Itty Bitty Hooves

Chevre today

I’m making soft chevre (goat cheese) today. I haven’t tried this one yet so far this time around. It’s another usually easy cheese to make, although it takes a long time. You just put a gallon of milk in the pot and warm it to 80 degrees. Add a half cup of buttermilk, and a 1/4 teaspoon of rennet (diluted in 1/4 cup of cool water) and stir. Let it sit for 8 to 10 hours. Cut into cubes and heat to 115 degrees, then drain into cheese cloth and hang for about 8 hours.

It’s done then. It’s a soft, spreadable cheese sort of like cream cheese. I like to mix onion, or dill into it. It’s great on crackers.

Mozzerella—finally.

Well… it was half a success. I actually did make cheese today. It firmed up nicely, so the problem I was having with that must have been killing the rennet with too warm of a water to disolve it in. At first it seemed like I had conquered the taste problem too. Fresh it tastes very good, but reheated to melt it gives it an off flavor. I’m still investigating that problem. Always something, but I feel good about how it actually worked as a receipe today.

Playing With Cheese

Well wish me luck, I have a pot of mozzerella sitting again right now. I’m HOPING I figured out what I’ve been doing wrong. I think I killed the rennet by not using cold enough water to disolve it, and the ‘goaty’ taste could have been from using too much citric acid. I do know I threw in a ‘little extra’ citric acid because I wanted to be SURE the cheese would be stretchy. I guess I’ll have to quit that ‘adjusting’ things as I go — at least for a while. It’s hard though because I always cook like that. I tend to follow the directions as long as it suits me, and then change things to my liking. I forgot the first rule of ‘adjustment’ cooking though–always be completely comfortable, and sure of the recipe itself before you go playing with it.

Any Experience with Mozzerella?

Okay–the cheese came out better today, but it’s still not quite right. I don’t remember ever having problems like this in the past. The main problem, and even though it worked today, it is still a ‘remenant’ of the problem, is that the whey remains really milky looking, not clearish grey. There’s too much solid left in the milk after the curd seperates. I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I think I’ll try again next time with double the rennet in the mix, but that shouldn’t be necessary. If you have ever had this happen to you, and figured out what the problem was, please make a comment and let me know what the solution was.

Cheese Problems again

Okay, I am seriously wondering what is going on with my cheese this last week. The batch of Mozzerella didn’t work yesterday either. I know I did all the steps right this time, so I’m wondering if it’s the liquid rennet I’m using, perhaps it’s too old. It shouldn’t be though, or the milk itself. Something is definately up with that though. If anyone reading this has had similar problems–the milk tastes fine, when I try to make the cheese it seperates whey from solid BUT the solid doesn’t firm up at all. It’s like a milkshake consistancy inside the whey.

Taking The Cheese Plunge Once Again

I’m about to go in the kitchen and try my hand at mozzerella again. I think one of my problems doing this is that I have the confidence that comes with experience, but it’s ancient experience.

Here’s what I mean. Last time I tried it fell miserably flat. The first time I made it a week or so ago it was good, but not really quite right. I couldn’t grate it. I had rushed it.

You see, a beginner would be oh so cautious. Making sure everything was done exactly the way directions state, and reading the directions very carefully due to their nervous fear because making cheese seems like it should be so hard.

Someone with experience making cheese knows 1) It’s not really that hard to do. And 2) most cheese receipes are the same with a few small variations, but the process is incredibly similar with each kind. and finally 3) even if you botch it up, it’s usually good for something.

I learned my lesson last time that 3 isn’t always true.

MY problem is I have past experience that tells me 1 and 2 are, and gives me the confidence to boldly go about what I’m doing even if I’m in a hurry and don’t have time to carefully measure each and every ingredient, and so on and so forth. Relying on memory for the amounts and steps rather than pouring over the recipe cards that I may as well look at since I have them, but am doing things to fast to bother.

My past experience gives me plenty of confidence… but it’s so far in the past that my ‘memory’ isn’t always as accurate as I’d like to think it is.

Now I’m not so old that my memory has totally failed me. Many of the recipes, those I’ve printed here over the last couple weeks, worked out just fine…

My favorite of all though–Mozzerella eludes me.

Maybe today.

Goofed Cheese

Well, I tried again today to make mozzerella and it kicked my butt. I’m not exactly sure what I did wrong, but I do know I was rushed. Cheese is such a delicate thing. There are so many ways to make it, and most of them are easy enough, BUT they require enough concentration and time that you don’t just throw something in without being sure of what you’re doing. Usually even ‘ruined’ cheese can be used in some way. For instance my mozzerella that I made for lasagna last week. I rushed it and it wasn’t perfect, but it still tasted great in the dish. Sometimes, however, like this morning, it is just ruined. It didn’t even firm up like cheese. Now like I said, I was rushed. I put in too much rennet. I really didn’t think too much about it though, figuring it would just be ‘harder’ than normal. If that was the reason though… no, it wasn’t.

Sometimes you’re going to goof, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Easy Pudding

I’m making cottage cheese again today. Along with mozzerella it’s my favorite cheese to make. I made some pudding yesterday for desert. I like that too because it doesn’t take a whole lot of milk the way cheese does, and it tastes fantastic. It’s easy too. Here’s how you make fast, easy, goat’s milk pudding.

EQUIPMENT
sauce pan
pudding cups (or dishes, or a big bowl)
whisk

INGREDIENTS
3 cups goat milk (any milk)
3 tbsp corn starch
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp butter

Separate eggs, and beat the yolks. Mix the sugar and corn starch in saucepan and pour in milk. Heat and whisk until slightly thickened. Pour about one cup of milk mixture into beatten egg yolks. Stir well and return to saucepan milk mixture. Return to heat and bring to slow boil while whisking often until thick (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat. Add vanilla and butter, mixing well. Pour into bowl, or pudding cups. Refridgerate about 2 hours.

Easy as that–and delicious.

Sweet and Tart Yogurt

Yesterday I also made a batch of sweet yogurt. To be honest I found it to be a little bland. My ’sour cream’ yogurt had more kick and I think even as yogurt I liked it better. The basic recipe is the same. You need:

one saucepan
A whisk
one quart goat’s milk (will work with any regular milk if necessary)
one tbsp starter culter or existing yogurt
one packet unflavored geletin (if you like thick yogurt. If you like thinner which is great for smoothies, leave out the geletin.)
1/4 cup sugar if you want the sweet variety

Heat the milk in the sauce pan to 80 degrees. Stir in the tbsp of culture, geletin and sugar if desired. Whisk well. Pour into quart jar and seal. Put in the oven (off) for 8 to 10 hours to incubate. (The oven should be warm enough from the pilot light). Remove and place in refridgerator 4 to 6 hours at least. When finished it has a thick, firm custard-like appearance if geletin is used, or a thick milkshake type consistancy if no geletin.

Eat plain or with fruit, or honey.

Great Cottage Cheese

I finished my first batch of cottage cheese in many years yesterday and had some for dinner. OH was it good! Fresh, homemade goat’s milk cottage cheese beats store bought by a mile! It’s so easy too. I’d like to share the recipe with you. If you don’t have the luxury of owning a goat to make cheeses with, you can make it with store bought whole milk (or 2%, or skim if you desire low fat, or fat free versions).

You need:
one large pot with lid
candy/milk thermometer
a whisk
cheese cloth, or a clean pillow case
a bowl
rennet–I prefer liquid rennet but that’s harder to find if you’re not going to make cheese all the time it’s not worth the hassle of finding it. You can get ‘junket rennet’ tablets in most grocery stores in the baking aisle where they have custard and ice cream supplies.
1 cup buttermilk
one gallon of milk
long knife

Note: This receipe requires very little actual cooking time, but LOTS of waiting time. So do it on a day you’ll be home all day, or in the evening when you’ll be home in the morning to finish the process.

First pour the gallon of milk into the large pot and slowly bring to 90 degrees. While you’re doing that dislove 1/4 tsp liquid rennet, or 1/4 tablet of junket rennet in 1/4 cup cool water. Then pour in the buttermilk and the rennet mix into the milk and whisk thoroughly.

Cover the pot and let sit at room temperature for 8 hours (or overnight).

The milk is set when you take a spoon and cut a piece and it comes out holding it’s shape with nice crisp edges to the cut.

At that point take a long knife and cut the cheese diagonally, and then horizontally in roughly 1/2 inch sections.

Cover and let the curds sit for an additional 30 minutes.

Warm the milk to 115 degrees slowly and keep it between 115 and 120 degrees for 30 minutes.

Pour the cheese into the cheese cloth, or pillowcase. (If you want to save the whey — the discarded broth from the cheese–to make ricotta put a bowl under the cheese cloth and put the cloth in a strainer). Let the cheese drain for 30 minutes.

Dip the cheese (still in the cheese cloth or pillowcase) in warm water and drain 5 minutes.

Dip the cheese (still in cloth) in cold water to rinse and drain.

Put cheese in bowl and salt to taste while breaking up the curds.

Viola–perfect cottage cheese for you and your family.