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Greetings and Question about Chevre

Started by green bean, May 22, 2010, 09:40:56 PM

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green bean

Hi All,

Looks like a helpful forum.  I am new to cheese-making and have goats.  I have made chevre (fromage blanc) a few times, but it always turns out with a consistency like cottage cheese, not creamy.  I have tried lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and veg. rennet (and a combination of all or some) to separate the curds and whey.  Yet, it always turns out the same: chunky.  What am I doing wrong? Thanks for any help you can lend!

padams

I use the recipe http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/chevre.htm here.....It works well for me, but i have found that I like to bag hang mine vs the moulds.

Welcome to the board, and Happy Reading!

green bean


Oberhasli

I use Margaret Morris's recipe for chevre.  I use goat milk and have never had a problem with the texture.  How long are you letting the curd set up?  I use animal rennet (just 6-8 drops in 1/4 cup of water for a 3 gallon batch).   What is your recipe?  Do you heat it to a low temp?  I used to make the vinegar/lemon juice cheese years ago - in that recipe the milk was heated quite high.  The texture of the cheese with that recipe definitely was courser than the chevre method I have used the past 10 years.

green bean

Yes, pretty high temp (190) and I let the bag hang for about 2 hours.  It sounds like there is a huge range in this time!  The curd sets for only a short time in this recipe: several minutes only.  Maybe this speedy-ness is the issue????

The taste is mild and delicious, but the consistency is not creamy enough and a little rubbery sometimes.

Thanks for your response!  Any other suggestions would be appreciated!  I am VERY new to cheese and want to be able to do it well.  I am excited about learning more.

Oberhasli

It doesn't sound like a true chevre recipe you are using.  That recipe is like the one I used to make fromage blanc (the recipe was from the Hoegger's Goat Supply catalog that I used).  The consistency of the cheese is more like a cheese you would find in a cheese ball.  The chevre recipe I use the milk is only heated up to 75 degrees in a water bath, adding your culture and rennet, and then left to sit for 24 hours before draining.  It has the consistency of yogurt when you are ladling the curds into the cheese cloth.  These curds really aren't "cooked" at all unlike the recipe you have been using.   I quit making the vinegar/lemon juice type of cheese because I didn't like the texture or the flavor after a while.  The chevre has a much more cream cheese like texture and it is a very versatile cheese.  It is very easy to make and you don't have to sit and wait for the milk to get so hot. 

green bean

Yes, it is more of a fromage blanc.  Your advice is very helpful.  I have had a nutty day, so I haven't tried the new recipe yet, but look forward to trying it soon.  I think I'll need to find time soon because I have a fridge full of milk!  I can't wait to get this right. 

What cheeses have you made so far?


Oberhasli

I make Parmesan , Romano and Caerphilly cheeses in the winter and they age 6 months and are ready to eat in the summer.  I also make a lot of Camembert, feta, chevre and marinated chevre in the summertime.  I found it easier when I first started making cheeses to stick to one or two types of cheese to master and then I would add new types as I got more comfortable with the process.  But, that is just me.  I found it confusing if I had a couple of pots of milk with different cheeses going at the same time.   :)