Once, about seven hundred years ago, goat cheese was not a delicacy, and eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner was considered the norm.
Nowadays, in the conditions of fierce competition of cheese producers, the product has received a status that limits territorially the possibility of making copies of it and using the original names.
A livestock breeding tradition has developed in our country - breeding mainly cattle, and therefore the raw material base allows us to produce cheeses mainly from cow's milk, which, of course, limits the taste preferences of goat cheese lovers.
In addition to this, sanctions and counter-sanctions have appeared that have limited the export of goat cheeses from countries traditionally engaged in raising goats and sheep and producing cheeses from goat milk.
This circumstance further narrowed the range of cheeses in the domestic market.
Typically, it takes 12-13 liters of milk to make a kilogram of goat cheese. This factor explains the high cost of the product. The ripening period of cheese can reach several months - this affects the profitability of goat cheese production and explains why farmers prefer to breed cattle. But the value of goat’s milk is nevertheless more significant in that it is more similar in composition to human milk and milk formulas for babies are produced on its basis, while natural cow’s milk contains a smaller amount of enzyme, lipase, which dissolves fats and contributing to better absorption of the product.
Fortunately, we are still actively engaged in goat breeding in private farms, international standards are not a decree for us, and if we have our own goats, then there will be goat cheese. Therefore, the production of goat cheese is our answer to all prohibitions on production and sanctions.
There remains only one small obstacle - the exact recipe for goat cheese. Since most of the recipes of the most famous goat cheeses are kept by their producers in the strictest confidence, it remains only to search for their recipes, try, experiment. Although, there is a definite positive point: this is how the famous cheeses Feta, Manchego, Ker de Chevre, Brynza, Krottin and many others came into being. Who knows, it may happen that searches for an original recipe lead to new discoveries.
How to make goat cheese at home - basic technological principles
Before considering the technological aspects of preparing cheese from goat milk, it is necessary to consider in more detail its biochemical composition, which affects the quality and taste characteristics of goat cheese, and also plays a significant role in the preparation technology itself.
Proteins and fats of goat's milk are smaller in comparison with the elements of cow's milk, and their content is also somewhat lower. Therefore, homemade goat cheese is obtained as a dietary product in comparison with cow cheese. Small balls of fat in the process of fermentation of milk slip into the whey, as a result of which the resulting milk clot contains less fat than in fermented cow or buffalo milk. Another feature of goat's milk is its low acidity, which is why casein turns into flakes that are badly bonded to each other during the ripening process.
For fresh, not processed form, the indicated properties of goat milk have a positive assessment: it does not cause heartburn, allergic reactions, but for the preparation of cheeses from it requires special preparation of raw materials.
Goat milk is mixed with cow's milk to improve clotting and increase the mass fraction of dry matter. Since the coagulability of cow's milk is on average 10% higher, so adding a small fraction of it will not greatly affect the taste of goat cheese.
Next way allowing to increase the coagulability of goat milk and get a denser clot during ripening - the introduction of an increased rate of sour milk bacteria and regulation of the acid-salt composition of the raw material. At home, sour cream, yogurt based on cow's milk (10-20% by weight of goat's milk) can be used as a starter culture. The disadvantage of this method of ripening is that you have to independently calculate the amount of fermentation to be added each time, and for goat milk the ripening time plays a big role: it cannot be overexposed in order not to get an undesirable aftertaste.
In order to obtain a dense, stable clot, as well as the maximum separation of dry matter from serum, it is good to apply heating with a preliminary addition of a solution of citric acid, calcium chloride, pepsin. I must say, if there was a strong desire to do home-made cheese, then it is better to purchase special starters in specialized stores in advance, since there are many of them now. You can order the necessary goods for the production of cheese for home delivery, and receive at the appointed time not only the leaven with detailed instructions for its use and the calculation of the norm, but also the missing cheese molds, pistons, presses and even a chamber for ripening cheese. Crockery is also important for home-made cheese: if it is available in the right amount and convenient, the process of making homemade goat cheese will be an easy and fun task, so much so that you can think about your own small business. Believe me, even if you have to buy milk from farmers, due to the lack of their own farm, then taking into account the cost of goat cheese, the cost of purchasing raw materials and cooking will quickly pay off.
As for the taste characteristics of goat cheese, here you need to pay attention to two points.
First of all, goat cheese, just such a taste as in France or Spain, it will never work in Russia, even if the secret is revealed how to make homemade goat cheese using the original technology of its producer. The fact is that the habitat of the Spanish and French goats differs from our area, accordingly there are differences in feed, which significantly affects the quality characteristics of goat cheese. This also includes the breed of goats, their conditions, age and other physiological characteristics of animals. But it's not a problem. It is possible that cheese from the milk of local goats will come out even better than one that meets European standards.
However, the second important point should not be ignored. Still, goat milk must be selected with utmost care. It sometimes has a very specific and unpleasant odor, due to improper conditions for keeping animals and insufficient compliance with sanitary standards. This smell may not disappear even after pasteurization of milk and remain in the finished cheese, but it must be borne in mind that there are also cheese recipes involving the use of raw milk.
In retail chains, pasteurized goat milk is usually offered. Its advantage is that it does not have a specific smell, but it is this feature that makes it impossible to get some varieties of homemade goat cheese, as this smell and taste should be felt in them. In addition, pasteurization also affects technological principles and requires the addition of additional components to milk in accordance with specific recipes.
The rest of the technology for making homemade goat cheese is no different from cheese based on cow's milk. Given the above, one should only be more scrupulous about the initial stages - the selection of raw materials, fermentation of goat milk, the introduction of yeast and rennet, and the production of curd grain. Further, the preparation of homemade goat cheese depends entirely on the recipe. For sour-milk fresh cheeses, after all the above operations have been completed, the cheese preparation process almost ends there, since after separation of the whey the product goes through a short ripening stage. For hard cheeses after receiving curd grain, further processing is required - melting. Only after that, hard cheeses are sent for ripening.
On the classification of cheeses according to the method of their manufacture and assortment, it is only worth saying that this is a very extensive topic, and it is better to consider it separately, because there are about two thousand known cheese varieties in the world now. Naturally, the methods of their preparation, the composition of the formulation also differ from each other. Lovers of goat cheese have probably been familiar with the assortment for a long time, and inquisitive housewives, accustomed to experiments, can try their hand and test the skill on the proposed recipes. For beginners in home-made cheese making, it will be better to practice the simplest goat cheese recipes.
Recipe 1. How to make homemade goat cheese, brine
Composition:
Natural goat milk 5 l
Salt
Pepsin
Cooking:
Heat fresh milk to 30 ° C, enter rennet, previously dissolved in a small amount of milk, in accordance with the instructions on the packaging of the drug. Stir the milk until a clot forms. Let the mass stand and condense for 20-30 minutes. Remove the resulting clot, previously cutting it into cubes, using a slotted spoon. It is necessary to spread the clot on a cotton cloth or cheesecloth, rolled up four times, to prevent the solid particles of cheese mass from draining. For convenience, gauze can be put in a colander or in a cheese mold, with holes in the bottom for draining the whey. Cover the warm clot with a napkin to protect it from being wound and from foreign impurities. Set on a pallet. When the cheese is sufficiently tight, put on top of the napkin oppression. Soak for 10-12 hours. At this time, it is better to store the cheese in a cool room or refrigerator (away from the freezer). From the whey, prepare the brine, add 10-16% of table salt to it, to taste, and warm until completely dissolved. Free cheese from oppression, unfold, cut into large pieces, 150-170 g each, and put in a warm brine. When it cools, close the container with a lid and store in the refrigerator, but not more than five days.
Recipe 2. How to make homemade goat cheese - French Crottin, with white mold
For this recipe, it is best to purchase the ingredients in advance at specialized points of sale in order to get the cheese that best matches the original taste.
Composition:
Goat milk 4 l
Rennet Liquid 0.6 g
Calcium Chloride (solution) 2 ml
Geotrichum Candidum mold (powder) 0.2 g
Sourdough, mesophilic 1.5 g
Cooking:
Attention: Use only sterile dishes and wear gloves.
For making small heads, you can use cake pans. They need to be treated with alcohol and installed on a drainage mat, which, in turn, lay on a grate with a tray. To ripen the cheese, you will also need a container with a lid and a grill installed inside, as well as napkins, which will need to be changed during the cheese ripening period (14 days).
Heat the milk to 25 ° C and introduce mold and sourdough, gently stir until the powders dissolve. Then enter the abomasum and the calcium chloride solution. Mix again and leave, covered with a lid until a tight clot forms, for 17-20 hours. Do not cover tightly to allow air to enter. The clot should settle to the bottom of the dishes and cover with a layer of serum. Collect the serum from the surface and begin to lay the clot in the prepared forms. Immediately, the whole clot does not fit, so you need to wait until it thickens as a result of draining the remaining whey, and continue to lay out the curd mass - note that it is designed for 10 forms, and making heads of a smaller volume is not recommended.
Cover the cheese in the molds with a sterile cloth for two days. After 24 hours, turn the molds over, leaving them still on the drainage mat. The cheese will continue to be pressed for another day under its own weight. After remove the form and sprinkle it with salt. After three days, transfer the cheese to a ripening container. The further cooking process is to take care of the cheese for two weeks - during which time it will reach the necessary organoleptic characteristics. Store the container at 8-10 ° C, do not close tightly, change napkins every day. If vapors appear on the lid of the container, wipe it with a sterile cloth to prevent condensation from dripping onto the cheese.
Requirements for the quality of cheese: a white wrinkled crust should appear on the surface. The appearance of blue mold indicates high humidity during the ripening period. The crust should also not crack, which indicates too low humidity.
Store the finished cheese in a separate container, wrapped in parchment, at 5 ° C, for up to 1.5 months.
Recipe 3. How to make homemade goat cheese - French Valence with a coal crust
Composition:
Milk, goat 4.5 l
Two types of mold - 1.25 mg each:
Geotrichum Candidum,
Penicillium Candidum;
Abomasum 5 mg
Mesophilic Yeast 7 mg
CaCl solution 2 mg
Salt, charcoal - 3 tsp each.
Cooking:
The whole process of making this cheese coincides with the previous recipe, with the exception of some points of the final stage - cheese ripening. In addition, the cheese head should be in the form of a truncated pyramid, weighing about 0.5 kg.
At the stage when the formed cheese mass needs to be processed with salt, combine it with charcoal (it is desirable that it be the ash of burnt fruit trees). Maturing term in the container - 10 days at a temperature of 8 ° C.
Cheese should be stored in parchment paper, folded in two layers, for two months.
Recipe 4. How to make homemade goat cheese - Halloumi
Composition:
Milk (goat or cow) 6 l
Pepsin (solution) 2 ml
Salt, fresh mint (mixture) 50 g
Cooking:
In the fresh warmed milk, enter the abomasum solution and continue to warm the milk to 35-38 ° C for 20-30 minutes. After letting it stand for a while, a sufficiently dense clot forms. Separate the whey and put the cheese into cooked, gauze-lined molds with holes for draining the whey. Place the molds on the grill in the pan. Also cover them with gauze. Turn the molds over twice within two hours to make the cheese better pressed. Remove the forms, leaving the cheese on the wire rack.
Heat the drained whey in a saucepan and transfer the cheese into it along with the wire rack. Warm up for half an hour, not allowing boiling of whey (temperature - 90-95оС). Ready cheese floats to the surface. Gently place it on a plate, slightly press down with your hands when it becomes warm and fold flat circles in half, in the shape of a crescent. Treat the surface with a mixture of salt and minced fresh mint.
Store in a closed container, 2 weeks, without drying out. This cheese has a high melting point and is very suitable for grilling.
Recipe 5. How to make homemade goat cheese with cream of cow's milk
Composition:
Cream (50%) 1.0 L
Goat milk 2 L
Lemon juice 300 ml
Sour cream (at least 25%) 250 g
Cooking:
Combine dairy products and steam, so as not to burn. Bringing to 30 ° C, gradually add natural lemon juice to the milk mass, with a thin stream, while continuously and smoothly stirring. As soon as the separation of whey begins at the walls of the pan, turn off the stove, stop stirring and let the mass stand until it cools completely. Separate the whey by pouring the contents of the pan into cheesecloth lined with a colander (place a tray under it in advance). After 12 hours, transfer the cheese to a blender, add sour cream and kill.
Cream cheese can be used to make dessert or snacks. When adding sour cream, you can also use various flavors: spicy greens, bacon, fish, mushrooms.
Recipe 6. How to make homemade goat cheese with spices, brine type
Composition:
Milk, whole 10.0 L
Rennet 5 ml
Calcium Chloride 3 ml
Salt
Spice:
coriander,
caraway,
dried paprika and tomatoes,
basil and olives,
dill and garlic
Operating procedure:
For the preparation of feta cheese, you can use farm whole milk of any animals, either individually or in a mixture of any proportions.
The process of obtaining curd grain does not differ from previous recipes: an enzyme is introduced, calcium salts when heated. After separation of the whey, any of the spicy compositions is added to the curd mass, and the prepared mass is placed under the press for a day. After that, the feta cheese can be stored in brine from table salt and water, but if you want to give the cheese extra piquancy, put it on a wire rack and sprinkle it with a mixture of salt and the greens that are already inside the head.
How to make homemade goat cheese - useful tips and tricks
For the preparation of blue cheese, sterile conditions must be observed to prevent unwanted bacteria from entering the product.
If you need to collect a large amount of goat milk several times, then you need to store it only in pasteurized form, in the refrigerator. It is convenient to use a special immersion thermometer for pasteurization, which does not involve boiling milk, but prolonged heating to 65-70 ° C for 10-15 minutes.
So that the cheese does not burn on the stove during the melting process, use a steaming technique. Place a bowl of cheese on a stand immersed in a large pot of water.
The minimum volume of the cheese head should be at least 0.5 kg, since with a lower mass it is difficult to achieve the desired result. To make cheese of this weight, you need about five liters of milk.
The whey remaining after obtaining the curd grain can be used to prepare the brine. Whey has a valuable composition, so do not throw it away, but try to use it to prepare the dough. It can also be useful for fermenting milk the next time you make cheese. Ricotta can be made from clean and fresh whey.
