Easy Goat Cheese

I wasn't able to get good pictures of the finished cheese this week, so I almost didn't post this. Fortunately, I found this picture on delish.com, and it's exactly what I'm talking about.

Photo Credit
 

So why post a cheese recipe of all things? Because this recipe is extremely easy to make - it only uses ingredients most people already have - it's a lot cheaper to make it yourself than to buy it, it tastes great and makes a wonderful healthy, high protein snack, and it's really versatile. The flavor varies tremendously depending on what herbs you use to roll it in.

This cheese can be made with regular cow's milk, but in my personal opinion, goat milk is better because the curds come out softer. If you use cow's milk, you'll definitely want to go with a slightly lower temperature.

We've had a lot of people who don't like goat milk or goat milk products at all who like this cheese. Of course, if you get goat milk products from a small farm who deals with the milk properly, you really shouldn't have to worry about that infamous goat taste at all anyway.

Panir Cheese

1 gallon milk (preferably goat milk)
1/2 cup vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Heat milk over medium-low heat to 190-195 degrees. The hotter the milk, the  firmer the curd. However, if the milk isn't hot enough, it may not separate into curd and whey.

Stir in lemon juice and continue stirring until curd separates. If after a minute or two the milk hasn't separated, add more lemon juice/vinegar a little at a time until it does.

Drain curd into a jelly strainer or something similar such as a clean pillow case.

Let hang until whey is sufficiently drained out. This could take anywhere from 1/2 and hour if the curd is fairly firm, to several hours with softer curd.

I hate to subject y'all to the sight of the wall paper in our kitchen,
But sometimes, it's just unavoidable.

Dump curds into a bowl and thoroughly mix in baking soda and salt.

Shape into logs or balls and roll into your choice of herbs or spices.

1 gallon of milk should make between 1 and 1 1/2 pounds of cheese

Our cheese coating favorites are:

Cracked pepper

Basil and Garlic powder (this one is the most popular)

Rosemary leaves

Italian seasoning

Fat Girl In a Skinny Body also has some interesting ideas for cheese rolling.

Enjoy!

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