We have a total surplus of fresh milk here. Considering how we are just two people and we are adding about a gallon of milk a day to the fridge, its hard to get ahead. Today I decided to tackle the problem head on. I made two batches of chocolate pudding. One batch I put in the freezer pop mold so we can enjoy them on a hot summer day. The other batch I put directly into jelly size mason jars to take in lunches. I made a batch of yogurt which should yield 7 yogurt containers worth of yogurt. And currently I have my attempt at cheese hanging from a cabinet pull. I followed a simple recipe for farmers cheese but had some issues. First off, during the time specified in the recipe, I didnt have any curds. So I had to re-cook the milk and add more lemon juice. That mixture bubbled over the pot. Now my kitchen smells like burnt milk. ulgh. On a good note, it did curdle that time and I have a nice batch of curds hanging. Hubby and I are going to the movies tonight so hopefully when we get back, we will have cheese.
Chickens will love the whey mixed with their mash or just put in a dish for them. You can drink it. And, I think you can use some to start the fermenting process for sauerkraut but I'm not sure how goat milk whey would smell with that.
ReplyDeleteWe made goat cheese using Rennet tablets from the grocery store. You find them near the ice cream making supplies. I think it was 1/4 tablet to a gallon of milk. It is very easy to do and maybe more predictable than the lemon juice. We did not pasteurize or boil our milk but just used it still warm from the goats.
Also, I recommend Voile cloth instead of the cheese cloth for straining. The voile will last a lot longer and be easier to clean. JoAnn's has it and you can use a coupon to get just a yard and cut it to the sizes you want.
Stringmaker
(Ravelry)
Stringmaker- Thanks for the advice about rennet instead of lemon juice. I will have to see if the grocery store has some next time I am there. Maybe ill use a JoAnns coupon if there is one in tomorrow's paper and try the voile cloth. We have been giving the chickens milk if the goats step in it while we are milking. They love it! They also get yogurt that is just a bit past its prime. Thanks!
DeleteJessica