Milk, Goat, Raw - Pasteurizing Required For Cheese Making?

[anthonyjames]

I am getting raw goat milk from a farmer.  It is not pasteurized nor do I want it to be.  But as I was looking for some simple at home  recipes to make goat cheese at home I am finding most are calling for heating the milk to 180 or more.  Can someone explain why?  Seems you are loosing all the good bacteria.

Also, I am using some small rennet tablets that say use 1/4 tablet for 4 gallons or less.  How much water do you use to dissolve the tablet and then I see recipes that call for 2 T.  Am I just taking 2 T of the rennet dissolved in the water or adding the entire batch?

I am just looking for something simple and easy to do with my kids and as we get ambitious we will more than likely look for other types of cheese to make with the goats milk.

Thank You
Anthony

[linuxboy]

Some cheeses, like basic ones coagulated with acid need to be heated first to denature the whey proteins, so that the milk can coagulate. It's just the type of cheese it is.

If you want easy cheeses that are not aged and not heated, you're somewhat limited to making fresh cheeses like chevre that's coagulated by the lactic acid bacteria produce.

Use about 1/2 cup water per tablet to make sure it's dissolved thoroughly. Not sure what you mean by the 2 T question. Which recipe?

If you want easy and not heated, try making fresh cheese curds, cottage cheese, or chevre.

[anthonyjames]

linuxboy

The 2 T was for 2 Tablespoons.

As for Cheese Curds and Chevre that is basically that is what I am looking for.  Do you have any easy or recommended recipes?

Thank You

[Alice in TX/MO]

Chevre:
http://www.cheeseforum.org/Recipes/Recipe_Chevre.htm