Step one: find a nice goat like Aurora, a British Alpine goat that lives in Nevada City.

Just a few steps will take you to your very own homemade goat cheese!

Tricia milks goats and shows you how to prepare homemade goat cheese in our new video.

Tricia milked Aurora and then they went for a stroll.

Recipe for homemade goat cheese

Back in the kitchen, Tricia got going with 1 gallon of goat milk (you can buy pasteurized goat milk if you don’t know an obliging goat like Aurora).

Tricia used our Fresh Goat Cheese Kit that has cultures, rennet, cheese molds, and butter muslin. Tricia added a dairy thermometer to her cheese-making tools, and a candy thermometer will work if its range is low enough.

Sterilize your utensils and molds in boiling water for 20 minutes.

Heat the goat milk to 80-86F.

Add the culture and let it set for 2 minutes. Stir from the top to the bottom of the pot. Cover the pot and set it aside in a closed, unheated oven (or other warm area) for 20-24 hours.

When you uncover the pot you will see that the solids (curds) have separated from the liquid (whey). Yes, just like Little Miss Muffet “eating her curds and whey”.

Line a colander with butter muslin and place both over a large bowl. Pour the curds and whey into the lined colander.

Use the bowl of whey as a special treat for pets ad livestock—Tricia gave some to her dog—and it will also be enjoyed by chickens, pigs and cows. Pour extra whey on the soil of acid-loving plants.

Tie up the muslin around the curds and hang it to drain over a pot for 6-12 hours.

Mix 1 teaspoon of salt into the curds (1 teaspoon of salt for each gallon of milk used in the recipe).

Form the curds into 2 logs, or pack them into molds.

Tricia rolled one of her chevre logs in fresh, chopped herbs from her garden.

Find new ways to add seasonings to your chevre in our article How to make flavored goat cheese.

Once you have created your own Goat Cheese and the even faster Mozzarella Cheese, keep on exploring the world of homemade cheeses with our cheese-making kits.

For more homemade cheese information

*  Home Dairy is a hardcover book by Ashley English that includes techniques for making a range of dairy products, including cheese as well as yogurt and butter.
*  Home Cheesemaking by the famed Ricki Carroll has instructions for making cheese, and recipes for cooking with cheese. 
*  A short intro to the world of dairy is the booklet Making Cheese, Butter & Yogurt (again by Ricki Carroll).

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