adventures in goat milk

we have goats

dairy goats

darling sweet girls

that will provide us with lots of milk

in the years to come

but for now

they are still growing

little doelings

while we wait

i have been practicing my recipes

with 

goat milk from a local dairy

today

i am trying out my cream separator for the first time

goat's milk is naturally homogenized

which means the cream does not automatically rise to the top

you have to spin it out

this is how you do it

i ran a half-gallon of fresh goat milk through

yielding about 1/2 cup of heavy cream

in order to get the best results

the milk needs to be warm as it goes through the separator

what to do with all that delicious warm frothy milk?

make delicious coffee drinks 

of course

honestly

fresh goat milk is delicious

it has a mild and sweet taste

virtually indistinguishable 

from

fresh cow's milk

delicious

best of all

it can be used to make

this

homemade yogurt

creme fraiche

ricotta

feta

creme fraiche

no story

no fancy words

just a simple plea

make.your.own.

and 

use.it.liberally.

creme fraiche

3 cups heavy cream--room temperature

6 Tbs plain greek yogurt--room temperature

stir the yogurt into the heavy cream.  put into a glass jar and cover with a bit of cheesecloth (to keep out bugs and dust, but allow for airflow)

let sit draft free at room temperature for at least 12 hours and up to 36 hours

-the longer you leave it out, the more tangy it will become-

give it a good stir, it will thicken right before your eyes

tightly cover and pop in the fridge

enjoy where you would otherwise enjoy cream or sour cream

mix with a bit of brown sugar and pour over berries

stir into warm soup

create a calvados cream sauce for roast pork

pour over warm peas, carrots

or 

cold beets

just for starters....