How fresh does raw goat milk need to be to make good chevre?

[Stinky]

Just make sure you are as sanitary as you reasonably can and make sure your milk's safe. Listeria outbreaks are obviously not super common -- this lists all of nine occurrences in the last five years. Be careful, be safe, and don't sweat it.

[narnia]

Just make sure you are as sanitary as you reasonably can and make sure your milk's safe. Listeria outbreaks are obviously not super common -- this lists all of nine occurrences in the last five years. Be careful, be safe, and don't sweat it.

Thank you!  I have sterilized the equipment by boiling for 20 min. minimum, boiled the bags for longer, and used parchment to mix in the salt with disposable gloves on, wearing a shower cap as well.  I hung the cheese in the oven overnight.

My one concern is the one batch of milk that I used which was 5 days old.  I tasted it, and it actually turned out to be the best tasting of the bunch, but some have said that the older the milk, the greater the chance for listeria, so that kind of freaked me out.

[Stinky]

Just make sure you are as sanitary as you reasonably can and make sure your milk's safe. Listeria outbreaks are obviously not super common -- this lists all of nine occurrences in the last five years. Be careful, be safe, and don't sweat it.

Thank you!  I have sterilized the equipment by boiling for 20 min. minimum, boiled the bags for longer, and used parchment to mix in the salt with disposable gloves on, wearing a shower cap as well.  I hung the cheese in the oven overnight.

My one concern is the one batch of milk that I used which was 5 days old.  I tasted it, and it actually turned out to be the best tasting of the bunch, but some have said that the older the milk, the greater the chance for listeria, so that kind of freaked me out.

Ten minutes should be fine as well, I think much beyond that won't make a huge difference.

I will note that you are being very cautious, which is good, but you don't need to overworry yourself. I tend to use my hands when convenient, just wash them thoroughly first. For example, many members on ehre like to stir their curds with bare hands. This is really fun and you should try it sometime for an aged mesophilic cheese. It's really fascinating feeling the curd and how it changes over time, and you can do a much better job of stirring it than you would with something where you can't feel down there.

Just remember that people centuries ago did not have disposable gloves and all the fancy sanitization equipment, and they rarely got sick. If you're particularly concerned about a batch of milk that's older and you want to use it for cheese, you can of course pasteurize it before you use, which means it isn't quite as good but saves you some stress.

If there's a batch of cheese you're worried about, don't eat it if you have a compromised immune system, or try a little bit first and see how you handle that. The Alliance for Listeriosis Prevention says the following

"The risk of an individual person developing Listeria infection after consumption of a contaminated product is very small. If you have eaten a contaminated product and do not have any symptoms, we do not recommend that you have any tests or treatment, even if you are in a high-risk group. However, if you are in a high-risk group, have eaten the contaminated product, and within two months become ill with fever or signs of serious illness, you should contact your physician and inform him or her about this exposure."

[Gregore]

As far as danger goes through the hole chain of milking to storage to cheese making to aging then to eating , the closer to milking the cow you expose the milk to pathogens the more you increase the risk of illness .

If you contaminate the cheese with a little pathogen that is on your hand as it goes into your mouth  then getting sick is next to nil. But if you get that same pathogen in the milk as you milk the cow then store it for 2 weeks then heat it to make cheese then eat it 4 days later , the chances are increased .

You have another option for milk  that you think is suspect because of fridge aging , you could age the cheese out to 60 days plus by making a goat milk tomme .

Also I remember you mentioning you use  kefir ? If so it is non sterile kefir grains  that are added to the milk that have survived  through many hundreds of years of evolution and competition for food sources , they have adapted to out competing many other things that are wild in the environment , thus keeping us safer.

[narnia]

No, I have never mentioned kefir.  I have never made kefir, so I am totally unfamiliar with it.

[Gregore]

Sorry mixed you up with another from here.

You might want to try it , as I mentioned it does have some advantages  , look up on the web (kefir lady .com )

[lovinglife]

I am the kefir user!  I love the stuff.  My cheeses have come out great using it as a starter culture.  I don't have the meters and all that I just go by curd feel and cross my fingers.  My last batch of cheese I stirred with my hands, it is amazing to feel the transformation and your right, so much easier on the curd and to keep it moving. 

[narnia]

I am the kefir user!  I love the stuff.  My cheeses have come out great using it as a starter culture.  I don't have the meters and all that I just go by curd feel and cross my fingers.  My last batch of cheese I stirred with my hands, it is amazing to feel the transformation and your right, so much easier on the curd and to keep it moving.

Would you mind explaining WHAT exactly are you stirring with your hands?  At what stage of what kind of cheese?

Are you not using any kind of culture but the kefir?  I am very confused, since I have made only 2 batches of cheese with pre-measured "chevre" packets that is all-inclusive.

[Gregore]

On stirred curd cheeses which is most cheese but not all , he uses his hand to stir rather than a large spoon or paddle or some such device . It makes it easier to not tear the curds to pieces .

As far as using kefir as a starter you can use kefir and a starter from a package plus rennet  , or just kefir   And rennet or just rennet . As your goats milk has all the starter bacteria already in it . The only thing is that with kefir or just the goat milk  , it will take a while longer for the  ph to drop to below 5

With just the goat milk and rennet there is also a little higher risk of unwanted bacteria getting going before the good ones take off. Also you have no idea of the flavor profile you will end up,with . Could be you have amazing flavored bacteria in your area or could be they are  not very flavorful.

[narnia]

Hmmm...this cheesemaking is a lot more complex than I ever dreamed!!!  My hats off to all you cheesemakers! 

[lovinglife]

Chevre is pretty bland even with starter culture.  I think the kefir gives it a little more oomph.  I add my starter/kefir and wait an hour then add the rennet and forget it for the night.  Has always worked great.

[narnia]

Our chevre does not taste bland to me at all.  At least with our goat's milk anyway.  Tastes amazing to me! 

But, the Kefir sounds like a great idea!  A great way to add some bennie bacteria to the cheese!