Food Feta

[Faroe]

This seems to be fairly easy to make. The hard thing was sifting through all the very different internet recipes, when a mistake I made in following the Riki Carroll (spell?? ...can't seem to locate the book right now) recipe, left me completely confused.

The feta curds are on a plate cut more or less into squares, and sweating out whey with their coating of salt.

A small taste test this morning was very promising...

Tomorrow, they will go into a jar with brine and be refridgerated.

Sadly, we have no more milk! Lacy the goat had droped her production precipitiously this week. Don't know why. She looks good, and is eating. I checked her eyelids for color, and they look the same. I'm going to switch to a different wormer anyway, in case the worm load is too heavy. I still suspect the hay. I really don't like the new hay, but it is the best available untill the new stuff comes in in May. Her breeder is using the same hay, and her goats are doing fine on it - so who knows.

 

[John Deere Girl]

I have found Ricki Carroll's book to be a little complicated. I like The Home Dairy much better.

 

[summerthyme]

I like both books. Definitely, Carroll's book gets a little more involved, but if things aren't working quite right, that can be useful. At the moment, we don't have milk again, because Miracle is drinking every drop her mother produces! Because it's so darned cold and she's so little, I'm not willing to tie her overnight so we can get the morning milk yet. And from the look of the long range weather forecast, our Dexter/Jersey heifer may well calve and be producing before the weather warms up!

There are LOTS of detailed recipes on Ricki Carroll's website... http://www.cheesemaking.com/

Lots of troubleshooting help, too. Reading some of the forums, I'm grateful all over again that we have our own raw milk... it sounds like they're pretty much ruining the commercial product, to "extend shelf life". Well, LIVE foods have a limited shelf life. They're designed that way! Killing off every enzyme, probiotic and denaturing the protein sure doesn't improve it any!

Summerthyme

 

[Faroe]

Tastes good. It is in the fridge "ageing." According to Deborah Niemann (Raising Goats Naturally), the cheese realy won't age at fridge temps. It requires 50F-55F. I have another batch today sweating under salt, so we will probably just eat the first one soon. (I need a root cellar.)

Lacy is stable at the lower production. She doesn't seem to be drying up, but I can't get the volumes up again to what they were. Before the sudden drop, I was getting at least 40oz a day from her (milking 2X/day) unless she was in heat. I gave her another dose of wormer (Safeguard - fenbendazole), and also went back to the Molly's herbal wormer program. This time, I'm drenching the herbal stuff, so I know she gets it all (I can't get them to eat it hidden in treats). We are also switching from the Safeguard to Ivermectin, first thing come March.

The neighbor's Nigerian just had two little kids. She is a good looking doe, and I am frankly jealous. They do next to nothing for their goats - he even throws the hay right on the ground. Mine look scruffy in compairison, and I do everything I can for them - wormers, copper, minerals, hay in proper feeders, clean water, snug housing...I even sweep up the ground for them every morning. Grrr.

 

[summerthyme]

Faroe... if you have the time, and really want/need to increase her production, try milking her more often for a few days. It's surprising how fast they'll come back up on milk, unless they truly are drying off...

As far as the cheese aging issues, watch craigslist or other local ads for an old, cheap refrigerator. A lot of the time, you can simply set it at the highest setting, and it will sit around 50°. Even a medium sized dorm fridge would probably work for a few wheels...

Summerthyme

 

[Faroe]

Thank you, Summerthyme.
I am going to try that. I would like a much milk as possible.

Our other doe isn't due untill the end of March, first of April. She will be feeding her babies for eight weeks past that. I doubt we wil be "stealing" any beforehand, she had three boys last time, and looks big enough again at this point to be carrying three.