First raw goat milk cheddar

[Zinger]

Made my first raw milk cheddar yesterday. It was made with goat's milk which is also a first for me. Wow, what a difference it makes to to use raw milk, it was amazing how much better the curd set up. However, this morning I noticed about three very small light red marks on the cheese. They are not right on the surface, but appear to be just under the surface. Tonight when I got home the spots were not any larger. Any thoughts on this?

[MrsKK]

did you use coloring in the cheese?  Did you dilute the coloring in water before adding it to your curd?  It is possible that some of it just attached to some of the curd more strongly than elsewhere and is showing up in the spots you are seeing.

Can you post pictures so we can see it too?

BTW - congrats on your first raw milk cheese.  I love working with raw!

[Zinger]

No, I didn't use any coloring in my cheese. In fact, I have never used any color. Somehow it just doesn't seem natural to color the cheese eventhough you expect cheddar to be yellow. The spots are so small I don't think a picture would show them. It has been two days since I removed the cheese from the press and noticed the spots and they have not grown in any way, so I think that I won't be concerned about them unless they change in size. I just thought that maybe they were an indication of some sort of mold, but since they are not growing I don't think that is the case.

[DeejayDebi]

Congrats Zinger. I'd just wait and see what happens.

[goat lady]

where did you get the milk???Some goats throw small blood clots when they go out and play. you might want to strain milk before using.could also be lint.

[Zinger]

Interesting thoughts goat lady. My milk came from a small farmer. They are not changing in size or color so I'll just wait and see. Maybe I'll remove them prior to waxing tomorrow.

[Cartierusm]

Goat lady, that sounds gross, but thanks for the info.