# Cheese Making Questions.....



## HollowbeadRanch (Oct 5, 2007)

Ok... I have TONS of questions!

Non of my Nigi girls have ever been milked, and I don't own a milking stand.... so I had thought about purchasing some milk from a local Nubian farm to try making cheese... what do you think? Do you know any good EASY recipes for beginners? How hard is cheese to make? Any pointers? Can the milk be from frozen or is it better fresh? How long will the cheese keep? Any good recipe books you could recommend? Any help would be greatly appreciated! I had thought I might give the lady a call next week and see how much she would charge me for a couple of gallons.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

Well, I would reccomend making cheese. Depending on what kind of cheese depends on how difficult it is. I don't remember any recipes off hand because it's been so long. In Indiana we can't buy/sell goat milk except buying from stores of course.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Brandy, I have a book I got from Hoeggar Goat supply...titled...Goats Produce Too. It has so many easy recipes for cheese and lots of other things made from goat milk.

I have used fresh as well as frozen milk for cheesemaking...not a problem.

I would suggest though that you have a milk stand built and work with your girls, the benefits of your own goats milk is much cheaper and better than buying from someone ele...especially if you have your own little "milk machines" And this way ,your goats are providing for their "keep".
The book mentioned was bought with a beginners cheese making kit..I think it cost $45.00 for the book, ladle,rennet,cheesecloth,starter cuture and 4 chevre molds. Great deal as the cost of getting all those neccessities separatly is much more.

Heres the link
http://www.thegoatstore.com


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## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

Heat milk till skim appears. Add vinegar---let set. When curds appear---strain. Presto---cottage cheese.

Just heat a gallon of milk to hot but not boiling. Remove from heat, add about 1/4 c vinegar and let sit overnight. 
Strain through cheesecloth, throw in a little salt & you have cheeeeze!!


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## HollowbeadRanch (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks everyone!



liz said:


> Brandy, I have a book I got from Hoeggar Goat supply...titled...Goats Produce Too. It has so many easy recipes for cheese and lots of other things made from goat milk.
> 
> I have used fresh as well as frozen milk for cheesemaking...not a problem.
> 
> ...


 Thank Liz! I am going to go look at that right now!

Yes, when I rebuild my herd next Spring I plan on having a milking stand (my hubby has all of these ideas for all of these things he is going to build me.... the trick will be getting them all done :roll: but he means well :wink: ). I can't wait! I have been wanting to give milking a try ever since I got my girls last year, but just haven't had the time since we had so many. Now that I am being forced to sell out temporarily, I plan on having everything in order where I can do exactly as I want next Spring AND my herd won't be as big. The last of my girls are being picked up this weekend and then I will be goatless until next year :sigh:

Anyways, I am going to take a look at the book you recommended, AND that starter kit :wink: Thank you so much!


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## RunAround (Feb 17, 2008)

Here is where I get my cheese cultures:
http://www.cheesemaking.com/cheesemakin ... ients.html

I like Item #: C20G the best. It's Chevre. Really yummy and it makes a lot of cheese! Plus you get 5 packets!


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## HollowbeadRanch (Oct 5, 2007)

Thank you! :thumb: Tomorrow I plan on ordering the kit Liz referred to. I spoke to the lady with the Nubians today and she has plenty of milk on hand, so I am going to go pick some up next week... I can't wait to get started :leap:


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## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

i made butter 
(put a pint of heavy cream in the food processor and a pinch of salt at the end)
i am making vinegar cheese 
i am making caramel dipping sauce
i am making soap!
soap stayed orange-ish 
so i added an orange-ish scent
tomorrow night i will use indian fruit
wed nite i work til 10 :sigh: 
thurs i will use cinnamon
fri i don't know...
lol
i think i can get about 6 bars but i won't know how much they will weigh til i cut them
(but i have to use store milk for now :sigh: :sigh: )


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## MysticHollowGoats (Sep 10, 2008)

heavenlyhaven said:


> i am making soap!
> soap stayed orange-ish
> so i added an orange-ish scent


Did you freeze your milk before adding the lye?


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## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

it wasn't frozen
i was too impatient
:greengrin: 
it was slushy tho


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## HollowbeadRanch (Oct 5, 2007)

Since I don't have my recipe book yet... how much milk does it normally take to make cheese? Also, how long will the milk keep when frozen?


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I still have a few gallons in the freezer from my girls "peak"...still tastes fine and still works for cheese....most reipes for cheese do call for a minimum of 2 quarts to 2 gallons.....frozen milk will separate so I found it best to thaw at room temp or in a water bath then shake the heck out of it to get the solids back into the liquids. The longest I have had milk frozen was almost a year...was still fine.


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## HollowbeadRanch (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks Liz! I was trying to decide how many Gallons of milk I want to buy... :shrug:

AND I just ordered the kit! It's called "The Cheesmaker's Pantry", does that sound like the one you got? It was $45.50 plus shipping and handling. This is everything it includes:

#1- _Goats Produce Too_, the 136-page book with clear, easy-to-follow instructions on using both goat and cow milk for everything from cheese making to soap making. 
#2- Liquid rennet (the coagulant that makes the milk into cheese). 
#3- Citric powder (the secret ingredient that makes the Mozzarella cheese stretchy). 
#4- Buttermilk culture for making your own starter. 
#5- Two square yards of REAL cheesecloth (the kind the store sells is gauze, not cheesecloth!). 
#6- A high quality cheese making thermometer. 
#7- Four Chevre Molds (to give your cheese that professional look). 
#8- Stainless steel skimmer. 

I can't wait to get it here and give it a try!!! BTW it meantioned that the book includes soap making recipes... have you tried any of them?


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## HollowbeadRanch (Oct 5, 2007)

Ok.... I realize that this is probably going to sound really, REALLY stupid... but being a beginner to the cheese making and all (and have never actually been able to milk any of my own goats, other than to give to kids that aren't nursing) I have a few rather silly questions :doh: so please don't laugh too hard  

#1- When doing this (soaps, cheeses, etc.) do I use raw milk?
#2- If not, what exactly do I have to do to the milk, or will it tell me all of that in the book that comes with my kit?
#3- I guess I need to ask the seller if the milk he sells is raw milk or not... right?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! When it comes to this, I am a COMPLETE green horn! :doh:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I've always used raw milk....pastuerized just tastes yucky...sand I'm glad you got that kit..same one I got and I've tried just about every recipe in it.


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## HollowbeadRanch (Oct 5, 2007)

Yeah! Ok, as soon as I get it I will post all of my experimentations!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

The easiest to start with is the "chevre" and it uses buttermilk to start it!!


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## HollowbeadRanch (Oct 5, 2007)

K, thanks! I wanted to try that and mozzarella first :wink:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

The mozzarella done with the citric acid is soooo easy, though I do find that it doesn't have much flavor til i'ts salted.


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## HollowbeadRanch (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks for the tips! I am sure that as soon as my kit gets here I will have TONS of questions! I am hoping that it will be here the beginning of next week :leap:


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## Shantarskiye (Apr 15, 2009)

goatnutty said:


> In Indiana we can't buy/sell goat milk except buying from stores of course.


Just curious...but is it now a law?

I hope not! :sigh:


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## MissMM (Oct 22, 2007)

I have kind of a "bass-ackwards" question about cheese or soap making: can you use powered milk instead of goat milk? I have all of this powered milk that was given to me prior to kidding season for possible milk replacer & I need to do something with it. We have enough hot cocoa mix from it to last 5 years.

Thanks in advance - mmm


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I do know that you can use powdered milk in soap...have come across a few recipes online that uses it. As far as cheese, I don;t know.....you can try it, but I am thinking that powdered milk is non fat, so I don't know how that would work when it comes to the curd. Try a simple cheese with it....like vinegar ricotta, if it works, great if not then the chickens and dogs would enjoy it.


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## MissMM (Oct 22, 2007)

Thanks for the info. The dogs & chickens end up eating a lot of my failed projects. If the dog won't eat it, the chickens usually will. If if the chickens won't touch it, it goes into the swamp


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