On The Table: Goat Cheese

I really enjoy goat cheese. It all started after a particularly tough bout of dysentery and the only thing I could eat while I recovered was goat yogurt. I have now secured my own supply of fresh, raw goat milk.  I haven’t made yogurt yet, but have successfully made cheese. It is so easy, it’s probably illegal.

For soft cheese it is this simple. Sterilize all stainless used in the process. Put one gallon of milk in a 5-quart pot. Reserve one cup to the side. In this cup add a few drops of rennet and mix well and pour into the pot. (I got mine from Brew your own Brew on Campbell Avenue. While there, pick up some food grade cheese cloth for straining the cheese, this is important.) Add some sort of starter. I’ve used four tablespoons of goat yogurt before with great results but I have also used buttermilk without any problems.

Cover the pot and let it sit for 12 to 20 hours at room temperature, about 86 degrees. At this point you’ll have what is called a “clean break.” The whey will have separated from the curd. The curd kind of looks like yogurt but is way more viscous. Now cut the curd with a knife into a checkerboard pattern and using a slotted spoon of some kind lift out the chunks of curd and place in cheesecloth, which you have draped over a bowl. Salt the cheese at this point, if you like, or wait until it is done curing.

Once the cheesecloth is full, twist the ends together and gently squeeze out the excess whey.  Hang the cheesecloth in your refrigerator over a bowl to catch the excess whey that drips out and let it sit for a few days. Take it out when you can’t wait any longer (usually three to four days) and you will have yourself some yummy goat cheese!