Cheddar cheese made from goat milk

[thegriffiths]

So, does cheddar cheese from goats milk taste like cheddar cheese from the store? Or does it taste like goat cheese?

Thanks!

[CaliannG]

Cheddar cheese tastes like cheddar cheese, whether it is made from cow, goat, sheep, mare, or yak milk. It is not the origin of the milk that makes a cheese "cheddar", but the cheddaring process.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Yup. Cheddaring and aging. We eat a lot of 'young' goat milk cheddar, so it's not as strongly cheddar flavored, but it's a lovely cheese.

[Hollowdweller]

I'll be the odd man out here.

All cheese tastes like the milk it comes from.

I have tasted goat chedder that was like the sort you get in the store, some that was way better than that and some that was very goaty.

I have friends that make and sell it commercially, and I've tasted 2 difft batches of theirs, one that was some of the best I've ever eaten and another very bucky.

We are used to cows milk so we don't notice but cows milk cheddar varies also.

[April]

The only difference I've found in cheese we've made from cow's milk vs. cheese from goat's milk is that the goat's milk cheese is a bit drier and crumblier. That's probably something I'm doing wrong!

[CageFreeFamily]

how much goat milk does it take to make a pound of cheddar?

[Hollowdweller]

depends

[chewie]

how long is a piece of string? had to say it! I'm getting 2 6-7inch wheels, using 4 gallons raw milk. I have saanens, so that might make my yield less. I use the book 200 easy homemade cheese recipes, I like that it uses 4 gallons at a time, I find it easy to understand, and so far, the products have been very good. the gouda is our favorite!

my cheddar is very sharp, and also a bit drier and crumbly-er. I like the colby I made from goat milk better, but I've only opened one. if the others turn out similar I will just make that instead of any cheddar.

slight thread drift, but if my cheddar is plenty sharp now, can I put it in the reg. fridge to keep it from going any further?

[stanb999]

The folks that don't taste goat are folks that don't taste goat. Folks that do... do.

All milk contains enzymes that break down the lipids that surround the fat in the milk. This is always the case. Pasteurized or not.

Goat milk fat has a weaker lipid shell so the enzymes break it down more rapidly. This is what gives goat milk and it's products the characteristic flavor. If you work with it your products will taste great. If you use standard cow milk recipes and you taste goat, you will be disappointed. I like recipes that are salty and sweet. Or spicy and sour. Not salty and sour or spicy and sweet. I taste goat.

The fresher the milk is when you make the cheese the less goaty it will be. But it will be goaty to some always.

p.s. The "thinner" shell is what makes goat milk so highly digestible, Or differently it's the "good" part.

P.P.S Goat milk fresh should taste sweet and fresh,and should taste that way for about a week. If you have goaty milk off the bat your doing something wrong.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I will say that my chevre made with fresh milk doesn't taste goaty like the chevre you get from a store. My friends also say this.

Yes, goat cheddar is dryer and crumblier. It's the different structure of the proteins. We eat it anyway.

[CaliannG]

Hmmm, stanb, what if you are a person that likes ALL of those flavors?

I will maim you for some honey-roasted cashews. (salty and sweet)
Do yourself a favor, and don't get between me and some Thai style sour chicken. (sour and salty)
Mmmmmm, Vietnamese style sour pork! (spicy and sour)
Thai style cashew chicken! Lemme at it! (spicy and sweet)

I kinda have to be in the mood for sweet and sour though, I have to admit.

I don't know what you are doing to your milk, but I just finished off a gallon that is 3 weeks old and it was JUST starting to turn and taste "off". (That goaty taste you get before it starts thinking about becoming sour)

[IndyGardenGal]

I can't eat store chèvre, plus if I get a hankering for the taste of store bought chèvre, I can go lick my buck.

[CaliannG]

Store bought goat ANYTHING tastes *nasty*. I don't know what they do to the stuff to make it taste so awful.

[stanb999]

Originally Posted by CaliannG

Hmmm, stanb, what if you are a person that likes ALL of those flavors?

I will maim you for some honey-roasted cashews. (salty and sweet)
Do yourself a favor, and don't get between me and some Thai style sour chicken. (sour and salty)
Mmmmmm, Vietnamese style sour pork! (spicy and sour)
Thai style cashew chicken! Lemme at it! (spicy and sweet)

I kinda have to be in the mood for sweet and sour though, I have to admit.

I don't know what you are doing to your milk, but I just finished off a gallon that is 3 weeks old and it was JUST starting to turn and taste "off". (That goaty taste you get before it starts thinking about becoming sour)

Those flavors aren't what I'm opposed to. They are the flavors that mesh with the goat flavor that is inherent in goat cheese.

Kinda like chevon with garlic, onions,and salt tastes bitter. But with rosemary and sage it is heavenly and sweet.

Your someone that doesn't taste goat. Some people can taste it at 1 day. Myself it generally takes about a week.

[stanb999]

Originally Posted by CaliannG

Store bought goat ANYTHING tastes *nasty*. I don't know what they do to the stuff to make it taste so awful.

It's because the age of the milk and milk products.
As I pointed out above it is a feature of goat milk.

[CaliannG]

Originally Posted by stanb999

It's because the age of the milk and milk products.
As I pointed out above it is a feature of goat milk.

~shakes her head~ I don't think so.

I have had store-bought chevre....and I have had chevre that has sat in the bottom of my crisper for God knows how long because DH had forgotten it was there.

I can't say that a tupperware container in a refrigerator crisper is the best environment to keep chevre for...oh.....6 months or so?

But it was STILL okay. A bit sharp, but okay.

Chevre from the store tastes like buck...so I am fairy certain that my taste of "goaty" works fine, as that stuff tastes goaty as all get out.

Goat milk from the store doesn't tend to taste "goaty". It actually tastes like someone spilled some bleach in it.

[stanb999]

Read up. It's rather interesting.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...557.x/abstract

Google "Flavor of goat milk and it's yogurt"


A ton of studies have been done. They are infact talking about adding Cyclodextrins(a food additive) to goat milk products to fix the issue. As a side note it's the active ingredient in febreze.


p.s. the reason they wish to do the effort is that goat milk is much better for you.

[Alice In TX/MO]

My experience is that fresh milk makes all the difference.

[stanb999]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

My experience is that fresh milk makes all the difference.

I agree to a point. IMHO, We as goat lovers shouldn't be blind to the facts and tell folks their milk wont taste goaty. All goat milk after a time develops off flavors. It's the nature of it. Those flavors don't necessarily mean the milk has gone bad, it's a component of the milk.

For instance I love the flavor of good thick and creamy strong tasting goat milk in my coffee, To me it doesn't taste goat at all. It has hints of the forest, adds to the roasted flavor to make it taste almost smoky. A truly different and lovely taste. Put butter made from week old cream on toast... I taste barn.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I don't use week old cream. Don't use week old milk.