I think the farmer's market is over now, which is a bummer because my kit can be reused if I buy more of the culture packets, but I found a couple places I can order them online. You can learn more about cheesemaking on the website Curds On The Way (great name, eh?!) and also find links to order supplies or sign up for classes. I so want to take a class.
Ok, I have to show you the steps so you can see how easy this was:
Gather supplies: kit plus goat's milk, stainless steel pan and spoon, and thermometer
Sterilize equipment with boiling water, then heat milk to 86 degrees.
Pour in jar...
Trip over "helper" a few times during the process...
Add culture to milk
Place covered jar in oven with light on to keep at around 80 degrees for 12 hours
Pour off whey, then cover jar with cheesecloth and strainer
Place upside down in container to drain for 6 to 8 hours, then put in the fridge
Ok, here's the funny part... You are supposed to mold the cheese using a mold with drain holes, but I don't have a mold. So I borrowed the tiny colander from Ty's play kitchen. Worked perfectly!
And here it is, my finished goat cheese! Delicious! You can, of course, add chopped fresh herbs to the cheese, but I'm a bit of a goat cheese purist. It's wonderful just like this.
Come back tomorrow for a very simple late summer recipe using this cheese.
Looks great! My food safety training makes me cringe at leaving it out at 80 degrees so long, but I suppose growing bacteria is the point. :)
ReplyDeleteAlmost as easy as making ricotta...maybe I'll try this next!
I know! It goes against all we've been taught! The really scary ones are the cheeses that you add mold to! So weird. I really want to try the ricotta sometime, is it on your blog?
ReplyDeleteIt's linked, but here's the original: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000282.html
ReplyDelete