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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The alpha s1-casein is a protein polymorphism of goat milk first described in Europe, in the French Alpine and Saanen breeds, in the early nineteen eighties, and is one found in all dairy goat breeds.

These polymorphisms have been found to affect cheese-making due to differences in protein content, renneting properties (faster coagulation and firmer curd) and a possible connection in relation to cheese flavor. In one study, the results of researches conducted on homozygous individuals for the various alleles confirmed the effects of genotype on the casein content in milk by showing the cheese-making yield observed in milk produced by those animals with strong alleles was 7 per cent higher in comparison with those with medium alleles and 15 per cent  higher than those with weak alleles.

Knowing the specific genetic polymorphism at goat casein loci on breeding stock would allow the breeder to set up breeding and selection programs targeted towards the improvement of cheese-making yield by selecting for high expression alleles, or selecting for animals with low levels which may be of benefit to those with milk or casein  sensitivities.

Fortunately, Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at University of California, Davis, is making such testing possible in the United States. The test is designed to detect animal with high level variants and low level variants for casein. Accordingly, any combination of animal with high content of alpha s1-casein will produce high amounts of alpha s1-casein in milk. A combination of animal with a high content of alpha s1-casein in milk and low content of alpha s1-casein will produce intermediate amounts of alpha s1-casein. Any combination of animal with low content of alpha s1-casein will produce low amounts of alpha s1-casein in milk.

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