1 year, 8 months ago
How can I make "hard cheese" from goats milk?
We've got 2 little milk goats and they simply give too much milk! I can make white soft cheese and Halloumi cheese, but it seems difficult to make a "parmesan" like hard cheese that is suitable for grating. Are there any old recipes from pioneer women on how to make small quantities of hard cheese at home without the aid of commercially available fermenting agents?
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M$1 Answer
the first one, my mother doing this. the milk is fresh from farm.
a. Ingredients:
1 gallon 2% milk
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
1. Heat the milk to 190F. You will need a thermometer for other cheeses but you can get by here turning off the heat just before the milk begins to boil.
2. Add the vinegar and allow the mixture to cool.
3. When cool, pour the mixture, (which now consists of curds and whey as in Miss Muffet food) into a colander and drain off the whey.
4. Pour the curds into a bowl and sprinkle on the salt and mix well. You may wish to use less salt or more. It is simply a matter of taste which is the next step. You can add a little cream for a silky texture.
A SIMPLE "HARD" CHEESE
The next step in our learning process is to make a cheese that lies somewhere between a hard cheddar and a soft cottage cheese, in both end product and ease of making. It actually is what is called "cheese curds" in most supermarkets. It is hard enough for eating as finger food but does not requre the use of a cheese press. Furthermore, it can be eaten the same day it is made.
b. Ingredients
2 gal milk (pwd milk + 2 pints cream)
1/2 renet tablet
1/4 cup prepared mesophylic starter
Pasturize milk for 30 min at 143F
Cool to 86F
Add 1/4 cup of prepared mesophylic starter
Ripen for 60 min at 86F
Add 1/2 rennet tab disolved in 1/4 cup water, stir for one min then cover.
Hold at 86F for 60 min
CUT THE CURD
This requires another digression as we skipped this step in our cottage cheese. Cutting the curd is done by slicing through the curd with a knife long enough to reach the bottom. Start anywhere near the edge of the kettle and make slices about one inch apart all the way across to the other side. Then do the same at right angles. You now have 1 inch "cubes" as long as your kettle is deep. Now slant your knife at about 45 degrees, starting at any edge and work your way across the kettle from several different sides. You should end up with lots of small pieces of curd. At someone's suggestion, I tried a long French whisk instead of the knife and found it to work like a charm. I simply press it to the bottom, give it a half turn, lift it and move to another location. Makes very nice small curds.
The purpose of cutting the curd is to begin the water/whey removal process by increasing the surface area of the curds. Under controlled conditions, it also determines how much acid is produced by controlling the amount of lactose that is allowed to convert to acid.
The byword here and in all further stirring and handling of the curd is gentle. Rough treatment will destroy the adhesion of the curds and produce a mess.
After cutting the curd:
Heat very slowly to 102F, stirring gently to distribute the heat
Hold at 102F for one hour, stirring occasionally to keep the curds separated
Pour into cheesecloth lined collinder and drain for about 30 minutes
Return matted curds to kettle and break into bite-sized pieces
Sprinkle on 1 3/4 tbs of salt and mix thoroughly
Place in shallow bowl lined with paper towell and air dry for a day or two,
stiring occasionally and replacing the paper towell as necessary.
We have just made "CHEESE CURDS" which can be eaten at any time and will keep for about two weeks in the refridgerator.
a. Ingredients:
1 gallon 2% milk
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
1. Heat the milk to 190F. You will need a thermometer for other cheeses but you can get by here turning off the heat just before the milk begins to boil.
2. Add the vinegar and allow the mixture to cool.
3. When cool, pour the mixture, (which now consists of curds and whey as in Miss Muffet food) into a colander and drain off the whey.
4. Pour the curds into a bowl and sprinkle on the salt and mix well. You may wish to use less salt or more. It is simply a matter of taste which is the next step. You can add a little cream for a silky texture.
A SIMPLE "HARD" CHEESE
The next step in our learning process is to make a cheese that lies somewhere between a hard cheddar and a soft cottage cheese, in both end product and ease of making. It actually is what is called "cheese curds" in most supermarkets. It is hard enough for eating as finger food but does not requre the use of a cheese press. Furthermore, it can be eaten the same day it is made.
b. Ingredients
2 gal milk (pwd milk + 2 pints cream)
1/2 renet tablet
1/4 cup prepared mesophylic starter
Pasturize milk for 30 min at 143F
Cool to 86F
Add 1/4 cup of prepared mesophylic starter
Ripen for 60 min at 86F
Add 1/2 rennet tab disolved in 1/4 cup water, stir for one min then cover.
Hold at 86F for 60 min
CUT THE CURD
This requires another digression as we skipped this step in our cottage cheese. Cutting the curd is done by slicing through the curd with a knife long enough to reach the bottom. Start anywhere near the edge of the kettle and make slices about one inch apart all the way across to the other side. Then do the same at right angles. You now have 1 inch "cubes" as long as your kettle is deep. Now slant your knife at about 45 degrees, starting at any edge and work your way across the kettle from several different sides. You should end up with lots of small pieces of curd. At someone's suggestion, I tried a long French whisk instead of the knife and found it to work like a charm. I simply press it to the bottom, give it a half turn, lift it and move to another location. Makes very nice small curds.
The purpose of cutting the curd is to begin the water/whey removal process by increasing the surface area of the curds. Under controlled conditions, it also determines how much acid is produced by controlling the amount of lactose that is allowed to convert to acid.
The byword here and in all further stirring and handling of the curd is gentle. Rough treatment will destroy the adhesion of the curds and produce a mess.
After cutting the curd:
Heat very slowly to 102F, stirring gently to distribute the heat
Hold at 102F for one hour, stirring occasionally to keep the curds separated
Pour into cheesecloth lined collinder and drain for about 30 minutes
Return matted curds to kettle and break into bite-sized pieces
Sprinkle on 1 3/4 tbs of salt and mix thoroughly
Place in shallow bowl lined with paper towell and air dry for a day or two,
stiring occasionally and replacing the paper towell as necessary.
We have just made "CHEESE CURDS" which can be eaten at any time and will keep for about two weeks in the refridgerator.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
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