and here comes the mold day 7

They are beginning to look really good, the white mold is covering the sides nicely. It always takes longer for it to grow on the tops and bottoms which are the 2 surfaces whcih are salted and I thought the salt not only helped expel more whey but helped for mold growth. Will have to go back and research and then write it down. As soon as the mold starts on the tops and bottoms I will cut into one and taste it. These are so much fun to make.

Day 4 and Day 5 of the crottins

It is amazing how slippery they were on day 3 when I had to salt and turn them out of the molds, I always worry at this point forgetting how slippery they are and today day 4 when I turned them they aren"t as slippery but still need to be oh so carefull turning them because they still are slimy feeling. the brownish mold is growing as you can see in the pictures below. Soon we should have the beautiful white mold growing, atleast I hope so. I also made another batch of chevre' and turned and put them in the fridge/cave this morning. Bottom shelf is filling with cheese. Wish I could share more with others.

Crottins 2011

This is my first batch of crottions and the earliest I have made them. I have had some setting issues with my chevre' but it has turned out fine. This could be a major learning experience since these are a mold ripened cheese and a lot depends on moisture so that one does not get the dreaded slip skin. Right now they are draining and will be for the next 72 hours, 48 hours in the mold and then they are salted and drain for another 24 before being put in my beautiful cheese cave.(hint: my refrigerator) Can't wait to buy a used fridge to make into a total cheese cave!

The cheese curds just starting to drain and become crottins.

New Batch of Chevre Draining

I have a new batch of chevre' draing. I used a little extra starter but only let them drain 14 hours so still had a lot of whey. Drained off as much as I could and after scooping I poured the remainder in the cheesecloth lined colander and hung that for a few minutes to get the excess whey out and then scooped it into the molds. I don't know if this is the best with early lactation milk I will get with the curds and hwey seperation but since the cheese tastes great I guess I will leave it till we move into mid lacation with these 2 does. It will be interesting to see how long this will be sinceI will start mixing the new does milk that will start kidding in a week. I thought I would show my draing box that my cheeses drain in after I move them from the dish drainer in the sink. Mainly to keep them totally encased since I cover the top with cheese cloth til they are set enough and ready to go in the fridge.

Making spring chevre' and maybe a crottin soon

I have started making Chevre' with very early lactation milk from my goats and it has beeb so creamy. With each lactation from early to middle to late the curds/whey change. This spring I used goat milk from my 2 does that kidded early and they were into to day 6 when I used their milk. The cheese came out very creamy but the curds never seperated from the whey so all of it had to be scooped into the molds and draining took forever in the molds, I drained the little that was leftover in butter muslin and that drained more quickly but all the cheese tasted creamy. So i tried to research and found some info from a book that i find hard to understand and hopefully the more I read and find some one to discuss i will understand it better. The second batch I let set 6 hours longer than the 12 I usually let it sit and got a little seperation of curds and whey. This last batch I addd more starter and let sit 15 hours and got a bt=etter seperation of curds and whey and it didn't take forvever to drain, I need top taste to see if gave up any on flavor by adding the extra starter. Here is the finished Chevre' with my Tuscany flavoring.