Goat Cheese

Goat Cheese
Easy to make and good to eat!

1 gallon of goat milk, you may used unpasteurized or pasteurized (shown here). Never use ultra pasteurized milk of any kind for cheese making.

You will need cheese cloth. The piece on the left is referred to as butter muslin and is very fine  and strong. On the right is cheese cloth you will find in a fabric store and is used further in the process, you can see how much wider the weave is, if you use this for draining you will have to quadruple or more the fold so you don't loose small curds down the drain.

In a large stainless steel pot slowly heat milk to between 190 and 200 degrees.
Add 1/2 c vinegar or 1/2 c lemon or lime juice, stir until mixed only, do not over mix.

Let cool undisturbed until 100 degrees.
Add salt to taste. 1 1/2 Tbs for softer cheese, up to 2 1/2 Tbs for firmer cheese, ricotta or cottage cheese texture.

Curds will separate from the whey...the yellow water is whey.
Slowly stir, gently breaking up the curds. More stirring will result in fine ricotta like pieces, less stirring  and leaving pieces quarter size will give a cream cheese consistency.
Remove the curds with a very fine strainer, and place into a colander lined with butter muslin. Tie muslin and hang to drip 4-12 hours, until desired consistency.

Remove from cloth and add herbs if you like, form in ball in cheese cloth and refrigerate. Remove cloth when chilled. Good for 2 weeks.

Do not use aluminum pots or utensils.