A-HA.....I've got it!!! I love goat cheese. How hard can it be, I will make goat cheese. So I Googled, I learned, and I made goat cheese. I will share with you how I did it.
You will need the following:
Large stainless pot, or double boiler
Candy thermometer
Wire mesh colander
Cheese cloth (I prefer muslin)
Large bowl
Whisk
Goat's milk
Vinegar
Pour Goat's milk into the pot and set on a medium stove, clip candy thermometer to the side of the pot. Allow heat to rise gradually to 185*. This can take upto 30 minutes or more. Whisk often. Once the temperature is at 185* hold it steady for about ten minutes or so. You will do this by lowering the heat on the stove slightly. Once ten minutes has passed, remove from heat and immediately add 1 tbsp of vinegar and whisk until well mixed, you will notice it will start to curdle. It may not look like much but resist the urge to add more vinegar. Let mixture sit until temperature drops to about 120*. Place Colander over a large, deep bowl and line with cheese cloth (layered 4 or 5 times) or Muslin (single or double layer). Gently pour contents of saucepan over the muslin and allow whey to drain into the bowl while curds remain in the cloth. Once all of the contents of the pot are in the cloth you can let sit, or you can lift the cloth and gather it at the top and gently squeeze the liquid out of the curds. Once you have the liquid removed you will be left with amazingly tasty and fresh goat cheese. From here you can add whatever you like. My favourite is a little minced garlic and dill!! Yum. Cheese will be warm and spreadable, however as it sits, the flavours will intensify and it will become more crumbly like the goat cheese you buy at the grocery store. This makes a fair bit of cheese and it should last nicely for upto two weeks in the refrigerator. Ours was gone in just a few days.
It appears as though I did not take any photographs of the process, only the finished product. So here it is!!
