As a complete food, milk is the sole food for infants and an important source of nutrients for children. However, when we hit adulthood, milk is often left out in our daily meals. More often then not, milk becomes an add-on to more adult beverages like tea or coffee. Contrary to what most people think, the fact is milk can play a role in contributing to your nutritional well-being, no matter how old you are and what lifestyle you subscribe to. To assume our bodies only required milk at the growing stages is wrong and this is a perception that needs to be addressed.

For Kids - Early childhood is a tremendous growth period across all areas of development. During this time, the body undergoes changes, both physically and mentally, Typically, the average child’s height doubles, and quadruplets in weight. To promote, encourage and sustain the growth, as well as to keep illnesses at bay, a growing child will required to be provided with all the essential nutrients.

Beyond just building a healthy body, it is also every parent’s concern whether their children are getting the right amount of nutrients to develop a healthy mind. Milk is an essential food source for toddlers, and young children, as it provides energy and nutrients for growth and brain development. Drinking milk at an early age also helps cultivate healthy habits as he or she will be more likely to continue drinking milk as teen and an adult.

For Teens - Boys and girls in this age group have high calcium needs that they cannot make up for later years in life. Calcium is a mineral that gives strength to our bones. It is also necessary for many of our body’s functions, including nerve, muscle and hormonal function. Unfortunately, peer pressure, the need to fit in and be popular amongst their peers often makes it ‘uncool’ to be seen sipping on a pack of milk.

During the teenage years, particularly from ages 11 to 15, your child’s bones are developing quickly and are storing calcium. Nearly half of all bones are formed during these years. It is therefore important that your teen gets plenty of calcium in his or her diet to prevent brittle bones later in life. Children and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 18 should aim for 1,000 milligrams per day, which is about 3 servings of goat milk or other high-calcium food. This amount is almost twice as much as the amount required by younger children.

For Adult - In our adult years, calcium and dairy products play major roles in bone maintenance and may help with the prevention of chronic diseases. According to an extensive five year study on over 1,500 young adults, researchers reported that the subjects actually reduced their intake of calcium and dairy products as they enter their twenties. Since peak bone mass is not achieved until the third decade of life, it is crucial that young adults continue to consume adequate amounts of calcium, protein and vitamin D found in dairy products to support health and prevent osteoporosis later in life.

For individuals with a hectic lifestyle and irregular meals, goat milk can be a good supplement for sustenance. The fact is milk is a wholesome food, providing energy and all the essential nutrients. After a tiresome and exhausting day at work, drinking a warm glass of goat milk before sleep can help you relax and soothe your nerves.

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Making Saint Maure is trying something really fun, getting moldy. Once you try this moldy Chevre, you may never go back to plain Chevre again. You will need molds like in plastic containers with holes in the bottom, to make this cheese.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon of fresh goat milk or raw, unpasteurized goat milk
• 1 oz. mesophilic culture
• liquid rennet
• 1/8 tsp. of white mold powder (Penicillium Candidum).

Special supplies:

• 5 Chevre molds
• draining mats

Remember to sterilize all your equipment before you begin.

In a stainless steel pot, warm the milk to 72°.

Add the culture, white mold powder and stir well. Now you need to add 1/5 of a drop of rennet. Or measure out 5 Tablespoons of water into a small cup. Add to the water 1 drop of liquid rennet and stir well. Now measure out 1 Tablespoon of the rennet dilution (this one Tablespoon contains 1/5 of a drop of rennet) and add it to the milk. Stir well.

Cover the milk and place the pot somewhere that it can sit undisturbed and will stay about 72° for about 18 hours. But, you can let it go for 24 hours. What you do is place the pot in the cold oven until the next day.

When the milk has coagulated, you are ready to mold the cheese.

To make moldy cheeses:

Pour off any whey that has separated from the curd. Place your molds on a rack over a large baking pan. A lot of whey will drain from your cheese, and you will need a large pan to catch it. Carefully ladle the curds into the molds. Let the curds drain for two days at room temperature.

After the cheese has drained you can carefully unmold them into your hand. Sprinkle all the sides of the cheese with a little Kosher salt. When you unmold the cheeses, they may already have started to develop their fuzz.

For this aging, you will need some draining mats. For smaller weave in the mat, you can use a plastic craft “canvas” and it is available at Wal-Mart. If you want a larger hole in your drying rack, use “egg crate”. It comes in a large sheet intended for use in suspended ceilings and is available at home improvement stores. You can use these two “mats” separately and in combination to dry and age cheeses.

To age your Chevre, place them on a drying mat cut smaller than a large gallon size ziplock freezer bag. Slip the mat with the cheeses into a gallon ziplock bag, blow up the bag and seal it. Now you have a little aging “cave”. Let the cheeses age on the counter for a few more days and then move them into your cheese aging fridge. Here they continue to fuzz up for a few weeks. You can eat your little fuzzies at any time, but try to let them age a couple weeks to develop a good covering of mold.

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Meyenberg Goat Milk Products Valley Goat Cheddar - Aged, 8-Ounce Packages (Pack of 5)

Kefir is a natural pro-biotic, containing vitamins and enzymes that encourage digestion and live microorganisms (yeast and bacteria) also help with the digestive process. Fermentation also preserves the kefir for a time, discouraging the growth of less human-friendly molds and bacteria.

There are so many ways of making Kefir, and there is almost no wrong method! Some people like to culture their grains for 12 hours, and some for 24 hours, or more. Some like to tighten the lid on the jar of fermenting kefir making it a fizzy kefir but, be sure to leave extra air space in there if you do, so the jar does not burst. Some people use raw goats milk, while others use cows milk.

Here are some simple instructions to get you started making Kefir :

1. Place Kefir grains in a clean glass jar

2. For every tablespoon (approx.) of grains, add 7-8 ounces of goat milk (making one cup total per tablespoon of culture).

3. Cover jar loosely, and allow to sit at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. On top of the fridge or in a cupboard are great places to make kefir. Swirl it once or twice a day to agitate the grains and expose fresh surface area to the milk.

4. After 12-24 hours, strain the kefir using a strainer or colander. You can use a spoon with small holes in it to “scoop” the kefir grains out of the finished bowl of kefir, returning them to the jar.

5. Enjoy your fresh Kefir, which will keep in the refrigerator for several months. Use the remaining grains to make a new batch, starting over with Step 1.

* You may also consider using your excess grains to culture rice milk, coconut milk, soy milk and etc. but kefir grains that are cultured in non-mammalian milk will cease growing.

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]]> http://www.aboutgoatmilk.info/goat-milk/simple-tips-to-make-kefir/feed/ http://www.aboutgoatmilk.info/goat-milk/quark-cheese-recipe/ http://www.aboutgoatmilk.info/goat-milk/quark-cheese-recipe/#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:31:24 +0000 http://www.aboutgoatmilk.info/?p=538 Click Here!

Quark Cheese is commonly known as curd cheese. Quark cheese is soft, fresh cheeses made without rennet. Although traditionally made with cow milk, goat milk quark is every bit as appealing and useful.

Quark has a texture similar to that of a thick sour cream, and is most often used in baking. Its smooth texture and mild, tangy taste add lightness and moisture to baked goods. It is simple to make Quark at home from buttermilk.

It can also serve as a substitutes for ricotta in dishes such as lasagna, and as a base for dips and toppings. Alternatively, it can also substitutes in recipes that use sour cream, yogurt cheese or cream cheese.

How to make Quark Cheese

It will takes up to 48 hours before it is ready for your recipes, although the actual time that you will need to spend with it is about 10 minutes.

To make quark cheese, heat 1 quart of goat milk to 88 °F, and add 1 Tablespoon. buttermilk with active cultures. If your buttermilk is not quite fresh, you may want to add an extra tablespoon, as the culture activity declines over time.

Cover the pot, and leave it at room temperature for 24 hours. At the end of that time, the mixture should have a consistency very similar to yogurt.

Pour the mixture into a cheese cloth-lined colander. Either leave the cheese in the colander and cover, or tie the cheese cloth corners together over a wooden spoon or stick and hang over a pot.

Leave the cheese to drain for 12-24 hours in the refrigerator. Remove from the cheese cloth, place in a dish, and Enjoy! Normally, you will get about 8 oz. of cheese from 1 quart of milk.

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Making sour cream is high on the list of  simple but delicious cultured goat milk products.  Only two ingredients are require  and 24 hours later you will be enjoying delicious, homemade sour cream for your baked potato, soups and casseroles, or other dishes.

To make sour cream, you will need:

• 1 Cup  goat milk cream
• 1 Tablespoon cultured buttermilk

Warm the cream to approximately 75° F. Add the buttermilk, and stir to mix thoroughly. Cover, and leave at room temperature for about 24 hours. Transfer to a storage container, refrigerate and serve. The sour cream will thicken as it cools.

If you’d like a heavier texture, you can use  a higher ratio of buttermilk to cream.

By using whole milk instead of cream, you can get the sour cream taste in a thinner version that is especially good for making cream-based soups.

Alternatively, you can also use a direct-set culture for making sour cream. This is a pre measured packet found at dairy supply companies that is mixed into the cream and left to culture. These generally produce a slightly tangier taste than using cultured buttermilk.

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Homemade whipped cream is one of those foods that has a definite taste advantage over its store-bought counterparts. And, when you make whipped cream at home, you can control the amount and type of sweetener used.

Whipped cream really is just cream that has been agitated such that air is trapped in it, making it light and fluffy.

Making whipped cream from fresh goat milk cream is a great way to put an extra-special finish on your delicious homemade dessert.

There are two simple ways to make whipped cream: 1) with an electric mixer, or 2) with a jar.

To use an electric mixer, place 1-2 cups of cream in a bowl. Mix on medium to high speed until the cream starts to thicken. When the cream makes stiff peaks that do not collapse, it is ready.

For the jar method, place 1-2 cups of cream in a quart jar, and secure the lid tightly. If you use a different size jar, fill it only about half full or less. As the air in the jar is incorporated into the cream, it will expand, so you need to leave plenty of place to account for this.

Shake the jar continuously for 5-15 minutes. You will notice that the sound of the agitating cream eventually changes from a liquid “sloshing,” to a duller “thunking.”

Open the jar and check. If the cream has turned into a solid mass, you are finished.

With either method, you should be careful to stop as soon as the cream is sufficiently formed. If you continue to agitate it, you will end up with butter, instead.

Finally, you can also add sugar or other sweetener to the whipped cream, but you will want to do this carefully because too much stirring will release the trapped air and deflate your whipped cream. Have fun and Enjoy!

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]]> http://www.aboutgoatmilk.info/goat-milk/whipped-cream-from-fresh-goat-milk-cream/feed/ http://www.aboutgoatmilk.info/goat-milk/homemade-chevre/ http://www.aboutgoatmilk.info/goat-milk/homemade-chevre/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 08:13:32 +0000 http://www.aboutgoatmilk.info/?p=522 Click Here!

Chevre, means “goat cheese” in French. It is a soft, molded, fresh cheese. It has a texture similar to cream cheese, though slightly drier, and is lighter and fluffier. You can usually substitute chevre in recipes that call for cream cheese or ricotta.

It is quite simple to make and does not require a lot of special utensils. It also does not consume a lot of goat milk or time to make and it is one of the simplest.

You can make this cheese as “bag cheese” or molded. If you wish to mold it, you will need molds like in plastic containers with holes in the bottom, to make this cheese.

Once you have your molds, you are ready to make your very own Chevre.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon of fresh goat milk or raw, unpasteurized goat milk
• 1 oz. mesophilic culture
• liquid rennet

Special supplies:

• 5 Chevre molds, or
• Fine cheese cloth (butter muslin)

Remember to sterilize all your equipment before you begin.

In a stainless steel pot, warm the milk to 72°.

Add the culture and stir well. Now you need to add 1/5 of a drop of rennet. Or measure out 5 Tablespoons of water into a small cup. Add to the water 1 drop of liquid rennet and stir well. Now measure out 1 Tablespoon of the rennet dilution (this one Tablespoon contains 1/5 of a drop of rennet) and add it to the milk. Stir well.

Cover the milk and place the pot somewhere that it can sit undisturbed and will stay about 72° for about 18 hours. But, you can let it go for 24 hours. What you do is place the pot in the cold oven until the next day.

When the milk has coagulated, you are ready to drain the curds or mold the cheese.

How to make  “bag cheese” ?

Pour the curds into a cheesecloth lined colander. Tie up the ends and hang the bag and let drain 6-8 hours. When it is thickened, salt to taste and enjoy. Unblended, this cheese substitutes nicely for cream cheese.

How to make  molded cheeses ?
Pour off any whey that has separated from the curd. Place your molds on a rack over a large baking pan. A lot of whey will drain from your cheese, and you will need a large pan to catch it. Carefully ladle the curds into the molds.

Let the curds drain for two days at room temperature or you could drain the cheese in the fridge if there is enough space.

After the cheese has drained you can carefully unmold them into your hand. Sprinkle all the sides of the cheese with a little Kosher salt and wrap them in plastic wrap. The cheese will keep for about 2 weeks in the fridge.

How to enjoy Homemade Chevre?

The best way to enjoy your homemade Chevre is on crackers. It can also be used in any recipe calling for “goat cheese” and can be substituted for cream cheese.

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This recipe is a full-fat version for making cream cheese that uses only goat milk cream. If you prefer a lighter version, you can substitute part of the cream with goat milk.

Anyway, I do not recommend using less than half cream, though, in order to get the best flavor and texture for homemade cream cheese.

The small amount of rennet used to make cream cheese is what gives it the additional firmness over other soft cheeses such as quark or cottage cheese. Remember, always add liquid rennet to a few tablespoons of water first and never directly to the milk.

Ingredients

• 1 quart goat milk cream
• 2 Tbsp. cultured buttermilk
• 1 drop double strength liquid rennet dissolved in 2 Tbsp. Water

In a stainless steel pan, warm the cream to about 70° F, stirring to ensure even heating. Add the buttermilk, and mix thoroughly. Stir in the rennet and water mixture, and again mix thoroughly.

Cover the pot and allow to sit for 24 hours at room temperature. Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp. salt over the mixture, and then whisk lightly to mix.

Pour the cream into a cheese cloth lined colander placed over a bowl to save the whey for future  use. Let drain for about 12 hours.

At that time, you can collect the cream cheese from the cheesecloth and place into a bowl for storage in the fridge.

Alternatively, if you’d like a drier, molded cheese, you can place the cream cheese into a cheese mold or a small plastic container with holes in the bottom to further drain and increase the body of the cheese.

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Though it is not traditional but,  it is nice to be able to make ricotta out of plain whole goat milk you can buy at the store. This Ricotta cheese  will be drier and not as smooth and creamy as the traditional old-Fashioned Ricotta cheese. Anyway, it tastes great and can be used as a ricotta substitute in most recipes.

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts whole goat milk
• 3 Tablespoons white vinegar or ¼ Cup fresh, lemon juice
• ¼ tsp - ½ tsp salt to taste

In a heavy pot, over direct heat, heat 2 quarts of whole goat milk to 200°. Add 3 Tablespoons of white vinegar or 1/4 Cup of fresh, strained lemon juice. Make sure to bring the temperature back up to 200°. You will realize that very tiny white particles called albumin protein, floating in the whey. The heat and acid from the ripe whey has precipitated the protein.

Remove the pot from the heat and set it, covered, to rest undisturbed for about 15 minutes.

Line a colander with very fine cheesecloth, called “butter muslin”. You must use a very fine cloth here, or your cheese will pass through the regular cloth. If you do not have fine cheesecloth, use a clean cotton cloth. Place the colander over a big pot so you can save the whey and carefully pour the whey into the colander. Be very careful because the liquid is hot. Tie the ends of the cheesecloth together and hang the ricotta to drain for an hour or so because the longer you hang it, the drier your finished cheese will be.

When it has drained, place the ricotta cheese  in a bowl, break up, stir and add salt to taste. This Ricotta cheese will keep for about a week in the fridge.

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Feta is a salty Greek cheese, usually made with either goat or sheep’s milk. Feta is neither soft nor hard cheese but in-between. It is wonderful crumbled on salads and crackers, and can also be used in cooking.Unlike most cheeses, it is ripened in brine. Feta develops quite a strong flavor and if you like “hardy” cheeses, you must give it a try.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 gallons goat milk - ( use a little over 3 gallons for raw, unpasteurized goat milk)
• 4 oz. mesophilic culture
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. Kid or Kid/Lamb Lipase powder
• 1 tsp. Liquid rennet dissolved in 1/2 Cup water
• Kosher salt
• Brine: 1/2 Cup Kosher salt per 1/2 gallon of water (boiled and cooled to below room temp.)

In a double boiler pot set up, warm the goat milk to 86°. Add the culture and lipase. Lipase is the enzyme that gives Feta that great Feta flavor.

Stir well and let ripen, covered, for one hour.

Keeping the milk at 86°, Add the rennet and stir briskly for 15 seconds. Cover and let set about 30-40 minutes, or until you get a “clean break”.

You can check for a clean break by sticking your knife, or thermometer, into the curd at an angle. Pull straight up out of the curd; if the curd breaks cleanly around the knife and whey runs into the crack that is made; you have a “clean break.” Once you see this for the first time, you will know just what I mean.

Cut the curd into 1/2″ pieces.

Cutting the curds can be the most confusing part, but just don’t worry so much. Use a long knife held vertically and cut 1/2″ slices in the curds. Then turn the pot 90° and cut across in 1/2″ slices the other direction, making a kind of checkerboard pattern. Now hold the knife at a sideways 45° angle and retrace your cuts. Turn the pot 1/4 turn and retrace the cuts. Turn it again and cut and then one final turn and cut. By the last turn you probably won’t be able to see the original cuts, but just do the best you can. It is alright if think you did not cut the curd perfectly.

Do not stir yet. Let the curds rest for 10 minutes.

After this rest period, stir the curd gently and cut any pieces that you missed when you first cut the curd. Hold the curd at 86° for 45 minutes, carefully stirring occasionally to prevent the curd from sticking together. This process of “cooking” the curd helps the curd “toughen up” as well as release it’s whey.

Place a big colander over a big pot and line the colander with a large piece of dampened cheesecloth. If you dampen the cheesecloth, it will stick slightly to the colander, holding it in place.

Carefully pour the curd into the colander. Tie the corners of the cheesecloth together and hang the bag to drain.

After 3-4 hours, take the cheese down and turn the cheese over in the cheesecloth, from top turned to bottom. This turning will “even up” the cheese into a nice form. Otherwise, it will have a rough form cheese; it is edible, just not so attractive.

Let your cheese hang and continue draining for about 24 hours, at this point it will start to develop a distinctive odor. Inform your family of the odor if you need to.

After your cheese has hung for about 24 hours or so, remove it from the cloth and cut it into usable size cubes (about 2-3 inches). Sprinkle all the sides of the cubes with kosher salt and place them in a sterilized, large, seal-able, container. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 2-3 days to “harden up” the blocks. The blocks will continue to release whey during this time; that is normal.

Transfer the blocks (and their whey if you wish) to a large sterilized glass container. Add the brine. Do not add the brine too soon, the cheese sometimes starts softening up. The cheese is still good; you may just want to use it in cooking instead of for crumbling.

Age for at least I month before use in order to develop flavor. Your Feta cheese will keep in its brine (refrigerated) for a very, very long time ( up to a year), and will only keep getting better (stronger). On occasion, you may find some mold forming on top of the brine. When this happens, just skim it off, the cheese is still fine. If a piece of the cheese was sticking above the brine, it may mold. Just remove it, the rest of the cheese is still good.

Always remember that it takes a lot of milk to make a little cheese. And how much cheese you get will also depend on other factors, like type of milk used, fat content of milk, stage of lactation of the goat that produced the milk, handling of curds, temperatures during cheese making and hang time, just to name a few.

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