mushroom thread...)

 

[big brown horse]

I get so tickled when I think about the gourmet foods we eat that would cost a FORTUNE if purchased in a store or restaurant. Oh, that reminds me.....(runs off to post on mushroom thread...)

It is a great feeling isn't it?

I can't wait to be among the cheese makers!!!! Patience is NOT my best quality!! I jsut have to live through you guys for another year or so.

 

[freemotion]

I can't wait to hear about your sheep's milk cheese adventures! I sure enjoyed the pig stuff, and you and ofg really inspired me to get those pigs, along with a bunch of others here.

My Camembert is in the cellar in a plastic shoe box for the aging process. I have to flip it once a day and remove collected whey....I hope I remember! I plan on getting a batch of brie down there asap so I will have two batches going, hopefully that will help with the remembering part....

 

[noobiechickenlady]

The only tips I have learned is don't overheat or overwork your mozzarella. It gets too hard to do anything, even shred.
And let your feta get a rind on it before you brine it.
Oh, and don't forget you have it brining.

I've got the book on order at the library.

 

[Wildsky]

I went ahead and bought the cultures, DVI (or whatever its called) some Rennet and Lipase.

I looked at the recipes on Fiasco farm site and decided I'll give it a go.