Chevre is a white, creamy fresh cheese made from goat’s milk. It is an easy cheese to make, making it a great choice for beginners in cheese making. Here is how you can make this delightful fresh cheese.
Yield: 450 grams cheese
Aging: none
INGREDIENTS
1. 4 liters of Goat’s Milk (not ultra-pasteurized)
2. ¼ teaspoon Danisco MM100 Mesophilic Starter Culture
3. 2 drops of liquid animal rennet
4. 2 tsp noniodized salt. Use Calcium Chloride for pasteurized milk
EQUIPMENT
1. large pot
2. thermometer
3. ladle or spoon for stirring
4. colander
5. large bowl
6. butter muslin/ cheese cloth
7. cheese hoop (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Reminder: Sterilize all your utensils before making cheese.
1. Heat the milk at a temperature of 270 C to 300 C. Stir the milk in an up and down motion.
2. Remove the pot from the heat.
3. Sprinkle the mesophilic culture on the milk. Let it set for 2 minutes to rehydrate.
4. Stir the milk gently in an up and down motion to thoroughly mix the culture with the milk.
5. Add the rennet. Stir again.
6. Cover the pot and set it aside for 20 to 24 hours. Keep it in a warm area in your house.
7. After the setting time, a good curd mass should form. You will also notice a thin layer of whey over the curd mass. Test for a clean break. Poke the surface with a knife. If you can move the curd without the whey filling the space immediately, you’ll know you have a clean break.
8. Put the colander in a large bowl and line it with the cheese cloth/ butter muslin.
9. Gently ladle the curds into the muslin.
10. Pull up the sides of the cheesecloth to cover the curds. Tie up the cheesecloth with a kitchen twine.
11. Hang the curds over a large pot and drain it for 6 to 12 hours. The time of draining affects the final quality of the Chevre. A shorter draining time will result in a moist cheese, but its shelf life will be shorter.
12. Once you’ve reached the desired consistency, add in the salt. You can also mix in fresh herbs and spices.
13. Store it in a bowl with a lid cover and refrigerate the Chevre ASAP. Refrigeration will slow down the bacteria activity in your cheese. Since Chevre is a fresh cheese, it is best to consume within 7 to 10 days.
Molding the Chevre
After salting, you have the option of putting the curds in a cheese hoop so you can have a cheese with a compact shape. You can also form it into a cheese log by hand. You can mix in the herbs or put it on the cheese’s crust.
Best Herbs and Spices for Chevre
Chevre is delicious and makes a very good spreadable cheese. It is also very versatile when it comes to herbs and spices you can add to it. Here is a list of the best herbs and spices to add to your chevre cheese.
1. basil
2. black pepper
3. cardamom
4. cinnamon
5. cloves
6. cumin
7. dried Merey lemon rind
8. ginger
9. ground corriander
10. marjoram
11. parsley
12. rosemary
13. sage
You can mix and match herbs and spices depending on your desired flavor.
Variations in Making Chevre
In this recipe, we used MM100 to make Chevre cheese. The MM100 mesophilic culture gives Chevre a more buttery flavor. It also allows for a small amount of CO2 production allowing the cheese to have a more open and lighter texture and making it moister and sweeter compared to other variations of Chevre. MM100 is best to use for fresh cheese.
Another culture you can use is M265 for a lactic flavor dominating cheese. If you want a ripened goat cheese, you can add Geotrichum culture along with the starter culture. This will give you a uniquely moist and wrinkles surface.
Adding a combination of Geotrichum and P. candidum along with the starter culture will produce a Chevre with a velvety white surface upon aging.
Check out these Assortments of Cheese Culture and Cheese Hoops From Our Shop
Cheese Hoops
Cheese Cultures
More Cheese Making Recipes
