I have a confession to make. I’m addicted to cheese (there must be a group for this, like Cheese Lover’s Anonymous). Seriously, I could easily eat a whole block. So it’s nice when I learned how to make my own using fresh, raw goats milk from our own animals (Somehow there is much less guilt associated with eating a bunch when I make it myself).
Today my lunch was mostly homegrown and homemade and I was so excited I just had to post about it!
Chevre mixed with home grown chopped jalapenos on top of homemade gluten free/grain free crackers with a side of home grown cucumbers.
This past weekend we made Chevre for the first time. It was a surprisingly simple process that had some tasty results, and I have to say, nothing is more satisfying than being able to eat the fruits of one’s labor (yeah, I know the goat helped, but I did have to milk her).
What the heck is Chevre?
Chevre is a creamy cheese made from goat’s milk. Honestly, I knew very little about it until we got goats and started researching how to make our own cheeses. It comes in a wide variety of forms and textures from moist to dry, sharp to mild, fluffy or a pile of curds. It’s been served for hundreds of years in France and Italy, but not surprisingly (since the US is behind the times on some things), we in the states are just catching on.
So how did I make it, you ask?
Ingredients
- 1 gallon fresh, raw goat’s milk
- Cheese cloth [affiliate link]
- Colander
- Chevre culture [affiliate link]
- Stainless steel pot
- Thermometer
- 1 ½ tsp sea salt
- Heat the milk up slowly to 86 degrees F (Note: you can use pasteurized milk, but I did not and it turned out fine. Besides I wanted to still have the benefits of raw milk). Use the thermometer to get an accurate reading.
- Add the culture and let sit 2 minutes and then stir in to dissolve.
- Cover the pot and allow it to set for 12 hours at room temperature (about 72 degree F). When the milk has coagulated (it will look like thick yogurt) you are ready to drain the curds.
- Uncover the pot and drain the whey (liquid portion). Place a colander in a bowl and line the colander with cheese cloth [affiliate link] then pour the Chevre into the cheese cloth.
- DON’T throw the whey out. It can be used to feed your chickens, if you have them, or as fertilizer on the garden. You can even made a dessert-like cheese called Gjetost (which I will try some day)
Looking for other uses for whey? Click Here
- Gather up the sides and tie. Now place a bowl underneath and hang in the refrigerator to allow it to drain further for 6-12 hours. The length of time you allow the cheese to hang and age depends on what texture and tanginess you would like. Shorter time will result in a softer, milder cheese; longer time will result in a tangier, harder cheese. Ours drained for about 8 hours and turned out like the picture below. It was firm and mold-able and VERY tasty….can you say “heavenly?”
- Knead in the salt. The salt slows up the aging process, however, the longer you keep it refrigerated, the drier and the tangier the cheese becomes. At this time you can also add herbs or peppers like I did in the first photo.
- Place in containers. My girls wanted to roll them into cheese balls. Chevre will be good for about 10 days in the fridge.
Here is a video to help you out:
The cracker recipe is courtesy of The Paleo Mom. These are a favorite in the house.
Ingredients:
- 1 egg, whisked until frothy
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter from pastured cows, melted and cooled
- 3 cups blanched almond flour
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1½ tsp salt
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix salt, honey, melted butter and frothy egg together.
- Work in the almond flour to form a stiff dough.
- Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper (it’s a bit easier to deal with half of the dough at a time). Roll to about 1/8” thick. Peel the top layer of parchment paper off and cut the dough into 1½“ squares (or whatever shape you like).
- Place dough squares onto prepared baking sheets, spaced fairly close together.
- Bake for 7-8 minutes, until just starting to brown. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!
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