Goat Cheese

Alright.  I've gone and made goat cheese.  Like all homemade cheese, it's delicious - the texture and richness is far superior to anything I've picked up at a supermarket.

I ordered a half-gallon of goat milk from Wateroak Farms out of Bryan, Texas (described as "a haven for dairy goats").

The whole process started with dumping the whole half gallon into a clean pot, along with the juice of a meyer lemon (gifted from a friend with a tree).  I didn't bother timing it this time, having made ricotta once and accidentally making ricotta and whey out of a cheese sauce that broke.  There will be a point about 15 minutes in where the milk solids separate from the liquids.  The temp will be about 180.  Be sure to stir frequently - I noticed that the solids in the goats milk sunk (I don't remember the cow's milk doing this.)

The process of making ricotta feels very pretty.  I'm sure in more commercial environments it's less lovely.  I think at least part of it is the frothiness of cheese cloth.

The trick here is to fold the cheese cloth a few times.  I put it in a colander and, since I didn't really have a use for the whey, stuck it in the sink.  Afterwards it occurred to me that the chickens probably would've loved it if I mixed it with some stale bread for them.  Live/learn.  Next time.  Etc.

Just after it's drained, I added a bit of salt and a few turns of the pepper grinder.

Now, apparently the big difference between ricotta and farmer's cheese is squeezing and time.  I wrapped my ricotta (the solids after the separated milk goes through the cheese cloth contraption) in the cheese cloth and put it in a ring mold.  (This is actually a lie.  I don't have a ring mold.  I grabbed a metal "house" cookie cutter that came in a holiday cookie cutter kit and man-handled it until it could generally be described as round.)  Then I added a little souffle cup filled with black eyed peas on top for a little weight and put the whole stack into a tupperware container.  It's spent the last two days in the fridge, squishing.

The outside took on the texture of the cheese cloth.  I was surprised when I tasted it that it doesn't have the characteristic zing of goat cheese, but it was still incredibly rich and creamy.  I'm thinking this has something to do with something my brother's special lady friend mentioned - that goats milk funkiness is a seasonal thing.

Further cheese making attempts beyond farmer cheese will require cheese cultures.  I guess it's time to do a little research.