Homemade Goat Cheese
Thursday, August 5, 2010 at 8:28PM Not too long ago I would have wrinkled up my nose at the mention of goat cheese. That response would have been triggered by the name included the animal, the association to milking a goat would gross me out. But somewhere along the way of reaching my thirties I became a wee bit more open minded and gave goat cheese a try. Now it is among my favorites. I love it with crusty bread or good crackers to nibble on while we make dinner.
Making goat cheese has been on my list of things to try for a long time. I have been on this kick of wanting to try my hand at making basic staples and goat cheese looked simple enough. And it was simple. Yet so satisfying to make.
And good... so good that next time we will clearly need to separate his and her portions so that both get their share. Dear husband was sneaky this time and finished it off while I was at a photography class.
This simple recipe lends itself well to being adapted per taste. I really like goat cheese with herbs so decided to add fresh basil, parsley, and marjoram (all from our garden!) but it would be just as good without the herbs or some other combination.
Homemade Goat Cheese
Source Kiss My Spatula
- 1 quart pasteurized goat’s milk (avoid ‘ultra’-pasteurized)
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 clove freshly grated garlic
- freshly chopped herbs (basil, marjoram, and parsley work well together)
- coarse salt, to taste
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 (but note that adding too much here will add a distinct lemon flavor to the cheese).
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 crusty bread.
Can be stored in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 1 week.
Enjoy!
~ Tara
cheese, homemade pantry 
Reader Comments (6)
Yum! I've been wanting to try my hand at homemade cheese, and this looks like a simple enough recipe to start with. Oh, and I had to smile at your need to "separate his and hers portions." We need to do that in our house, too!
You used a quart of goats milk in your recipe. About how much cheese does this yield? I really want to try this but if it is as easy and yummy as it sounds, I will need to make sure to have enough to share! :) Thanks so much for sharing!!!
~Lana B~
Thanks for mentioning avoiding "ultra pasteurized" -- I learned the hard way!!
Lana, I didn't even think to weigh it after it was done. My rough estimate is that it was the same amount if not a bit more than the packs of goat cheese at the store- so around 5 ounces. I will have to remember to weigh it next time!
I am definitely going to have to try this! It seems so very simple - now...off to find a local producer who will sell me some goat milk.
Oh yes. I love goat's cheeses..any and all varieties and have had it on my list of staples to make at home for a while now. I even have the cheesecloth ready at hand...but keep forgetting to buy the milk. Now I'm motivated though, it just looks so good!!