Easy Goat Cheese Recipe

This summer we were inundated with goat's milk from our TWO wonderful and sweet dairy goats, Topaz and Quartz. We quickly had to find ways to use the milk other than just cereal and basic cooking. Thus the search began. In this household there are two things that make a happy house....CHEESE & ICE CREAM. For father's day the previous year the kids had gotten their father the Cuisinart ICE-100 Compressor Ice Cream and Gelato Maker, which I would highly recommend. 

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-ICE-100-Compressor-Cream-Gelato/dp/B006UKLUFS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1411147039&sr=8-3&keywords=gelato+maker

On the cheese front we started with simple Chevre cheese (soft goat cheese). We tried two recipes for this, distilled white vinegar and lemon. This is an acidity way of curdling the cheese vs. using a culture. Cultures can be expensive when you don't have access to a mother culture. Since we also were just "testing" the waters we went with the easy route. I learned things the hard way...Lemon is in my opinion a disgusting route. It was way way too lemon flavored. So here is my easy and fool proof way. And yes I completely mean FOOL proof. I have on more than one occasion let the milk get beyond the recommended temperature and still had no problem.

4 quarts raw goat milk

1 cup white distilled vinegar***

Yes! It is really that simple. Place the gallon of milk into a large stock pot on low heat. Occasionally stir the milk, but allow it to reach a temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The milk is beginning to simmer at this point. Turn the burner off and remove from heat, quickly stir in the white distilled vinegar. Allow to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. Then pour through cheese cloth or a linen towel. I found that linen towels were more effective. I then hung the cheese up and allowed it to drip the remaining whey out for 30 minutes to an hour. Because this was not made with a culture the remaining whey cannot be used for making ricotta, but it can be retained for giving to pigs or other animals. Or if you like the flavor you can drink it; some people think it tastes similar to buttermilk. 

After the cheese has drained dump it into a plastic container and add your desired spices. My go-to was granulated garlic and salt to taste with a dash of pepper. You can really do anything though. Jalapenos, strawberries, blueberries, with those variations you can use the cheese in the stead of a cream cheese spread onto toast or even crackers if you are feeling fancy. 

Keep posted for more from the Edward's Crazy Farm. 

- Diane

***I suggest buying gallon containers of white distilled vinegar from Costco. They have a higher acidity despite the fact they claim to be the same as a generic wal-mart brand.