Garlic Chevre

What you will need:

1 heavy, non-aluminum pot or saucepan
2 quarts pasteurized or raw (not ultra-pasteurized) goat milk
1 tsp salt
1 clove finely minced garlic
1/8 tsp M4001 culture, a fairly common "farmhouse" or "chevre" culture
1/8 tsp. liquid vegetarian rennet or 1/8 rennet tablet, mixed or dissolved into 1 tablespoon water

If using pasteurized milk, you will also need 1/8 tsp calcium chloride

Cheesecloth, fine mesh sieve, or cheese mold*

Optional: Extra salt, fresh herbs, or other condiments for rolling (thyme, oregano, marjoram, mint, rosemary, lemon zest, chopped olives, sundried tomatoes, etc.)


Procedure: 

1. Add the milk to the pot and stir in salt and garlic. Heat to 86-90°F (this goes very quickly, be alert!)
2. Remove from the heat to stir in the culture, using 20 gentle strokes. Wait three minutes.
3. If necessary, add calcium chloride water. Stir.
4. Add rennet water, stir and cover. Let stand at room temperature (68-72˚F -ish) at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.
5. Ladle the creamy curd (which looks like yogurt) into molds* on a draining rack, or a fine mesh sieve, or a cheesecloth-lined colander. Drain about 12 hours at room temperature. Remove whey and, if necessary, continue draining 12 hours. Depending on how creamy or hard you want your cheese, draining time will vary greatly. In the past, I have drained it for only a total of 24 hours and ended up with a very creamy, spreadable cheese. If drained for a total of 72 hours, the texture will be much more crumbly, like feta.
6. Unmold and place on draining rack and (optional) sprinkle with salt on all sides. If desired, dry cheeses on a bamboo mat or wire rack on a cookie sheet for 24 hours.
7. Roll in desired herbs or condiments. Wrap in cheese papers (waxed paper side in, shiny side out), or parchment paper, or simply tupperware or ziplock bags. Refrigerate and enjoy any time. Use any leftover whey to make fresh bread, preserve produce with lactic fermentation, or to boil pasta, veggies, etc.


MMMMMmmmmmm

* No need to buy a cheese mold. You can make a homemade cheese mold out of any number of household items. Old yogurt containers work well, as can an old plastic food-storage container. Avoid using reactive metals that may leach into the cheese. You'll need to punch or drill holes into your container if it doesn't already have some, so that liquid can drain from the cheese.  Crudely shaped holes cut with scissors can work if you are using an old yogurt container or similarly thin plastic. Holes should be placed at the bottom and sides of the container.