Adventures with Goat Cheese
The man has a client who has been bartering for computer services, which has resulted in dozens of fresh eggs (yay!) and goat. Roast goat is oily; however, goat curry is a big improvement!
One day, I came home to find a half gallon of goat's milk sitting on the counter. It sat in the fridge for a couple of days, and then I had a flash of inspiration: goat cheese!
Tuesday, a search in the internet yielded this:
How to Make Goat Cheese (E-How)
Step 1 Make a grocery list and obtain the basic materials needed to make the cheese. The list includes goat milk (about 1/2 gallon), lemons, kosher salt and cheese cloth. Also, you may also add buttermilk for an extra creamy flavor, if desired.
Step 2 Heat the milk in a stainless steel/non-reactive pot to at least 185 degrees (or low heat). Allow to simmer, watching carefully to avoid boiling or burning.
Step 3 Remove the milk from heat and allow to sit. Add lemon (or vinegar), stirring until the curds separate from the whey. The mixture should look like large clumps of cottage cheese when properly separated. (I used lemon juice.)
Step 4 Line a colander with several layers of the cheesecloth. Ladle curds into a strainer, discarding the whey.
Step 5 Allow curds to cool, squeezing as much moisture out of them as possible. Put curds in a bowl and season with sea salt. You can also add other seasonings of your choice, such as Herbs de Provence or whatever else you desire.
Step 6 Press curds into the bowl to make a block, or wrap in cheesecloth. Place curds in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 days before removing and tasting.
Seems ridiculously easy, right?
So I followed the directions, but I certainly did not come up with cottage-cheese-like curds. I came up with very fine, thready curds. But I finished them off and set them in the fridge to cure.
A further search on the internet yielded this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J01mYJfds2U (It's a video by Whole Foodies.org on how to make goat cheese.)
Well, it was pretty plain to see that I hadn't done this quite right. I'm not entirely certain, but I think I added the lemon juice too quickly.
Today, I opened the cheesecloth and sampled the contents. For the most part, it's very dry and crumbly and tastes pretty strongly of goat. Where you can taste the lemon juice, the texture and the taste are better. So I have concluded that I took too much moisture out of the cheese, and it really needs to have something mixed in it to give it some flavor.
I now have a gallon of goat's milk to experiment with, and will be making another attempt this weekend, following the steps in the video. I'm going to make one batch with lemon juice (because I liked the taste of it) and one batch with vinegar to see what happens.
One day, I came home to find a half gallon of goat's milk sitting on the counter. It sat in the fridge for a couple of days, and then I had a flash of inspiration: goat cheese!
Tuesday, a search in the internet yielded this:
How to Make Goat Cheese (E-How)
Step 1 Make a grocery list and obtain the basic materials needed to make the cheese. The list includes goat milk (about 1/2 gallon), lemons, kosher salt and cheese cloth. Also, you may also add buttermilk for an extra creamy flavor, if desired.
Step 2 Heat the milk in a stainless steel/non-reactive pot to at least 185 degrees (or low heat). Allow to simmer, watching carefully to avoid boiling or burning.
Step 3 Remove the milk from heat and allow to sit. Add lemon (or vinegar), stirring until the curds separate from the whey. The mixture should look like large clumps of cottage cheese when properly separated. (I used lemon juice.)
Step 4 Line a colander with several layers of the cheesecloth. Ladle curds into a strainer, discarding the whey.
Step 5 Allow curds to cool, squeezing as much moisture out of them as possible. Put curds in a bowl and season with sea salt. You can also add other seasonings of your choice, such as Herbs de Provence or whatever else you desire.
Step 6 Press curds into the bowl to make a block, or wrap in cheesecloth. Place curds in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 days before removing and tasting.
Seems ridiculously easy, right?
So I followed the directions, but I certainly did not come up with cottage-cheese-like curds. I came up with very fine, thready curds. But I finished them off and set them in the fridge to cure.
A further search on the internet yielded this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J01mYJfds2U (It's a video by Whole Foodies.org on how to make goat cheese.)
Well, it was pretty plain to see that I hadn't done this quite right. I'm not entirely certain, but I think I added the lemon juice too quickly.
Today, I opened the cheesecloth and sampled the contents. For the most part, it's very dry and crumbly and tastes pretty strongly of goat. Where you can taste the lemon juice, the texture and the taste are better. So I have concluded that I took too much moisture out of the cheese, and it really needs to have something mixed in it to give it some flavor.
I now have a gallon of goat's milk to experiment with, and will be making another attempt this weekend, following the steps in the video. I'm going to make one batch with lemon juice (because I liked the taste of it) and one batch with vinegar to see what happens.
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