I make a lot of kefir and yogurt not only because we love the taste but because it truly is such a simple process for me to churn it out. For a long time I was just a bit intimidated by cheesemaking and thought that maybe it was just too much to take on.
But now with an abundance of milk and only so much yogurt and kefir a family of six can eat (which is quite a lot, actually), I felt obligated to turn that milk into one more option for the plate.
After giving it a go, I was happy to find out that these simple cheeses are really no more difficult than the milk and kefir making process.
One of the most important aspects for me at this stage in the cheesemaking process is keeping the cheese raw. Preserving the natural goodness of the milk we are working with is right up there with a cheesemaking process that requires little hands-on time. Thankfully most of the simple cheeses you can make are raw in their very nature.
In fact, the process of making this chevre and many of the other simple cheeses is much like those other everyday basics of home dairying. I simply heat the milk gently and then sprinkle over the culture packet which also contains the minimal amount of rennet needed to set the soft curd. After a few minutes the culture and rennet have dissolved and you just stir it for a quick minute.
I then cover the pot and allow it to culture all day. After 12-18 hours the curd sets to the point where the curd looks like a firm yogurt and the whey separates just a little. Then I spoon it into the Greek Yogurt Maker mostly because I find it much easier to clean than the butter muslin that I would use otherwise. I let this drip for 6-12 hours, depending on how dry I want the final cheese.
Using Soft Cheese
Besides spreading this deliciously mild cheese on all sorts of sourdough bread products and rice cakes, we’ve been adding it to other dishes where a little creamy goodness is called for:
- As a pizza topping.
- Mixed into salads.
- On top of baked potatoes.
- In soup.
- On tacos.
These soft cheeses really are versatile enough to sprinkle on just about any type of cuisine. And that’s a couple more gallons of milk a week that I’m able to take from goat to table.
from Cultures for Health Blog http://ift.tt/1XAYHEH
via The Shining Mind
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1MVVnfP
No comments:
Post a Comment