Chevre Recipe
This is a basic recipe for making delicious chevre goat cheese from scratch. It can be the base for many variations, using both, savory and sweet ingredients.
Equipment
- 1 6 - 8 quart non-reactive pot - stainless steel is great
- 1 6 - 8 quart non-reactive pot or bowl - stainless steel or glass
- 1 30 x 30 inch piece of fine woven cheese cloth - I like standard flour sack towels, or you can use butter muslin, or any piece of muslin fabric from the fabric store.
- 1 Skimmer or large spoon
- 1/3 Measuring cup
- 1 Tablespoon measure
- 1 /8 Teaspoon measure if using kid paste - or just guess at half of a 1/4 teaspoon
- 1 Large towel
- 1 hook for hanging - optional
Ingredients
- 1 gal raw or pasturized goat's milk - you can use cow's milk too if you can't get goat's milk, but it wouldn't be called chevre.
- 1/4 cup home made starter culture or cultured buttermilk - refer to the instructions in the post to make your own starter from raw milk
- 2-4 tsp pure salt with no additives - avoid table salt, choose from pure sea salt, Himalayan pink salt, Redmond real salt or kosher canning salt
- 1/8 tsp Walcoren organic kid rennet - or use 3 drops of calf rennet or vegetable rennet. Or use 1/8 of a rennet tablet
- 1/3 cup non-chlorinated water
Instructions
- Use fresh warm milk from the goat or warm your milk to 85 °F
- Add the starter culture or buttermilk and incorporate it with an up and down motion
- Dilute the rennet you chose in the 1/3 cup of water and use only one tablespoon of that mixture. Mix it well into the milk by making an up and down motion with your skimmer or spoon. Stop the milk from moving after 15 -20 strokes.
- Cover the pot and wrap with a large towel to maintain an even temperature. The ambient room temperature should be about 70 - 85 degrees. You can put the pot into the sink and keep adding hot water to maintain that temperature if it's too cold in your room.
- Do not disturb for 24 hours, except if it's really hot out, you may want to check after 12 hours.
- Open the lid and check to see if there is a thin layer of whey above the curd. You're looking for a clear liquid with a thin velvety layer floating on top.
- If you see that, tilt the pot slightly to check for a solid curd underneath.
- If there is a solid curd, you can drain the whey. If not, let it sit for another 12 to 24 hours, checking at intervals.
- Now transfer the curd with your skimmer from the processing pot to a cheese-cloth-lined second pot or bowl.
- Gather three of the ends of the cloth, wrap the fourth around the three, then thread it under itself to tie into a knot. Use this knot to insert your hook and hang the bag. Test carefully to make sure it doesn't unravel. That would make a mess!
- Hang from a hook that is suspended from a cupboard knob, a rafter or other convenient place and let it drip into the second pot. Alternatively, if you don't have a hook, you can tie a noose knot and get that to tighten below the cheese bag knot.
- Check to make sure it stays suspended over the whey or hang it higher, or drain the whey occasionally. Keep the room temperature at about 75 degrees or a little warmer to facilitate drainage.
- After 24 hours remove the bag, open it, and break up the curd inside. If it's still runny, scrape the sides and hang it a little longer.
- Salt the curds and mix well, right inside the cheese cloth. I like to use a butter knife for that. Tie it up again and hang it for a few more hours to finish draining. The salt will help with drainage. The amount of salt depends on your preference. You don't need any salt if you use it fresh and in sweet recipes. If you plan to age it for a long time, use 3-4 teaspoons of salt, which will help with preservation. Taste and adjust.
- Now your cheese is ready to enjoy as is, or mixed with add-ons in the list above. Or pack into jars for storage. It can age for a year or more at 55 degrees in your cellar or wine fridge or you can keep it in the regular fridge.
Notes
This makes about 16 ounces of cheese.
If there is a white velvety mold growing on it, it won't hurt things. It might be that you captured a Penicillium camemberti strain that is trying to turn your cheese into Camembert. If you don't like it, scrape it off and use the cheese below. If there is any blackish or moldy smelling things growing on the top, I'd discard it. It has happend to me, but it is very rare and I've made at least 100 pounds of chevre over the years.
Tip: Save the whey! It has dozens of uses that you'll love!