Chevre is a soft, mild goat cheese that has the taste and consistency of cream cheese.
The yield is also higher than for hard cheeses.
Chevre Recipe:
5 quarts goats milk
1/8 tsp mesophillic direct culture
2 tbsp diluted rennet (to make place three drops of rennet in 1/3 cup cool water)
Chevre is best made at room temperature. For safety concerns you might consider pasteurizing the milk before making the Chevre cheese as it will sit out at room temperatures for 8-12 hours. Once the milk is prepared to your preference, bring the milk to about 80F. Add the diluted rennet mixture and stir thoroughly. Cover and let sit for 8-12 hours at room temperature. Cheese is ready when it has a slight layer of whey on the top surface. Gently, using a scoop, spoon out the curds into a cheesecloth and then hang to drain for 6-8 hours. When the dripping has stopped, the cheese is ready.
Note: We have found that the rennet does not work as well when placed in hard water (in our case iron rich water). Use distilled water ideally and if not possible, regular water will work OK. We have noticed for goats in Alaska (may hold true for other regions) that the cheese yield per volume of milk usually increases during the fall and winter months. One theory regarding this relates to chemical changes in the milk in response to decreasing amounts of light.
