Making Yogurt and Cheese
What is that? It is definitely not what I planned for it to be.
It is very convenient having goats on the farm since there is always lots of goat milk - if one likes goat milk (not everyone does...). The good news is that I do. So I decided to start making my own yogurt and cheese!
My first attempt at yogurt did not successfully make yogurt. The only milk product I had made before was 30-minute mozzarella and when you do that, you put all the rennet solution that you make into the milk. Well, with yogurt, you dissolve 1/4 tablet of rennet in 1/2 c. water and then put 1 tsp. of that solution into the milk. Did I read the directions carefully? No, I just poured the whole thing in. So my yogurt curdled and I got this:
My second try, however, actually did work.
The whole process involves heating one gallon of milk up to 180F, then cooling it down to 120F and adding 1/4 c. yogurt starter (I used Greek yogurt the first time, then after I had a successful batch, I used that for starter), and the 1 tsp. rennet solution. This cools it down to about 116F and then I poured it into sterilized jars and placed them in a laundry basket, wrapped and covered in towels, overnight (about 10-12 hours). This keeps the milk at about the same 116-degree temperature.
Successful yogurt!
I also made chevre cheese. This had more steps to it than the yogurt did, but wasn't terribly difficult either. For this cheese, you have to first pasteurize two gallons of milk, then cool it down to 86F.
At this point, you add a package of mesophilic starter and 1 Tbs. of the solution formed when ¼ tablet rennet is dissolved in 1 c. water. You stir that all in, then let it sit, covered, for 12 hours at about 72F. Then, you pour the curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth, like so:
Let it sit, again, for another 12 hours, at 72F. It will shrink a lot and look something like this:
And there you have your cheese. About three pounds of it! You can cut it into cubes and season it with salt and spices like garlic, rosemary, pesto; whatever your heart desires.
It is very convenient having goats on the farm since there is always lots of goat milk - if one likes goat milk (not everyone does...). The good news is that I do. So I decided to start making my own yogurt and cheese!
My first attempt at yogurt did not successfully make yogurt. The only milk product I had made before was 30-minute mozzarella and when you do that, you put all the rennet solution that you make into the milk. Well, with yogurt, you dissolve 1/4 tablet of rennet in 1/2 c. water and then put 1 tsp. of that solution into the milk. Did I read the directions carefully? No, I just poured the whole thing in. So my yogurt curdled and I got this:
My second try, however, actually did work.
The whole process involves heating one gallon of milk up to 180F, then cooling it down to 120F and adding 1/4 c. yogurt starter (I used Greek yogurt the first time, then after I had a successful batch, I used that for starter), and the 1 tsp. rennet solution. This cools it down to about 116F and then I poured it into sterilized jars and placed them in a laundry basket, wrapped and covered in towels, overnight (about 10-12 hours). This keeps the milk at about the same 116-degree temperature.
Successful yogurt!
I also made chevre cheese. This had more steps to it than the yogurt did, but wasn't terribly difficult either. For this cheese, you have to first pasteurize two gallons of milk, then cool it down to 86F.
At this point, you add a package of mesophilic starter and 1 Tbs. of the solution formed when ¼ tablet rennet is dissolved in 1 c. water. You stir that all in, then let it sit, covered, for 12 hours at about 72F. Then, you pour the curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth, like so:
Let it sit, again, for another 12 hours, at 72F. It will shrink a lot and look something like this:
And there you have your cheese. About three pounds of it! You can cut it into cubes and season it with salt and spices like garlic, rosemary, pesto; whatever your heart desires.
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