Three kids are sold and gone. The two wethers and two bucks are left and still gorging on milk. But there is enough leftover now and it’s time for cheese again.
As with so many things, I no longer do a lot of cheese or kinds of cheese. Every Monday I do a small batch of a mozzarella type. Occasionally I do the vinegar set ricotta
Milk Is the Beginning
Most cheese directions begin in the kitchen. I prefer to start in the milk room as cheese actually begins with milk.
Ozark summers bring warm mornings. These in turn sour milk. This does not make good cheese or table milk for that matter.
Some years back I tried to come up with a way for cool my milk before it even made it into the kitchen. This matters as warm milk takes a long time to cool down in the refrigerator and makes it work harder, not a good thing with older refrigerators in a hot kitchen.
My solution was to freeze a juice bottle of water. This is placed in the milk tote when I go out. The warm milk cools a lot as the ice melts inside the bottle.
When you try this, remember water expands about ten percent when it freezes, so leave room in the bottle. Use a thicker plastic juice bottle, 20 ounce. Tighten the lid securely.
Pasteurizing
I made this mistake once. My cheese never set. If you do pasteurize, you will need starters for the milk to replace what the heat killed.
My cheese is made from raw milk. Yes, raw milk can carry diseases. However, I know my goats and don’t use milk from goats feeling ill.
Another check is how long the milk stays good in the refrigerator. Mine stays good for over a week. I keep my equipment clean, my glass bottles clean and put the milk up as soon as I get in from the milk room.
Now It’s Time for Cheese Again
Next week I’ll post about making fresh milk ricotta. I don’t make big batches any more so I’ll start with three quarts of fresh milk, just in from the milk room.
