The milk is best used fresh from the goat, still warm. If it has been refrigerated, put the gallon jug in a sink full of hot water and stir periodically till it is warm but NOT hot.
The rennet looks like this ... you only need a small amount. My first batch did not set right so I added a tiny bit more and that did the job good. Gently crush it between two spoons and stir it into the milk.
It should set in about a half hour or less. Pour into a strainer set in a bowl to catch the whey. Here's the cheese:
And here is the whey:
The finished product ... 3 1/2qts of whey and about 2c of cheese - be sure to mix in 1t-1 1/2t of salt into the cheese. You can also mix other things like onion flakes, Italian seasonings, or any other flavor to suit your taste.
LACTO-FERMENTATION
In the last post I did on goat cheese and whey, I listed several things to do with the whey. One more you could do is make raw, fermented cabbage (a.k.a. raw sauerkraut or lacto-fermented sauerkraut). Shred 1 medium head of cabbage. Place in a bowl with 1T salt and 1/4c whey. Pound till the juices come out good ... at least 10 minutes. I did not have meat mallet so I used a small glass olive jar ... it worked just fine. Shove it into a quart jar - the juice should come up over the cabbage at least a half inch. Leave about an inch of headspace. Set on the counter, in the counter, or wherever you'd like, for 3 days. It should start to bubble after 3-4 days. We left ours on the counter top for a little over 3 weeks before we put it in the fridge. I've heard the longer it sits in the fridge, the better it gets, though we just started doing this so I cannot make an accurate statement on that! (update - it tastes great even after being in the fridge for months).
- variation: if you do not have whey, you can substitute with one additional tablespoon of salt.
CLICK HERE FOR A BLOG POST WITH PICTURES: Sauerkraut
FYI - here is an article on Lacto-Fermentation.
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