How To Make Goat Cheese | How-To Tuesday!

Today we’re making goat cheese!  Goat cheese, or as the French say it, chèvre, is a deliciously tangy addition to almost any dish, savory or sweet.  Most cheeses require quite a bit of time to properly age, but a few of the softer varieties can be whipped up quickly.  Like baking bread there’s a bit of science to it, but once you gather up the necessary ingredients, you’ll be enjoying homemade goat cheese in about an hour.

The weather around here has been almost perfect every weekend so I haven’t found myself stuck inside able to take on a fun project like this.  And when I am in the kitchen, I’m usually canning, preserving, dehydrating, or freezing all those gifts from the garden this time of year.

So I did a little rain dance and got to make some cheese!

Here are a few tips for success:

• Use organic raw goat milk if you can find it.  I thought it might be a difficult item to locate, but my health food store had a couple of different brands from local nearby farms.  You can use pasteurized or un-homogenized, but the coagulation of the cheese curds when you use raw goat milk is greater.  Don’t use ultra-pasteurized.

• Use stainless steel, glass, or enamel-coated pots.  Others will corrode with the acid used in the recipe.

• Use cheese salt or another non-iodized salt like canning salt, kosher salt, or sea salt.  Cheese salt is a flaky, non-iodized salt.  Salt in cheese not only improves the taste, it also helps to preserve it.  The non-iodized part is critical because if the salt contains iodine, it will inhibit the cultures and bacteria in the milk and you want this in your cheese.

Here’s the kitchen equipment you you’ll need:

• Large pot (at least 3-quarts, see tips)
• Cheesecloth
• Colander
• Large spoon
• Cheese molds, optional

And, can you believe just three ingredients?

• Citric acid
• Raw goat’s milk (see tips)
• Cheese salt

So, let’s get started!

1. Mix 1 heaping teaspoon of citric acid into 1/2 cup water and stir until dissolved; set aside.
2. Add the milk to a 3-quart pot.
3. Stirring frequently, heat the milk to 190 degrees F over medium heat.
4. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the citric acid and water mixture.  This will cause a reaction and the milk will separate into curds and whey.  Keep temperature a constant 190 degrees F for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, cover, and allow to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes.

Line a colander with cheese cloth and gently pour in curds and whey.

Drain until it all looks like oatmeal.  Mix in salt and stir the curds gently.  At this point you can spoon the curds into a cheese mold…

…or squeeze out the excess liquid and shape into a rustic wheel.  Allow to cool and serve or store covered in the refrigerator.

So there ya go — How To Make Goat Cheese!  Looks like that rain is letting up so I had better go dig up some beets to roast and enjoy with this cheese!

How To Make Goat Cheese

 

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Prep time

10 minutes

Cook time

10 minutes

Total time

20 minutes

 

Goat cheese, or as the French say it, chèvre, is a deliciously tangy addition to almost any dish, savory or sweet. Most cheeses require quite a bit of time to properly age, but a few of the softer varieties can be whipped up quickly. Like baking bread there’s a bit of science to it, but once you gather up the necessary ingredients, you’ll be enjoying homemade goat cheese in about an hour.

Author: Brett@GreenThumbWhiteApron.com

Recipe type: Appetizer

Serves: 6-ounces

Ingredients

• 1 heaping teaspoon citric acid
• ½ cup water
• ½ gallon raw goat’s milk (2-quarts or 8-cups)
• 1 teaspoon cheese salt, or as desired

Instructions

1. Mix 1 heaping teaspoon of citric acid into ½ cup water and stir until dissolved; set aside.
2. Add the milk to a large pot (see notes).
3. Stirring frequently, heat the milk to 190 degrees F over medium heat.
4. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the citric acid and water mixture. This will cause a reaction and the milk will separate into curds and whey. Keep temperature a constant 190 degrees F for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes.
5. Line a colander with cheese cloth and gently pour in curds and whey.
6. Drain until it all looks like oatmeal. Mix in salt and stir the curds gently. At this point you can spoon the curds into a cheese mold or squeeze out the excess liquid and shape into a rustic wheel.
7. Allow to cool and serve or store covered in the refrigerator.

Notes

Use organic raw goat milk if you can find it. I thought it might be a difficult item to locate but my health food store had a couple of different brands from local nearby farms. You can use pasteurized or un-homogenized, but the coagulation of the cheese curds when you use raw goat milk is greater. Don’t use ultra-pasteurized.

Use stainless steel, glass, or enamel-coated pots. Others will corrode with the acid used in the recipe.

Use cheese salt or another non-iodized salt like canning salt, kosher salt, or sea salt. Cheese salt is a flaky, non-iodized salt. Salt in cheese not only improves the taste, it also helps to preserve it. The non-iodized part is critical because if the salt contains iodine, it will inhibit the cultures and bacteria in the milk and you want this in your cheese.

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