home made food

The daily cheese making has been tremendous. I have sour things fermenting and bubbling all over the counter. The sourdough starter to the right of the window. The Kombucha starters to the left. A small batch of yoghurt ripening on the window sill. A batch or fresh goat cheese dripping whet into a bowl by the stove. This is the life. Dairy products bought this past week $0. value of home made goodness $ untold millions. All thanks to these ladies below. Mostly Iris as we milk her but by next year brie will be old enough to contribute. 

The two kinds of cheese we have been making: 

Soft and crumble

We make the soft by 1st strain the milk through a filter ( double layer cheese cloth) THe is remover the hair and stuff from the milking process. 

next (2nd step) pour milk into a shallow pot. Heat on low for a few minutes until it is hot to the touch but not bubbling. 3rd add an acid about 3 T per 1/2 gallon works for me but depends on the acidity of the acid you use. We use white wine vinegar or kombucha. Any vinegar should work, we used red wine vinegar but the flavor was not as delightful. This will separate the curd from the whey as you stir it in. Lastly (4th), strain the contents of the pan through a cheese cloth ( clean section). We bought all cotton white mesh from the fabric store. This option is less expensive and offers a tighter weave fabric. 

the crumble cheese is done exactly the same way except raise the temperature to almost a simmer (stir to avid burning) The high temperature creates a harder cheese that crumbles after being strained and drained. 

In both cases salt to taste. We usually add herbs, garlic and or salt and fold/cut them in ( cooking term for mix them in) The whey can be used for baking in place of water. 

goat cheese

Yesterday we added another goat to the farm. Brie will hopefully grow into a healthy milk producing powerhouse. We hope to make plenty of cheese from her production. Speaking of cheese, I milked Iris yesterday and we claimed 3/4 of a gallon. The process was tiring on my hands but as I got the rhythm she was relieved to have less pressure in her udder. The farmers cheese was tasty straight from the pot and should be even better today as it has had time to ripen a little. Below is a picture of the cheese.

The recipe was simple: 3/4 a gallon of milk ( goat milk) warm slowly to just below a simmering boil. This is easier to do with a gas stove than an electric one. I let it warm slowly for 1/2 an hour so as not to burn the cheese. When it was to  heat I added 1/4-1/2 cup of red wine vinegar. As I stir in the vinegar the curd separates from the whey. I removed it fro the heat and poured it through a linen cloth into a jar. This allows the curd to ball up in the clothe and the whey to pass into the jar. It is basic and smile and delicious.