How to Make Goat Milk Cheese
by Kristie Leong MD on Nov 21, 2007 with 27 Comments
Goat milk cheese is both delicious and healthy. Here’s how to make goat milk cheese at home.
If you enjoy the taste of cheese but don’t like the high fat content and calories, you’ll want to discover the world of goat milk cheese. Goat milk cheese is lower in fat and calories than cheese made from cow’s milk. Goat cheese is also easier to digest if you’re lactose intolerant.
Unfortunately, goat cheese can be expensive and sometimes hard to find in your local supermarket. The good news is it’s easy to make your own goat milk cheese at home You don’t need a lot of complicated supplies or appliances to make goat cheese at home. In fact, if you have goat’s milk on hand, you can probably make it with supplies you already have in your kitchen. Here’s how to make homemade goat milk cheese:
Purchase Your Goat’s Milk And Supplies.
You’ll want to purchase around a half gallon of goat’s milk. Goat’s milk purchased from supermarkets tends not to be as fresh as what you can purchase from a farmer’s market or directly from the farm. If possible, pay a visit to your city market and see if there’s any fresh goat’s milk available. Another place to check is your local natural food store.
You’ll also need to purchase either lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to coagulate the cheese. An alternative is to use rennin which is an enzyme that serves as a coagulant. You may be able to purchase this at your local natural food coop or health food store. If not, the lemon juice or apple cider vinegar should work fine. You should also have some cheesecloth available for separating the curds from the whey.
Heat Your Goat’s Milk.
Pour your goat’s milk into a large stainless steel kettle and heat it to 190 degrees Fahrenheit. This is particularly important if you’re using fresh goat’s milk that hasn’t undergone the pasteurization process. Remove the kettle from the heat and allow your milk to cool to at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit before proceeding.
It’s Time To Make Cheese.
Once your goat’s milk has cooled to below 100 degrees Fahrenheit, slowly add two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to the milk. If you’re using rennin tablets, read the directions on the box. Once the coagulant has been added, you should start to see the curd separate from the whey. If not, slowly add more vinegar or lemon juice while stirring. Once separation has occurred, your curd should resemble balls of cottage cheese.
Separate The Curds From The Whey.
Using a ladle, spoon the curds out of the mixture and onto your cheese cloth. Once you’ve removed all of the curd, tie your cheese cloth at the top and allow it to hang for several hours over a container set up to catch the whey as it drips through the cheese cloth. What you’ll have in your cheese cloth are the delicious curds. In the jar, you’ll have the whey which can be used in cooking or discarded.
Refrigerate Your Curds.
Once you have your curds separated, refrigerate them for a day before tasting.
Now that you know how to make goat milk cheese, you can modify it by adding your own herbs and seasonings. Try adding parsley, basil, or any number of other fresh or dried herbs to your freshly made goat cheese. There are dozens of delicious recipes available online using goat cheese as an ingredient. Once you know how to make goat milk cheese at home, you’ll find so many delicious ways to use it. Why not give it a try?
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Published in: Cooking
suzanne | Jun 4, 2008 | Reply
It didn’t work!
maggie | Jul 17, 2008 | Reply
gonna try it..
fingers crossed
=]
anton | Sep 13, 2008 | Reply
Add vinegar or lemon/lime juice (2 tbs/pint) WITHOUT waiting for the milk to cool down.
Nancy | Dec 20, 2008 | Reply
How much cheese does a half-gallon of goat’s milk yield?
Cynthia | Jan 1, 2009 | Reply
Tried adding lemon juice at 100F and it didn’t work. So heated the milk back up and added lemon juice before the milk cooled. Still didn’t work. Also tried both ways with Apple Cider Vingar, still nothing. Giving up now.
Amy | Jan 2, 2009 | Reply
Had the same issue as Cynthia. I stirred the mixture for 20 minutes, still no separation. Anyone know why not? Did I do something wrong? I used a Meyenberg Goat’s Milk. Should I use a different brand? I am not willing to give up yet?
Vero | Jan 9, 2009 | Reply
If you got store bought ultra-pasteurized milk, it simply won’t produce any curds. The process of ultra pasteurization breaks down the protein structure and destroys the enzymes. You need to find a source of raw milk which you will pasteurize yourself, or milk that has already been pasteurized, but at lower temperatures. Good luck!
Nima | Jan 12, 2009 | Reply
Also, the recipe fails to mention that the separation of curds from the whey can take up to 18 hours rather than the before-your-eyes process implied here.
Destrie | Mar 7, 2009 | Reply
190 degrees sounds high to me I use to make yogurt from fresh goats milk and it was heated to no more than 120 degrees and cooled to 90 and kept there for 6 hrs
Gwen | Mar 9, 2009 | Reply
Add lemon juice until you see the seperation.
Bringing it to 190 degrees is just to pastuerize.
Pastor | Mar 10, 2009 | Reply
The first batch I made didn’t work so I let it sit over night by the heat. Still nothing in the morning so I brought it up to 190 and shut it down again. Added cider and it worked.
The second batch likewise didn’t work so after it cooled down under 100, I put the heat to it again to almost a boil. At this point it seperated as I added lemon juice. A third batch is cooling down now to try. The cheese tast great.
Mags H | Mar 16, 2009 | Reply
I am desperate to give it a go…watch this space
Pastor | Mar 21, 2009 | Reply
Mags,
My 3rd batch turned out good again after I turned the heat back up (see my last post).
I just made some more tonight. Used steel pot, had one gallon, brought it up to 175 for 10 mins.. Let it cool to 50 where I put in 4 tbs. lemon juice from a bottle. Turned it back on slowly up to 200. At this point it started to curd a little. Continued heat up to 225 stiring. Larger curds formed at this point. Shut it off and cooled down to 125. Ready to strain. I’m going to let it cool some more before I take it out of the pot.
Doe’s anybody know if more curd will form after my goats diet changes from hay and grain to grass this Spring. I didn’t try the cheese until Febuary after I returned from Kenya where I got the idea to make cheese here in the States.
carla | Apr 6, 2009 | Reply
what kind of goat do i need? live in the south
nero | May 13, 2009 | Reply
u need a live goat, female would be fine…
Krystina | May 19, 2009 | Reply
I went off the experience of Pastor, and it worked! Like others have said, you need fresh farm goat milk- not from the grocery store.
I heated mine to 190 degrees, let cool to about 112 degrees and added 2 1/2 tsp high quality vinegar to .75 gallon of goat milk. Nothing happened.
I reheated to 190 f and added the same amount of vinegar and IMMEDIATLY the curds started to shape.
1/2 gallon of goat milk makes about 1 cup of goat cheese.
Sandra | May 24, 2009 | Reply
I purchased 1 Ltr of goats milk from Coles. Heated it to just warm. Added the Rennet, nothing. Added juice of 1/2 Lemon, instantly the process started and so I added Salt and Chives at this point. Strained it for 1/2 Hour (I am impatient and helped it along)Lined a small container with plastic wrap and put the cheese in and refigerated it. Had no problem at all. Will let know how it tasts.
Dave | May 26, 2009 | Reply
I made a Billy Goat cheese. Perez Hilton loved it.
Deborah | Jun 14, 2009 | Reply
Don’t let it cool. Make sure it is heated high enough. The first time, I let it cool and the curds did not seperate when I added the lemon juice. The second time, I didnt let it cool, but I didn’t get it to 190 degrees and it did not seperate. The third time, I heated it to light boil, added vinegar this time, and it curdled.
Thomas | Jun 27, 2009 | Reply
just wanted to say thank you to all who have posted, In the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
I recently aquired two alpines, and am now milking another five. I have seven and approx. 4-5 gallons per day. I have frozen about 14 gallons after pasturising to 190. I am planning to try cheese tonight. on your comments here. Thomas Shockley, Manteca,ca.
Olli | Jul 4, 2009 | Reply
I used 1 qt of Poplar Hill Pasteurized goat milk, heated it to 125 and then down to 100, added 1tsp apple cider vinegar & then a bit of lemon juice. Nothing, after 30 minutes. So, I heated it back up to 175, and it began to boil and then separate.
I poured it through the cheese cloth and got about a cup and a half of curds.
I added dill and garlic to the warm curds last night,…and tasted it this morning MMM tastes great!
Any ideas of what to do with the whey?
Nanda | Jul 11, 2009 | Reply
A friend uses the whey as the base for a lemon-chicken soup.
Jenni | Jul 16, 2009 | Reply
I am going to try to make goat’s milk ricotta with the whey. See this illustrated link on how to make ricotta with whey. I will let you know how it turns out.
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Ricotta/ricotta_00.htm
Shirley Wilson | Aug 6, 2009 | Reply
I really want to try the cheese.I will as soon as I’ve saved a gal or so.Nanny just had her little ones a few days ago.She is a LaManchia goat.The butterfat is supposed to be higher so she should produce great cheese. I know a few years ago I made yogart all the time as well as had all the fresh milk the girls wanted.But my nanny then was a Saanen then,they produce a lot more than the little girl I have now. S.Wilson
texann42 | Aug 24, 2009 | Reply
Come on, folks! This is a joke! I’ve tried lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, etc. It just doesn’t work.
ann payne | Aug 26, 2009 | Reply
Sorry, I take it all back . . . . I heated the milk to 190, removed it from the heat, IMMEDIATELY added DOUBLE the amount of apple cider vinegar, and now I have goat cheese. It is absolutely wonderful with olive oil and fresh basil added.
bornrn | Sep 9, 2009 | Reply
First time I tried this. I am not a by the book person so you should go by what the experienced ones say,however I have a lamancha I hand milk 2 times day for about 1 gallon milk. I just took about 1/2 gallon could be little more and put in pan and heated. Not sure how hot but it was just about to boil. added about 4 tbs lemmon juice and nothing but little swirl on top. added a glug of apple cider viniger and omg it worked. I now have a fist size ball of curds hanging over a bucket. man this is great. can’t wait to taste it.