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

homemade feta

making cheese

can be

labor intensive

but

not difficult

it requires

attention to detail

a super clean work area

few specialty ingredients

and

patience

feta cheese

is

aged in a brine

making it

salty and creamy

  

Feta Cheese

(printable recipe)

1 gallon pasterized goat's milk (do not use ultra-pasterized)

1/4 tsp aroma B mesophillic starter 

4 drops (double strength*) rennet

1/4 cup non-chlorinated (bottled) water

butter muslin

flake sea salt or kosher salt

for brine

8 cups water

1/2 cup kosher salt

heat the goat's milk slowly in a large heavy stock pot to74F. remove pot from the flame and burner (but leave on stove), and gently stir in the mesophillic starter. allow to sit for 10-15 minutes before moving on to the next step.

meanwhile, mix the rennet into the 1/4 cup water and after the wait time, gently stir into the milk pot.  do not scrape the sides or bottom of pan, but gently stir for about 2 minutes.  cover the pot and leave on the back of the stove undisturbed for 12 hours. (the objective is to keep the milk at the 74F for the entire time)

after 12 hours, gently ladle the curds into a muslin lined colander (over a bowl if you wish to keep the curds). allow it to sit uncovered for 1 hour

after 1 hour, tie the ends of the butter muslin to create a pouch that can be suspended or hung**.  i tie the pouch to my sink faucet and allow the curds to drain directly into the sink. it is also easy to run a wooden spoon through the knot and suspend the pouch over a deep pot.  

allow the curds to drain for a full 12 hours

open the pouch remove the curd mass (it should be fairly stable) and flip it over. return it to the butter muslin and suspend for an additional 12 hours.

**an alternative:  after you have drained the curds for the initial 1 hour, you can transfer the curds to a muslin lined plastic tomato basket, flipping every couple of hours.  this will give you a more uniform shape.

remove the curd, which should now be quite firm, from the cheesecloth and place on a draining mat, or surface that has small holes (cooling rack, pizza pan, bamboo mat).  cut the curds into desired size (about 1"x1" or larger for interesting presentation).  lightly salt all sides of the pieces and allow to dry for 3-5 days uncovered in your refrigerator. you are looking for the pieces to become a bit yellow on the edges.

prepare your brine with enough advance that it is cooled to approx 60F by the time you are ready to use it (you can store it in the refrigerator if made in advance).  to prepare the brine, simply boil the water and add the salt. stir to dissolve completely.

when ready to brine, place the dried cheese pieces in a glass jar, careful not to jam and pour the brine over. cover the jar and brine the feta for 2-3 weeks before enjoying.  you will notice the flavor builds as time progresses.  if stored properly, this will last about 6 months (although i dare say it is so delicious, it probably won't make it that long!)

i find the brine a bit salty, so i quickly rinse my feta in non-chlorinated water, and gently dry with a paper towel before eating

it is delicious & beautifully presented with strong black olives, a bit of hot pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.

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....

homemade yogurt

my mother is not a hippie

she would never be mistaken as "granola"

birkenstocks have never graced her perfectly manicured feet

however

when i was a kid

the dogs were fed brewer's yeast

our bread came from the health food store

red dye no. 2 was banned from the house

and

our yogurt was homemade

i thought it was so lame

my friends were eating

yogurt with dreamy flavors

of

coffee, chocolate and lemon swirl

while i  

was being brainwashed to believe

that mine

 while not sweet like pudding

was filled with acidolphilus

my best defense

against turistas

if ever i found my 8 year old self in mexico

with a head of  unwashed lettuce in one hand

and 

a tall glass of tap water in the other

here in lies the rub

now

as an adult

i love homemade yogurt

finding myself extolling the virtues

of

good bacteria

without apology

to anyone who will listen

 

 homemade yogurt

1/2 gallon milk (i use 2%)

1/4 cup good quality plain yogurt-room temperature

jams, jellies, honey, fruit--to serve

preheat oven to 185F.  heat milk in a pot that will best retain temperature over low heat until it reaches 185F.  once it reaches the desired temperature, pop it into the preheated oven and allow to sit for 30 minutes.  remove from oven and allow the milk to cool to 110F. when the milk has cooled to 110F add the yogurt and stir well.  it is important to keep the milk at 110F for the next 7-10 hours.(i have a warming oven that i use which will keep a consistent low temperature.  other methods can be a warming pad, creating a foil tent over a electric skillet, testing the residual heat of an upper oven, while the lower oven is on, placing the pot in a water bath and keeping the water at 110F)

after 7-10 hours you will see thickened milk soaking in the whey.  give this a good stir, then spoon into containers and  place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours before eating.  

what i do next is not necessary, but hubster and i have different ideas about how thick yogurt should be. i like mine extra thick, he doesn't.  i place the yogurt in a sieve lined with cheesecloth over a large bowl, and let it sit for a few hours or overnight. the yogurt becomes the consistency of cream cheese, and the whey collects in the bowl.   i place the yogurt in one container and the whey in another.  when i make up my pots of yogurt, i whisk in enough whey to achieve the desired consistency. the extra thick yogurt is great as a spread on bread or for flavored dips.

i am linking this to
tuesday night supper club
a little birdie told me