Cheese. There is nothing quite like eating cheese! Depending on my mood, I love the nuttiness of a hard manchego paired with a sweet homemade jam (quince or a mellow marmalade) and a hard piece of toasted crostini; or a creamy, creamy feta. While living in Greece several summers ago, I discovered Bulgarian Feta–I would buy it in slices from the feta counter (yes, imagine your specialty grocery store’s cheese counter–except it is all different kinds of feta!), a few fresh tomatoes still warm from the sun and just eat them together on my walk home, juices running down my hands and arms probably with a huge grin on my face. But I digress, because there is a special place in my heart for a good goat cheese too. And luckily for me (and maybe you too!) it is very easy to make.
When I first saw this recipe, I had to read it a few times because the photos were so stunning. My eyes kept roving over the screen, drinking in the milky-white images–of what?–and once it registered–homemade cheese–I set to work making some myself. With a huge grin on my face 
.
I’ve made it a few times since my first try, trying a new fresh herb chopped finely and stirred in, or just eating it naked–with a sprinkling of sea salt. And each time I feel a little surprised at how easy it is to do! (Both make it AND eat it, that is). And the flavor is wonderful, mellow, with a hint of the lemon–which I absolutely love mingling with the sea salt and/or fresh herbs. I toast up some bread I’ve made, or a baguette I’ve picked up in the oven sprinkled with a little olive oil and wa la! It becomes the best hor d’oeuvres, snack, lunch, dinner, or all of the above.
I highly recommend giving this a try! Pick up some fresh goats milk (pasteurized is better than ultra-pasteurized if you can find it–I’ve used both with good results though…) from the store, grab a few lemons, and sniff through the fresh herbs checking to see which ones look the best and go from there. Serve it to your friends and they will be wildly impressed. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me . Cheers!
Homemade Goat Cheese via Kiss My Spatula via Over the Rainbeau, Living the Dream of Sustainable Farming
“Feel free to experiment with your herb(s) of choice and any other flavor combinations that float your boat. The sky’s the limit! Be careful not to drain your cheese for too long, as it may begin to dry out and lose that supple, creamy consistency you’re going after. If you do happen to lose track of time, reserve the whey “drippings” and fold, 1/4 tsp at a time, back into the cheese until you reach your desired consistency.”
Ingredients
1 quart pasteurized goat’s milk (avoid ‘ultra’-pasteurized)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 clove freshly grated garlic
a few pinches herbs de provence
freshly chopped parsley
coarse salt, to taste
Method
In a medium saucepan, slowly heat milk until it reaches 180 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Let stand until milk starts to curdle, about 15-20 seconds. If milk does not curdle, add a little more lemon juice.
Line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. Ladle milk into colander. Pull up and tie the four corners of cheesecloth together and hang on the handle of a wooden spoon, set over a stockpot or very deep bowl. Allow to drain until the consistency of slightly dry cottage cheese is reached, about 1-1.5 hours. Transfer to a bowl and fold in salt, herbs and garlic. Serve immediately atop warm crostinis. Can be stored in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 1 week.
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i really have to try this! i love goat's cheese!
This looks so delicious! I do, however, encourage not going with ultra-pasturized goat milk to make this fabulous looking cheese. I attempted this with ultra-pasturized goats milk (the only kind my whole food carries) and was unable to get the milk to curdle even after adding a full cup of lemon juice and a bit of vinegar out of desperation. oh well. Hopefully, once the farmer's market opens again and fresh, lightly pasturized milk is available I can try this again with better results. I'm envious of the clearly superior ingredients available in Portland!
oh no! yes, it works MUCH better when you use just regular pasteurized goats milk–the few times I've tried it with the ultra, I've had to add pretty much the same amount of lemon juice–two lemons worth of squeezing–for it to begin to curdle, and the curdles are tiny tiny. I can't wait for the farmers markets to open up again too, then we'll be in business!
Wonderful, thank you! Do you mind if I link back to this on my blog?
Sure, feel free! Your blog is wonderful, by the way
OK, OK, you've convinced me. I'm making this asap — assuming I can find goat's milk. Whole Foods, perhaps? Or is that too mainstream?
pretty, pretty pics, by the way!
I believe whole foods has goats milk…not 100% positive, but I think I remember a friend of mine getting hers there–good luck and thanks for the compliment!
If anyone else is having a hard time with ultra pasteurized milk, a friend of mine just emailed me with this helpful link. She said "This post seems a bit extreme (like many of her view points), but it seems like it's good to have that voice out there to balance out the rest of the food-industrialized world if we can all meet in the middle. This would also explain why I had so much trouble with the ultra-pasteurized goats' milk not curdling for cheese. Denature the proteins in milk, and you aren't going to be able to make it curdle!"
http://www.foodrenegade.com/just-say-no-to-uht-milk/#more-1639
I really love goat cheese it is really delicous. Most of the time I eat it as a dessert or use it to make a salsa.
Es la mejor pagina que existe en internet, hasta el dia de hoy. Realmente los felicito, (AL GRAN CHEFF) es algo maravilloso, sobre todo las ilustraciones preciosas que tienen.
Sigan asi por favor!!!
SUSANA RAQUEL GALLERO
Gracias, al gran cheff:). Estoy feliz que te haya gustado!
Wow your blog post actually makes a lot of sense, unlike most others. and thats not easy to accomplish. Keep it up buddy !!