Notes on Goat Cheese
Just very brief notes on the goat cheese I made November 3, 2009
First batch: 9 cups of milk, eyeballed the amount of chives, and a little shy of a tbs of salt. Forgot and poured the vinegar in too fast, so really small curds. Also had a problem with curds getting stuck btwn the layers of cheese cloth, so not all of it got flavoring and salt
Second batch: 9 cups of milk, more chives, and a full tbs of salt. Poured the vinegar in slowly, so cottage cheese like curds. Still using cheap squalmart cheesecloth, so have to be really careful about mixing stuff in. So salt and chives may not be evenly distributed through the cheese
Third batch: 7 1/2 cups of milk, and bit shy of a 1/4 c vinegar, still more chives, and about 3/4 tbs of salt. Found real cheesecloth at Superone, which made a big difference in being able to mix everything together. May actually turn out to be the best batch.
Used cider vinegar for all
Actually, all three batches turned out fine, although the second batch was a bit too salty. I discovered that the "fresh" herbs you get at the grocery store still do not have the flavor of the chives I pulled out of the garden. I will have to make a better effort next spring to get those harvested and dried. As it ages, the flavor mellows, so that it's quite mild. I still like it best crumbled over salad.
First batch: 9 cups of milk, eyeballed the amount of chives, and a little shy of a tbs of salt. Forgot and poured the vinegar in too fast, so really small curds. Also had a problem with curds getting stuck btwn the layers of cheese cloth, so not all of it got flavoring and salt
Second batch: 9 cups of milk, more chives, and a full tbs of salt. Poured the vinegar in slowly, so cottage cheese like curds. Still using cheap squalmart cheesecloth, so have to be really careful about mixing stuff in. So salt and chives may not be evenly distributed through the cheese
Third batch: 7 1/2 cups of milk, and bit shy of a 1/4 c vinegar, still more chives, and about 3/4 tbs of salt. Found real cheesecloth at Superone, which made a big difference in being able to mix everything together. May actually turn out to be the best batch.
Used cider vinegar for all
Actually, all three batches turned out fine, although the second batch was a bit too salty. I discovered that the "fresh" herbs you get at the grocery store still do not have the flavor of the chives I pulled out of the garden. I will have to make a better effort next spring to get those harvested and dried. As it ages, the flavor mellows, so that it's quite mild. I still like it best crumbled over salad.
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