Question from goat-raiser wannabe

ozark_jewels · #21 10/16/05, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Home~Maker

I mentioned to a friend online just a bit ago that I was considering that, instead of a dairy cow, and she said, "Yeah, but have you ever TASTED goat's milk? (green face)." Apparently she tried some on a farm once. Honestly, I haven't. Is there a difference in taste depending on the breed of goat? I was thinking of going with LaManchas.

Taste seems to depend on the individual goat more than the breed. Most goats have good milk. I do advise that you taste your goats milk before you buy her if your worried about it. My Lamanchas have wonderful milk, as do the Nubians, Alpines, and the Boers too! Goats milk needs to be cooled quickly as it tends to pick up flavours faster than cows milk.
As for favorite dairy breeds?? Mine would be Nubians and Lamanchas. Great personalities and you get the best of both in the ear department......<grin>
We milk our Jerseys for the family too and I tell you, raw milk, be it goat or cow is AWESOME!!! That stuff from the store isn't anything like real milk. I have people tell me that they don't like milk, then they taste raw milk and their hooked. Its a great feeling to share something like that.=)

Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Boers, Nubians, Lamanchas and Alpines

debitaber · #22 10/17/05, 06:15 AM

goats milk is the best. I raise nubians, and it is the best, I think , it is one of the richer milks, it has a high butter fat, in it. and is wonderful.

Home~Maker · #23 10/19/05, 03:35 PM

That's so weird... I wasn't getting any email notifications for responses in this thread.

Sorry I didn't send you a message, goatladie, I couldn't remember which group/forum I was in when we talked about it loll. Too many groups joined in one week I guess! I did get another request for the recipes so I'll reprint them here. The first one is easy enough to do because I sent it through email to one of my Yahoo groups (not straight from the book, but my own explanation), so I'll just copy and paste it here:

Quote:

Home~Made Yogurt =0)

You can use either regular milk (D, lowfat, any) or dry milk, or a
combination. I like to use half regular (D) and half dry, with a little
extra dry powder (to make it a little thicker). You can use a total of about
six cups of milk (it all depends on your container size, but I wouldn't do
more than that or it will be more sour). So I use about three cups of the
vitamin D milk and three cups of dry milk, mixed at 1 1/3 cup dry powder to
3 cups water (instead of 1 cup to 3).

For your container, you'll need either a glass jar with a glass or plastic
lid, or a glass/ceramic bowl with a glas or plastic lid. Don't use metal or
you could kill the culture.

For your starter, you can buy some at a health food store, but I usually
just buy one of those small pints of PLAIN fat-free yogurt (I usually buy
Dannon). After you've made a batch you can use a bit of your homemade yogurt
to start the next batch; you can do this a few times before the culture
starts to die. If your yogurt comes out runny and doesn't set, you need a
fresh culture.

Other stuff you need:

Stainless steel pan (a big one; make it at least twice the capacity of your
milk)
Plastic ladle
Wire whisk
Candy thermometer (I have a cheap glass one that hooks to the side of the
pan)
Tablespoon (measuring spoon)
Wire cooling rack
A towel (big enough to wrap your jar or bowl in)

Mix your milk and pour it into your pan (or mix it in the pan, I do lol).
Turn the burner up ALL the way (watch it VERY closely; it will start to boil
within a couple of minutes). When the milk starts to boil it will foam up
toward the top of the pan very quickly (the reason you need a big pan lol).
Let it start to foam up, then turn off the burner, and blow on the foam a
bit to help it recede. Then turn the burner back on, very low, and just
simmer the milk for two minutes.

Turn the burner off and set your pan on the wire rack to cool with the
thermometer down in the milk. While it cools (or before you boil the milk),
put one good tablespoon of your starter in the bottom of your jar/bowl and
whisk it a bit to make it runny and so that it can warm to room temperature.

As soon as the temperature of your milk reaches 109 F, skim any "skin" off
the top and throw it away (or feed it to a cat if he'll eat it lol). I like
to set my pan at a slight angle on a couple of hot pads at this point, to
make dipping it out easier. Using your clean tablespoon, dip out one TB of
the milk and add it to the yogurt, mixing well with the whisk; do this
several times. This has to be done to keep the yogurt from curdling.

After three or four TB's, use your ladle and add the milk one ladle at a
time, still whisking with each added ladle. Try not to scrape the bottom of
the pan; it will have a layer of scorched milk that's easily wiped out with
a paper towel when you're done. After a few ladles you can pour the rest of
the milk into the jar/bowl and mix it very well with the whisk.

Cover your jar/bowl with a lid and wrap it in the towel. Place the container
inside your oven (with the oven OFF) on the middle rack and close the oven.
Leave it there for about four hours and then check it; check again every
half hour. If you see that the yogurt is "solid," like jello, maybe with
just a little bit of whey on top, it's ready to refrigerate. As soon as it's
cold, it's ready to eat!

If you like sweet yogurt just add whole or canned fruit. I've tried it with
diced pineapple, strawberries that I had cut up and sugared to make them
juicy, and jellies and jams. It has a slightly sour taste eaten plain, but
it's good that way too. And if you use just dry milk, it's fat-free!

Once you've done this a couple of times you don't even have to think about
it, it's really easy! Just make sure all the dishes and utensils you use are
really clean and rinsed with boiling water & air dried beforehand to prevent
any OTHER bacteria from getting into it.

Let me know if anything seems vague and I'll post again =0)

And this one IS straight from the book, titled "A Book of Middle Eastern Food," 1974, by Claudia Roden (an EXCELLENT cookbook!!):

Quote:

Home~Made Yogurt Cheese =0)

Labna/Cream Cheese

This is a delightful cream cheese. It is made by salting the yogurt, adding from 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt per pint of yogurt, according to taste. The yogurt should be poured into a strainer or colander lined with damp cheesecloth. Allow it to drain overnight, or tie the corners of the cloth together and suspend the bundle over a bowl or the sink. The whey will drain away, leaving a very light, soft, creamy white curd cheese. Shape this cheese into little balls. Sprinkle them with olive oil and a little paprika, or roll them in it.

This great Arab favorite is often served at breakfast.

Personally I can't say I've actually done this recipe exactly the way it says because at the time I did it (twice actually) I couldn't find my book and did it without the salt. It was okay but a little sour, still good on bread though. I didn't roll it into balls or anything, either, I just scooped it out of the cheesecloth with a spoon and put it into a container and into the fridge.

Oh, by the way, I did find out recently that you can actually make Ricotta cheese from the whey, too, if you save it! I like to use one of those wire mesh things anyway (I dunno what it's called, it has a handle and it's bowl-shaped with little thingies to rest it on the edge of a bowl lol) with several layers of cheesecloth to line it, and you do get quite a bit of whey from the yogurt (you really need to use about a quart of yogurt if you want much cheese from it). I found this recipe on another website:

Quote:

Ricotta Recipe..
.. ..
Ricotta is made from re-cooked whey. In fact the word "ricotta" means "re-cooked." It forms when proteins from the whey separate, rise and coagulate. There are three distinct varieties of ricotta: ricotta salata moliterna (ewe's milk whey), ricotta piemontese (cow's milk whey + 10% milk) and ricotta romana (a byproduct of Romano cheese production). This recipe adds additional milk to raise the yield (it is a variety of ricotta salata moliterna. Regardless, this recipe will not yield much more then a cup of cheese.
.
INGREDIENTS
.
Whey from the making of a one gallon cheese recipe.
1 Quart Milk
1/3 Cup White Vinegar
..
Mix the quart of milk with the whey.
... .
Warm the mixture to 100 F / 38 C. Keep it at this temperature for about an hour. The milk might curdle, do not worry.
..
After an hour, bring the temperature of the milk mixture to 200 F / 93.5 C. Do not allow it to boil.
.
While stirring with a whisk, slowly add the white vinegar.
.
Stir for an additional five minutes then remove the mixture from the heat.
..
Cool the mixture in the refrigerator for at least 8-10 hours.
.
Line a colander with a double layer of a very fine cheese cloth or butter muslin.
..
Pour the mixture through the colander.
..
Allow the cheese drain for several hours.
..
Salt the ricotta cheese to taste.
..
Place the cheese into a sealable container in your refrigerator.

Here is the website, there are alot of cheese recipes there!!

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Cottage/1288/

I tried making Queso Blanco a few nights ago; it turned out okay as far as consistency and the method but when I had my husband try it it wasn't quite up to par. I told him how it was made and he knew what I was talking about but said I needed to add salt to the milk BEFORE adding vinegar mixed with water (plus, uh, don't substitute apple cider vinegar just because that's all you have, use the white, lolll).

This one looks a little different than the one I used (It called for the vinegar to be diluted in water), and doesn't call for salt until the end, either; I'll have to ask Hubby how much to use and come back to edit my post tomorrow. The recipe said to salt it afterward but it just doesn't stick to the curds. I had to add more vinegar (undiluted), anyway, because the vinegar diluted in water just didn't make the milk curdle like it should have. When I added undiluted vinegar it was like "WHOOOOSH" and it was done lollll...

(to be continued...)

Home~Maker · #24 10/19/05, 03:40 PM

Anyway here's one from the same website:

Quote:

Queso Blanco Recipe
...
This is by far the easiest cheese to make. Called Queso Blanco in the Spanish speaking (it means "white cheese") world it is used throughout the world by different names. It can be eaten strait or mixed in with various dishes. Try it in your lasagna recipes instead of Ricotta or in addition to it. Yum!

INGREDIENTS
.
1 Gallon Whole Milk
1/4 Cup White Vinegar**
.

Heat milk to 180 F (82 C) stirring constantly. Be careful not to burn the milk.
While mixing with a whisk, slowly add the white vinegar. You will notice the milk begins to curdle.
Keep stirring for 10-15 minutes.
Line a colander with a fine cheesecloth.
Pour the curdled milk through the colander.
Allow the curds to cool for about 20 minutes.
Tie the four corners of the cheese cloth together and hang it to drain for about 5 - 7 hours (until it stops dripping).
The solidified cheese can be broken apart and salted to taste or kept unsalted.

** The juice of 3-5 lemons may also be used in substitute or addition to the vinegar. The resulting cheese will have a much more tangy flavor.

I just remembered I have some yogurt in the fridge... I think I'll go make some cream cheese...

Home~Maker · #25 10/19/05, 03:47 PM

Hey -- look what I found at that website! You can make your own starter cultures!!

Quote:

Mesophilic Starter Culture
...
Cheese cultures are necessary to inoculate the milk with friendly bacteria. These bacteria serve two functions. First, they cause the milk to become more acidic aiding its coagulation. Second, the bacteria help develop the flavor of the cheese.
.
Cheese cultures are divided into two basic types mesophilic and thermophilic. These terms describes at the temperature the culture thrives at. Mesophilic (from the Greek words meso - meaning intermediate and philic - which means loving) cultures thrive around room temperatures. Thermophilic (from the Greek words thermo - meaning heat and philic - which means loving)cultures require a higher temperature. Professional quality cultures can be bought from a cheesemaking supply company. They are usually available in a freeze dried form. A home-spun method is to use cultured buttermilk as a mesophilic starter or fresh yogurt as a thermophilic starter.
.
This simplest of cultures can generally be used for all recipes requiring a Mesophilic Starter. The taste of the final product will vary slightly from that of a true cheese culture.
.
Start with 2 cups of FRESH store bought Cultured Buttermilk.
.
Let the 2 Cups of buttermilk reach room temp. (70 F/ 21 C).
.
Then allow the buttermilk to ripen for about 6-8 hrs. (Store bought buttermilk does not have a high enough concentration of bacteria to serve as a starter culture without ripening.)
.
The resulting buttermilk will be much thicker and sour then what you started with. It should have the consistency of fresh yogurt, if it doesn't let it sit a few more hours.
.
Pour this culture into a full sized CLEAN ice cube tray and put into your FREEZER. As with all steps of cheesemaking, cleanliness is next to godliness.
.
Once frozen, remove the cubes and put into a CLEAN sealed container or plastic freezer bags. It is a good idea to label the container to distinguish it from your thermophilic culture.
.
The resulting ice cubes are each 1 oz of mesophilic starter.
.
Add these cubes (thawed) to your recipes as required. The cubes will keep for about one month.
.
To make more starter simply thaw one cube and add into 2 cups of fresh milk. Mix thoroughly with a fork or a whisk. Allow the milk/culture to stand at room temperature (70 F/ 21 C) for 16-24 hours or until the consistency of fresh yogurt. Then follow from step 5.

Quote:

Thermophilic Starter Culture
..
Cheese cultures are necessary to inoculate the milk with friendly bacteria. These bacteria serve two functions. First, they cause the milk to become more acidic aiding its coagulation. Second, the bacteria help develop the flavor of the cheese.
.
Cheese cultures are divided into two basic types mesophilic and thermophilic. These terms describes at the temperature the culture thrives at. Mesophilic (from the Greek words meso – meaning intermediate and philic – which means loving) cultures thrive around room temperatures. Thermophilic (from the Greek words thermo – meaning heat and philic – which means loving)cultures require a higher temperature. Professional quality cultures can be bought from a cheesemaking supply company. They are usually available in a freeze dried form. A home-spun method is to use cultured buttermilk as a mesophilic starter or fresh yogurt as a thermophilic starter.
.
This simplest of cultures can generally be used for all recipes requiring a thermophilic starter. The taste of the final product will vary slightly from that of a true cheese culture.
.
Start with 2 cups of FRESH milk. Heat it to 185 F (85 C) on the range top or in a microwave. Be careful not heat to high or the cream will separate.
.
Let the 2 Cups of milk cool to at least 125 F (52 C) room temp.
.
Add one heaping table spoon of FRESH yogurt (either homemade or store bought “live and active culture” type like Dannon plain).
.
Mix the yogurt into the milk thoroughly with a fork or a whisk.
.
Keep the mixture at 110 F (44 C) for 8-10 hours until a firm yogurt has set. This can be done by using a double boiler on a low setting or by placing the inoculated milk into a small CLEAN mason jar placed in a warm water bath. The bath can be kept warm by placing it on an electric range top at the lowest possible setting (so that ‘ON’ light is just on). Monitor the temperature closely the first few times you do this and you will become a better judge of the temperature settings of your range top. This way with future cultures you can set the process up and not worry about it for 8-10 hours.
.
Pour this culture into a full sized CLEAN ice cube tray and put into your FREEZER. As with all steps of cheesemaking, cleanliness is next to godliness.
.
Once frozen, remove the cubes and put into a CLEAN sealed container or plastic freezer bags. It is a good idea to label the container to distinguish it from your mesophilic culture.
.
The resulting ice cubes are each 1 oz of thermophilic starter.
.
Add these cubes (thawed) to your recipes as required. The cubes will keep for about one month.
.
To make more starter simply thaw one cube and use it as the fresh yogurt used in step 3.

goatladie · #26 10/19/05, 11:34 PM

WOW! Thanks for all the recipes! I am definitely going to have to kick up the printer and check out those sites. I was thinking about trying some yogurt, but knew I would have to go to the store for yogurt, but then I saw I didn't even have to do that - Way Cool!

Home~Maker · #27 10/20/05, 08:25 AM

Well you do have to go buy it just once, the first time you make your own starter. I usually get the little single-serving Dannon container, because its only ingredient is MILK. Just make sure it's PLAIN yogurt, not flavored; fat-free is just fine. It will probably cost you about 50-60 cents

After that first time, making your own culture, you can make it again from what you've already made. I'm heading out on an errand in just a bit and plan to look for a replacement for my broken candy thermometer - it broke inside and only goes up to 150 F loll

I printed out all of the recipes from that site. I'm working on my own collection of do-it-yourself recipes to put in a binder for my own cookbook. I knew that three-hole paper punch would come in handy again someday! hehehe...

Oops, just remembered I printed them out on legal-size paper... argh

cheekinlady · #28 10/22/05, 12:39 AM

Home~Maker Thank you so much for those cheese recipes! I have been searching for weeks online for an easy recipe,without much luck. Yours look really easy! I've been buying goats milk from my friend and love it! I'm new to milk goats. And I want to try my hand at making cheese. So now I think I can accomplish that thanks to you! Have a great day! Susie

Home~Maker · #29 10/22/05, 03:53 AM

You're welcome!

I was so glad when I found the yogurt recipes in this book of mine, and equally glad to find the easy cheese recipes online. That's the easiest one (at that website) I've found so far for cottage cheese. I need to get some buttermilk to make the cheese culture, some cream, and good plans for a home-made cheese press, and I'm all set meself!

Home~Maker · #30 10/22/05, 04:17 AM

A few additions:

On one website I had read that you shouldn't use Junket brand rennet for making hard cheeses. But, on another (I think the one I shared above), it said that you CAN use Junket, but you have to use four times as much. If you raise and butcher your own animals, I know there are recipes online for making your own rennet, too; I plan on looking at the health food store next time I have the extra $ and getting some vegetable-based rennet.

Here are a few more links on cheesemaking at home that might be helpful for all of us:

http://www.efr.hw.ac.uk/SDA/cheese2.html The Basics of Making Cheese (now I see why rennet is needed sometimes; it's a coagulant)

http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/3_1999.htm Basic info and some recipes, mostly requiring rennet

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ListWeb...t&SelStart1=CM Shows a cheesemaking book title, plus LOTS of cheesemaking links!

http://www.fiascofarm.com/dairy/cheesepress.html Cool! Fias Co Farms has free cheesepress plans!

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser...ESE_MOVIES.HTM COOL! Two RealPlayer cheesemaking MOVIES! Now we can SEE how it's done! Looks like they show how to make a SUPER-easy cheese press, too!!

*whew* I had no idea I'd find that much so quickly... Is Google the best thing ever or what? loll... I may add more later if anyone's interested, but the last two I got from the GourmetSleuth list of links. Got to go to work for a couple of hours, but I intend to watch the cheesy movies when I get home!

Jillis · #31 10/29/05, 04:20 PM

Oooooooooo! I loooove threads like this one!

All my favorite stuff!
I have 2 5-month old Alpines (Serafina and Chrysanthemum), 1 6-month old Nubian (Esmerelda, already the graceful, beautiful herd queen), 1 4-yo Nigerian Dwarf (Butterscotch, came already named, recovering from being abused), her daughter---the sweetest little Alpine-Nigerian Dwarf cross you ever saw---7 weeks old, named "Fawn" because she is so deer-like, and another little golden Nigerian Dwarf doeling, 6 weeks old, named Blossom, and her daddy bred Butterscotch the week we brought her home---he was the handsomest he-goat I ever laid eyes on!
I am excited with the recipes.
My Alpines are so affectionate and sweet...the Nubian is a little more independent, but we bottle raised the Alpines, so that may explaim it. The mature doe is hesitant but has learned to trust us...of course the babies are very loving, cute and affectionate.
Thanks to all for all the great info in this thread!
Blessings, Jillis!