Semi-Lactic Goat's cheese

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

I decided to try making some semi-lactic goat's cheese.  I picked up 2 litres of whole goat's milk, added an ice cube of FD, and after 6 hours a drop of 750 IMCU strength rennet in 1 tbls of water.  Then, let it sit another 18 hours.  I had curd separation, but, as the goat's milk is UHT, it was very, very soft.  I put one scoop in the mould and it pretty much drained through.  So, wondering how I could stiffen it up, I've bagged it and will let it drip drain first to see if I can firm up the curds before moulding it.  Fingers crossed.

For any Kiwi's here, I've tried Nanny Goat Lane brand of goat's milk.

- Jeff

[anutcanfly]

Are your molds lined with butter muslin?

[FRANCOIS]

I think the brand is irrelevant.  Isn't all the UHT goats' milk processed by Fonterra?  I know the goat cooperative was looking at their own processing plant, but not sure if it ever got built.

[Tomer1]

Pre draining in cheese cloth or straining bag is a good idea.

[JeffHamm]

Hi anut,

No, the moulds aren't lined with cloth.  I was thinking of doing that, but drained in a bag instead.  If I try this again I'll line the moulds as well next time.

Hi Francois,

I'm not sure, but I think you're right.  I've tossed the containers so I can't check. 

The draining in the bag overnight has stiffened things up, and it's now more like stiff sour cream or a smooth cream cheese.  I've loaded the moulds up and will see if it drains further.  I've also placed the moulds on top of some needlepoint plastic grids as the slots in the moulds still seem a bit large for this quite soft, and still moist, curd.  The taste is very goaty, but not unpleasant.  If this does drain enough to produce a solid cheese, it should be quite a nice fresh goat cheese.

- Jeff

[Tomer1]

I also made some semi lactic both Pc and PR varients. Its really cold today (14c) so after draining and moulding im keeping it in my oven with the light on so its around 24-25c.

[JeffHamm]

Hi Tomer1,

I bag drained mine in the regular fridge.  Not sure if the cooler temperature was a good idea or not.  I was thinking the general dryness of the fridge might help to remove some of the excess moisture.  It's now sitting out at room temperature in the moulds.  I've not added any PC to these ones.  Will see how they turn out.

- Jeff

[zvisaar]

hi
normal goat cheese in the first step is very liquid and u will lose a lot of the cheese if u put it directly in the mold
usually i put in the mold a a cloth lie butter muslin let it drain for about 24 h out (15-25 DEGREESCELSIOS)
depends on the conditions in Ur place- best 20-25 c after that i even put some wight about 3-5 kg for a few hours t try to take out more water still out not in the frig .
after that i put it in the frig for about 24 h (4 c) to dry it even more and only after that i take it out from the mold to put it into cave for the ripening stage.....
zvi.

[hoeklijn]

Milk with the qualification UHT is treated at temperatures of 275 to 300 F to make it completely sterile and it can not be used for making cheese...

[Tomer1]

I believe its been said that it can be used to make lactic cheese. 

[Frotte La Tomme]

You could try to add powdered milk into your uht milk.  That might densify those flubby cheeses

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

Thanks for the tips.  I believe the UHT milk can be used for semi-lactics, however, it may be that all I'll get is a cream cheese type and it won't set up firm enough to form cheeses.  At the moment, things are still sort of at that stage.  They sort of hold their shape, but they are very very soft.  I salted them today, and will continue to let them drain at room temp for a few more days.  I flipped them today, but that was a bit tricky as the cheeses are too soft to handle.  Probably should have left them as is. Oh well, I'm mostly interested to see if this will work.

- Jeff

[NimbinValley]

Hi Jeff.

Goat milk at the best of times tends to make a soft set and heat treating makes this worse.  I suggest you add some CaCl - 1.4ml/10L - and see how that goes. 

NVD.

[JeffHamm]

I'll try CaCl2 next time.  But I was under the impression that the benefits of the additional CaCl2 drop off if you add it too early prior to rennetting, and given these take about 24 hours to get a set I wasn't sure it would be helpful?  However, I would not put it past me to have misread/misunderstood the previous posts.

- Jeff

[hoeklijn]

I quoted from the book "Making artisan cheese" from Tim Smith where he is clearly stating that you can't use UHT milk for making cheese...

UHT Milk
Ultra Heat-Treated (UHT) milk is popular in other parts of
the world, but in the United States it barely makes a
showing in the total consumer milk market. UHT milk has
been treated at a whopping 275°F to 300°F (135°C–
150°C). Ouch! Its popularity lies in the fact that it does not
require refrigeration until after the package has been
opened, thus giving it an extended shelf life. Walk into a
French supermarket, and you will be amazed at the UHT
milk displays sitting outside of refrigeration. Needless to
say, this is a sterile product that cannot be used for cheese
making.
Bottom line: Not suitable for cheese making.