First Cheese

We made our first attempt at cheese and it turned out wonderful! Now granted, it was a simple soft cheese but we didn't want to do anything to complicated for our first foray into the world of fresh, home-made, goat cheese.

We used one gallon of whole, fresh, raw, goat milk. We heated it to 190 degrees F. Once it reached that temp, we removed it from the heat, added a half a cup of white vinegar and mixed it well. Then we covered it and let it sit. When it had cooled to 100 degrees, we lined a colander with a white pillow case ( if you do this, make sure its one that has no fabric softener on it) and ladled it into the pillow case. Do not pour it, it will splash everywhere. 

Once you have it all in the pillow case, pick up the pillow case and work it all into one corner and squeeze. Then hang the pillow case (we hung it in the shower) for one and half to two hours - longer if you want drier cheese. 

This cheese is extremely mild. We seasoned it with garlic,onion,paprika,parsley, basil, salt and pepper. The we shredded up a bunch of crab in it. We used imitation crab because, quite frankly, real crab is too expensive for this little hobby-homestead. 

This herb crab cheese is beyond delicious on crackers.  

Oat Bucket Farm Website