Author Topic: Chevre - some questions  (Read 1595 times)

Offline Bernardsmith

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Chevre - some questions
« on: June 29, 2018, 12:03:14 AM »
A friend of mine has some goats and she gave me a gallon of milk with which I tried to make some Chevre. The recipes I found all suggested that the cheese is ripened and then the rennet added but the renneted curds are not cut but simply allowed to stand for 24 hours. Why don't you cut the curds and allow the whey to be expelled from the curds in a more active way? I ask because I use my home made kefir as my culture (following Asher) but 24 hours ripening on the whey makes for a very acidic cheese, one that is grainy (At least I think that that is the reason for the graininess). What would happen if I treated Chevre more like other cheeses and simply cut the curds after an hour, stirring for another hour or so and then allowing the cheese to drain overnight? Is the idea of not cutting the curds and so allowing the cheese to very slowly expel whey to prevent the curds from becoming too dry and so tougher? If so, is the solution to add a teaspoon of whey from my kefir rather than 1/4-1/2 cup? Thoughts? Thanks


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Re: Chevre - some questions
« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2018, 12:36:19 AM »
You can try less kefir yes. The recepie I use says to warm milk to 90f then add culture and 1/10 of a normal rennet dose let it sit at room temp for 12 to 24 hours until it has set then drain in a pillow case or cloth cheese bag.

Offline GortKlaatu

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Re: Chevre - some questions
« Reply #2 on: June 29, 2018, 12:41:32 AM »
Hey there!  I have goats and make a lot of chèvre so let me offer a few thoughts.


First, chèvre is primarily a lactic acid set cheese...yes a tiny bit of rennet is used--like 2 drops for a gallon.  But it is intended to be a slowly ripened, and long-drained cheese. That's why you don't ripen it too fast or cut the curd and drain early.  And yes it IS very acidic...with chèvre you're reaching for a pH around 4.6 or so and you should see the curd pulling away slightly from the sides of the pot and there should be about 1/2 inch of whey floating above the curd mass.
Because it is primarily lactic acid set, you need the long time (mine usually only needs 12 hours though) for the culture to work and set the curd. The rennet is just an adjunct. If you use too much rennet you can get a weird texture.  But usually the main reason for a coarse (?grainy?) cheese is that it was resting at too high a temperature.  How warm did you take the milk to?   Many recipes say up to 86-88F degrees, but I've found that with raw goat milk you end up with a less creamy final cheese. So I raise my to only 76-78F, add the cultures and let it remain at room temp (which for me is also around 78F.)   I've not made it with kefir, but I know you can;  I'm just not sure how much you would need to add.
« Last Edit: June 29, 2018, 12:48:30 AM by GortKlaatu »
Somewhere, some long time ago, milk decided to reach toward immortality… and to call itself cheese.

Offline Gregore

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Re: Chevre - some questions
« Reply #3 on: June 29, 2018, 04:24:30 AM »
The very nature of the name is “latic acid set”. Meaning the acid set the curd as the ph drops

As appossed to stirring or heating 

I have never tried what you suggested , but I would think it would do nothing to the outcome , my guess is that the curd would just rebond back together  ......

Offline Bernardsmith

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Re: Chevre - some questions
« Reply #4 on: June 29, 2018, 01:37:24 PM »
Many thanks for your (plural) very speedy responses. It may be possible that I used far too much rennet: I added as much rennet as I would add to cheddar but you are suggesting that the rennet is really not what is key here but rather the acidification. My kefir can certainly drop the pH to 4.6 without any problem.
That said, the recipe I used called for raising the temperature to 76 F and this I did (using a hot water bath). Room temperature, overnight, could not have been much above 72 F and the temperature during the next 12 hours would have maxed at not much higher than about 78, so the temperature should not have been the problem. But too much rennet... Never thought about that.
As to Gregore's point re stirring and heating - I make kefir cheese (about once a month) using the kefir I don't use but store in the fridge* and the curds that form (no rennet added) knit nicely with little more than their only their own weight to produce  a tangy soft cheese without any need for heat.
* I really only make kefir from my grains in order to have cultures to add to milk for cheese making and to experiment with the bacteria in making "sour" honey wines (mead)

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Re: Chevre - some questions
« Reply #5 on: June 29, 2018, 01:47:01 PM »
I make a ton of chevre, I filter my milk after milking, add a tiny bit of culture and as already stated 2 drops of rennet per gallon, put a lid on it and shove it to the back of the counter for a day or two, depending on how busy I am and can get to draining it.  Then I put it in my mixer, beat it up good and add spices as desired.  Sometimes I just add salt and store for use as a cream cheese replacement.  I must have 30 pounds in the freezer, oh it freezes great.

Offline Bernardsmith

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Re: Chevre - some questions
« Reply #6 on: June 29, 2018, 04:51:20 PM »
What is the purpose of beating the chevre? Is this after draining?

lovinglife

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Re: Chevre - some questions
« Reply #7 on: June 29, 2018, 06:34:04 PM »
I mix it in my mixer because I like the consistence better, creamier and easier to spread on crackers, plus I want to make sure I get the salt mixed in good.

Offline Gregore

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Re: Chevre - some questions
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2018, 03:39:41 AM »
I generally add more rennet than 2 or 3 drops per gallon,  only because I have no idea how old the goat milk is , and it is way too expensive to not have it set up because of old milk .

When I did have access to raw fresh goat milk I added as little rennet as possible .