Where Can I Get A Goat Cheese Recipe?

in Home Cooking

In the quest to eat healthier, more and more people have become interested in making their own food, and goat cheese is no exception!

As a matter of fact, over 800 people a month hit the search engines looking for a goat cheese recipe!

Goat cheese is highly nutritious and great for both children and adults who have lactose intolerance. (Of course check with your doctor first.)

So of course I headed into my kitchen, wrote out the process and ingredients and am posting it here for you.

Goat Cheese Basics

If you are using store bought goat's milk you don't need to worry about the pasteurization process in the recipe.

Pasteurizing:

1.  Filter the goat's milk and heat it to 162° F.
2. Remove from burner and cool to 100°F.

Goats Cheese Process:

1. Dissolve 1/2 of a rennet tablet in 1/8 cup of water, (rennet tabs can be found in the pudding/Jello section of your grocery store).
2. Pour the rennet water, plus a quart of goats milk, in a yogurt maker, or thick pottery jug or thermos, along with a teaspoon of plain yogurt. (I've added some eBay auctions of yogurt makers for you at the bottom of this page. That way you get to see what they look like and get the best deal if you're interested in buying one.)

Incubating the Goat Cheese

Incubate the mixture (let it sit in a warm spot - 90° F) for 2-3 hours until the mixture resembles curds and whey (looks like thick globs of yogurt in a milky soup).

Filtration of the Cheese Curds

Pour the mixture into supported coffee filters (you might have to fashion a contraption that allows the liquid to filter out and away from the cheese).

Give this dripping filter process approximately 5-8 hours to complete the filtration task in the refrigerator.

What's left in the filters is goat cheese. The whey in the bottom of the jar or bowl can be used in many recipes, including a soft cheese recipe.

Using the Whey

The liquid left over (whey) will make a nice ricotta cheese. You won't have enough whey from the one quart soft cheese recipe (above), but if you increase it fourfold (using a gallon of goat milk) you'll have enough whey on hand to make the recipe below.

Ricotta Cheese

1 quart of whey
1/8 cup of vinegar or lemon juice

Heat the whey to 185° F in a double boiler. Add vinegar slowly while stirring until whey starts to form small curds.

Strain the mixture through cheesecloth and refrigerate.