Juustoa (juustalopeia) Cheese    

This a Finnish cheese doesn't require a culture. Traditionally made with reindeer milk. It is a "squeaky" cheese with buttery flavor.

Ingredients:
1 gallon raw milk
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp liquid rennet (Use slightly less for double strength rennet)

Directions:

Heat milk to about 85F. Mix dry ingredients together with 1/2 cup milk and stir into warmed milk. Add rennet to 1/4 cup cool water, and stir thoroughly into warmed milk. Cover and let set for about an hour until clean break. Then cut into 1 inch curds and pour off the whey. Drain in colander lined with fine cheesecloth (butter muslin). Either hang to drain or work the curds occasionally to get the whey out. When most of the whey has been separated, press the curds into a cake pan and cook under the broiler until lightly browned, pouring off the whey occasionally. Watch closely as it will brown quickly. If desired, flip and brown the other side as well. Then bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes.
 

Tasty summer dishes with chevre

Bahama Breeze's recipe for Creole Baked Goat Cheese is a flavorful combination of fresh Chevre goat cheese, vine-ripened tomato, sweet onion, fresh garlic and cilantro served on roasted red pepper wedges or cups.

Ingredients:
•BAKED GOAT CHEESE
•1 tablespoon olive oil
•2 tablespoons garlic (minced)
•1/2 cup sweet onion (finely diced)
•4 ounces chevre goat cheese
•1 roma tomato (vine ripe, seeded, diced small)
•1 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
•1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
•1/4 teaspoon Hot pepper sauce
•Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

•ROASTED RED PEPPER WEDGES
•2 medium red peppers (seeded, stem removed, cut in half)
•2 tablespoon olive oil
•Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

1.Heat olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat, then add the garlic and onions. Sauté just until the onions become translucent. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
2.Transfer the onion-garlic mixture to a mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix with a rubber spatula to thoroughly blend. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3.Preheat oven to 350 ºF.
4.Rub the inside of the cut red peppers with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.
5.Place peppers on a pie plate, cut side up, and bake for 5 minutes in the preheated oven.
6.Remove peppers from the oven, but do not turn off the oven. Allow peppers to cool with the cut side down to allow the excess juice to drain off.
7.When peppers are cool enough to handle, cut into wedges and spread the goat cheese mixture on the wedges.
8.Bake the wedges in the 350 ºF preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Serves: Serves 2 to 4 people.


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Making Feta

This is a batch of feta cheese. Feta is a short "aged" fresh soft cheese due to the higher moisture content than longer aged harder cheeses. The curd forms in the pot after sitting to set up. It will hang overnight then be turned over and salted then rehung for another 24 hours until it stops dripping. It is then cut up, salted and put it in the fridge in a container. It will be aged at least a week before putting in brine or oil. If put in too soon, it will break down. The salt preserves it and the drier it gets the more crumbled it is. Great for salads and other recipes that call for feta.

Milk is flowing and Cheese is in the works!!

Update! The cheesemaking class in June 2010 was another success!

Although it was in a conference room, we made the best of it using a hotplate and pasteurizer and made all the batches scheduled! Next class is scheduled for October 16, 2010.

Cheeses to be demonstrated and made: Feta, Chevre, Ricotta and Yogurt.

Taught through Pima Community College, Adult Education Non Credit.
Basic Cheesemaking Class

Nigerian Dwarf Goats

Nigerian Goats are a smaller package of the big goats. They eat less, take up less space and produce a high fat, high quality milk. While not as much volume as the big goats, their milk makes an excellent cheese.

















Their diet includes alfalfa hay, bermuda hay, Lakin Lite pellets ( mix of alfalfa and bermuda), grain when in milk and sunflower seeds. They are great weed eaters and love to forage.

Does have 1-6 kids and it is anyone's guess what color they will be!

Cheeses I have made from the milk include cottage cheese, feta, mozzarella, chevre and cream cheese. After a few days, from the cooled milk in the fridge, the fat comes to the top. I skim this off and freeze and later use the cream to make delicious caramels! You can also make butter from this!