Made my first goat cheese today!

[madcow]

I finally got enough milk together from my 2 pygmy goats, that are in milk, to make my first small batch of mozzarella cheese. I think I drained a little too much whey from it, as it turned out a little drier than I wanted it, but I will know better next time how much to drain. It's good anyway and will work great on my homemade pizza I make for us on a weekly basis. From the whey left from the cheese-making process I made ricotta cheese and it's amazing! I ended up draining it through a piece of unbleached muslin (good thing I'm a quilter, huh?) to get the excess liquid out and it turned out perfectly. It is a little labor intensive, but I feel happy knowing that we can be more self-sufficient in the things we need. Of course, the yield is pretty small on these batches, but milk is mostly water anyway. I feel like with cheese making I'm getting the most benefit from our goats' milk, and it's that many less things I have to buy at the store! Pretty soon I'll be down to only needing building supplies from Lowe's and producing everything we need for food! What a great feeling!

I think I need more goats!

 

[verkagj]

Wow. Mozzarella is not the easiest cheese to start with so you did real good! Chevre is easy and doesn't need the milk heated very much. Yep, you need more goats.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Very cool. And yes, mozzarella is a bit tempermental. Chevre and other soft cheeses are usually the easiest to make.

 

[promiseacres]

love cheese! I think that's why I keep "thinking" about a goat or 2....

 

[Pearce Pastures]

Great job! Isn't it fun to make? I haven't done mozzarella yet, though I have the stuff to do it. My kids are feta fanatics!

 

[cindyg]

Oh, hurray for you! I finally have does in milk but am having a hard time getting any from them while they are still nursing their kids. Cut off is end of next week, and they will just have to deal with it. My set up is not the best for separating at night and then milking in the morning before they are all together again. Anyway, got my new cheese pot coming in the mail and some other supplies and I can't wait to get started. Congrats on your success.

 

[alsea1]

When my nubian kids, I now know who to bug for hints on cheese making.
Least I'm hoping she is preg.