Hey all -- long time lurker, first time poster. I've been making yummy raw chèvre cheeses from my nigerian goats' milk. While it's been going pretty well, I am struggling on one point, which is that I don't know how to salt them. I'm making them in little plastic molds, and when I dump them out on a plate and put salt around the sides, the whey tends to collect at the bottom of the plate, and when I eat it, it's too salty on the outside and not salty enough on the inside. What do I do so they come out well-salted (is there anything besides adding salt and mixing -- I want to eventually make mold-ripened cheeses, and I don't know if I'm supposed to do that for those)?
For reference, my recipe is:
2 quarts goats milk
a few grains of MM100
1/4 drop rennet
heat to 85, let sit for 18 hours, put into molds, let drain 1 day.
I just salt with a large salt shaker. Get a fair sprinkle on the entire surface. Also, it doesn't sound like you're using a draining mat. They are pretty important to keep the cheese from sitting in it's own whey. There's plenty of posts in the bloomy rind board that will help you salt accordingly. I really just go by looking at the salt crystals. The second way you mentioned, draining, salting, then molding is quite doable and effective too. I don't know if it's traditional for any particular cheese, but I've done it before with good results. Just make sure your hands and equipment are really clean during the process.