To any goat owners out there

[SANDQ]

Calling any goat owners out there, Hi, we are S and Q English expats in Bulgaria although I worked with cows for many years Im new to goats so any advice on making goat milk cheddar would be very welcome thanks   

[linuxboy]

For the milk:
- Chill as quickly as possible. You want some caproic and caprilic acids for flavor, but if you don't chill and have sanitary practices, it will be very evident in the milk. Don't want your cheese tasting like a goat's butt
- If pasteurizing, do it in a batch at 145. Better flavor that way, or use raw milk.

For the cheese:
- The curds are more delicate. Which breeds do you have? Because this is not always true. Like my Nigerian hybrids for example make for a very solid curd.
- May need to use just a touch, 5-10% more rennet, and depending on season, CaCl2 for better curd formation
- Healing is a must. Min 5 mins. On many recipes, I like to cut large bits, heal, then re-cut to proper curd size, and heal again for a shorter time. This is to give the curds a chance to firm up.

Rest is the same. May need to adjust cheddaring time, again depending on milk, if the proteins are higher. Need more salt if the fat content is higher than cows.

In the end, it's very similar. Biggest deal is to treat the curds more gently.

[SANDQ]

Thanks Linuxboy, I couldnt tell you what breed we have, we bought them when we moved to our village in Bulgaria, we have asked many times only to get the reply " they are Bulgarian " . As for chilling and sanitation I worked for many years with cows so understand the importance of that, in fact we sell our milk privately also and fingers crossed we have had no problems or complaints about Goat butt milk, but I know where you are coming from. We make a stirred curd variety of cheddar more for ease than anything else I use mesophilic starter and according to its instructions I add it to the milk leave for an hour to ripen, then add rennet my recipe states half a teaspoon to 1 gallon of milk. I have noticed in my last 2 batches that I am producing alot less curd each time for the same amount of milk and the same process. I am using a different brand of rennet on the last 2 batches do you think there is a link, am I right in saying you recommend calcium chloride to curdle the cheese. Thanks for your help and I hope we will speak again

[linuxboy]

What color is your whey when draining it?
Are you healing the curd?
What's the yield %?
When in the lactation period are the goats?
Which brand of rennet?
How long does it take you to reach the flocculation point with the old vs new rennet?

CaCl2 is not to curdle the cheese (rennet causes coagulation), it is to help add some free calcium ions, which helps with coagulation.

[SANDQ]

Hi again thanks for your reply.
The whey is a yellowish colour.
I cut my curd into half inch cubes and leave to heal for 10 minutes this is according to the instructions in Ricki Carols book. In my next batch I shall try as you suggest.
I have 4 goats in milk at the moment, my first 2 mums are 6 weeks into their lactation ,my second to are 4 weeks into their lactation.
My brand of rennet is a Bulgarian make which appears to be the only 1 of 2 on the market, it is called Slivenska ( translated ).
By flocculation point I presume you mean the setting point? I couldn't tell you exactly as I have added both types to return within 1 hour to find it set then proceeded to cut and heal the curd .
My yield has dropped from about 600gr ms ( after air drying ) to 4.5 Litres of milk to around 520 gr ms ( after air drying ) to 4.5 litres of milk. Proportionately my first batches were filling a 1 kg mould to the top with curd my last 2 batches I was only getting to 50%/75% of a the 1kg mould full of curd.
I was draining the first batches a little less could this be a factor?

[SANDQ]

Ive just been reading else where on the site a person having problem with cheddar curds it appears theirs break up very quickly after cutting ( they shatter ) mine do this, I take it this is not supposed to happen?

[linuxboy]

-Your whey should be as close to a slightly green color, and not milky. Yellowish is fine, too.
- 10 minute healing isn't bad, 15 couldn't hurt. But that's not the root cause. A 5 min healing difference will not cause shattering, just increase fat retention and yield by a tiny bit.
- 4-6 weeks into lactation, the casein % is still rising. Hopefully the yield will increase
- If the milk sets, the rennet shouldn't be an issue. But you must determine the flocculation point. When you wait an hour and come back and the milk has "set", that set can be a hard set where the milk has gelled 5 minutes after adding rennet (which is a 12x multiplier to get to one hour), or it may be a soft set where the milk has just barely gelled after one hour (which is a 1x multiplier). For a cheddar, you should be using a 3x multiplier. Surface gelling should happen within 15 minutes of adding rennet. If it doesn't, try adding just a little more rennet.
- 520 grams for a 4.5 liter batch is almost exactly a 10% yield. This is a normal benchmark. Changes in yield are normal with changes in the season, lactation period, etc. Now if the change is because you are feeding different, then you need to look at your feed. The best rolling yields are from feeding a 12-14% grain ration, which is barley, oats, perhaps a little wheat, with some fat such as sunflower seed, and some protein, such as soybeans/rice bran added in. The rest should be a high quality minimum 16% protein hay, such as alfalfa or lucerne.

Honestly, except for the delicate curd, I don't see a big issue with what you're doing. That yield is not abnormal. And you can try fixing the delicate curd with some calcium chloride, and by figuring out the flocculation point and using a proper multiplier. Some goat milk makes for delicate curd, it's just how it is.

[SANDQ]

Linuxboy, you said I might try adding CaCl to my curd to help the set. I bought a dilute form from my local supermarket today. The bottle has no instuctions on it at all, so can you enlighten me on how it shoiuld be used when making 1 gallon batches   Thanks Q

[linuxboy]

It depends on what final concentration of added CaCl2 you want to have in the milk, and the concentration of your solution. Read our past discussion here http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2437.0.html

[SANDQ]

Hi again
I opened a batch of cheddar yesterday which I made I believe the correct way. I am only using raw milk now, and I found the cheese to have the correct taste, and not as crumbly as my first attempts and more fat content.
But, it still does not melt! When making cheese I am getting predominantly yellow whey, but no matter how gentle I am it becomes milky yellow, usually straight after my fist cut. would adding ca cl help in fat retention? My ca cl is liquid at 37%  and the dosage on the bottle states a desertspoon full to every litre of milk
thanks Q