Cheese from goat milk very healthy and tasty. It contains a large number of calcium and other microelements. It can be consumed by people who cannot tolerate cow's milk, and, accordingly, cheese made from it. Visually it differs from cheese from cow's milk color - goat cheese very white.

From 6 liters of goat milk you get approximately 500-600 g of cheese.

Ingredients for homemade goat cheese:

• Milk – 6 l
• Rennet (can be replaced with citric acid solution or lemon juice)
• Dry dill, other spices to taste

How to make goat milk cheese:

Pour the milk into a steel pan and heat to a temperature of 70 degrees. Add rennet or citric acid(Dilute 1 level teaspoon in 50 ml of water). Let the milk sit until a curd forms, 30-40 minutes.

When it is clear that the clot is formed, you need to cut it into grains. Those who are engaged in cheese making on a regular basis have for this purpose special devices. A long thin knife is enough for us. Directly in the pan, cut the curd lengthwise and crosswise into squares of approximately 0.5x0.5 cm. Then we try to cut the clot in layers, parallel to the bottom of the pan.

Drain off some of the resulting whey (it will be greenish in color) and carefully add it to the pan. hot water, approximately 0.5 liters.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cheese grains into a mold lined with gauze, cover and place the press on top for 1 hour. Then take out the cheese, turn it over, put it back in the mold and under the press for another 1 hour. The mold should have holes on the bottom and sides for the drainage of whey. For small volumes, it is convenient to use a mayonnaise bucket with drilled holes.

We wash the cheese. To do this, pour into a large saucepan ice water and put a head of cheese in there. We change the water until the whey stops being washed out and the water remains clear.

Now you need to salt the cheese. Making a rich cold one saline solution 10% (per liter of water 100 g of salt). Dip the cheese into it and leave for about 6 hours. Wipe the cheese, sprinkle with herbs and leave in the refrigerator. In principle, cheese can already be eaten; it is tasty, although it is considered unripe. To ripen the cheese you will need long time- a few months. Only the head should weigh 3-4 kg, otherwise during the ripening process it will dry out to a stone state.

Even an inexperienced housewife can please her household with goat cheese prepared at home. To do this, you need goat milk, enzymes, salt, as well as knowledge and features of simple technology for home cheese making.

Goat cheese

At home, it is better to make soft goat cheese; it is called milk cheese or feta cheese. Hard cheeses require certain skills and special equipment. Soft goat cheese is stored in the refrigerator for about 10 days in the whey obtained during the production process or in a cotton towel. Goat cheese is combined with vegetables and herbs. It is served with white and red wine with grapes, honey, various fruits and berries.

Ingredients for making goat cheese

The main ingredient for goat cheese is fresh milk, acidified cheese will not produce high-quality cheese. It is better to buy milk at the market or farming where goats are raised. On average, from 8 liters of goat milk we get 1 kg of soft cheese.

The second ingredient for producing goat milk is an enzyme that separates the whey from the cheese grain.

• rennet, obtained from the gastric juice of ruminant animals, it can be bought at the market from peasants or on farms
• an alternative may be pepsin, which is sold in pharmacies

For vegetarians, the following is used to curdle milk:

• calcium chloride (buy at the pharmacy)
• citric, acetic acid, lemon, kiwi
• bacterial starter "Meito" obtained from edible mushroom

Homemade goat cheese - recipe

• Heat 10 liters of milk to 35°C, it’s good if you have a special thermometer to control the temperature

• add rennet 3 ml per 10 liters of milk
• it must be diluted in 50 ml warm water, and pour into milk

• leave the milk for 30 minutes to ferment,
• the process is completed if the resulting jelly-like white clot easily comes off the walls of the container
• Use a knife to chop the curd into thin strips: in one direction, then across, and finally cut horizontally (the finer we chop, the denser the cheese will be)

• put the milk on the fire, heat it slightly, stir
• the whey flakes off, cheese grains form; they must be removed from the pan with a slotted spoon
• prepare a sieve in advance, cover it with gauze folded in two layers, you can use special molds
• carefully transfer the mixture onto gauze or into molds, wait until the water drains

• Cover the top of the protein mass with gauze; if you need the whey to drain quickly, use a small weight
• after 2 hours, shake the cheese out of the mold, salt it well with iodized salt, transfer it to a towel, and put it in the refrigerator

If you want to diversify the taste of goat cheese, add piquancy and originality to the healthy protein product, add (during the fermentation stage) herbs, aromatic herb seeds, bitter or sweet bell pepper. Using our recipe, you will prepare delicious goat cheese. The entire cheese making process will take you no more than 3 hours.

If the unique taste and aroma of the finished product does not bother you, we recommend trying several types of goat’s milk cheese at home, to which we have decided to devote the following material.

Homemade goat's milk cheese - recipe

Let's start with some of the most plain cheeses– soft. In conditions industrial production Such cheeses are rarely packaged fresh; in most cases they are aged for a short time or are contaminated with noble mold. The homemade version has a less pungent taste and a soft, uniform consistency due to the fact that the product can be consumed almost immediately after preparation.

Ingredients:

• fat goat milk – 1.2 l;
• juice of two lemons;
• vinegar – 25 ml;
• salt.

Preparation

Pour the milk into an enamel bowl and heat to a temperature of 80 degrees. For maximum accuracy of the process, it is better to have a special thermometer on hand. When the milk is heated, salt it and pour in the juice of a couple of lemons along with vinegar. Remove the pan from the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes. Carefully remove any milk clots on the surface or strain through cheesecloth. Bring the ends of the gauze together, tie them and leave the homemade goat's milk cheese hanging in a cool place for an hour. Sprinkle the surface of the cheese mixture with dried herbs if desired.

Processed goat cheese recipe

Processed cheese usually takes longer to prepare because goat milk must be curdled and excess whey squeezed out before melting begins. If possible, save time and use ready-made goat curd in the recipe.

Ingredients:

• goat cottage cheese – 580 g;
• soda – 10 g;
• butter– 15 g;
• egg – 1 pc.

Preparation

Place the goat's curd, squeezed out of excess whey, into an enamel bowl. Salt it, add pieces of butter, an egg and a little soda, which neutralizes excess acid. The ingredients on the stove should be stirred continuously and intensively so that nothing burns. At the same time, keep an eye on the heat; it should not be too high so that the cheese mixture does not curdle. Stirring, keep the future cheese on the fire until it becomes homogeneous. At this point, you can add any extras, such as herbs, sautéed mushrooms or chopped ham. Next, distribute the hot processed cheese in any form and leave until cool.

It is surprising that to prepare hard cheese you need to use all the same ingredients as to prepare a processed product, but the technology for cooking such cheese differs from that described above.

Ingredients:

• – 2.9 l;
• cottage cheese – 1.1 kg;
• soda – 10 g;
• – 95 ​​g;
• salt.

Preparation

Combine cottage cheese with milk in any enamel bowl. Place the dishes over medium heat and boil everything for 20 minutes. Drain the milk curds in a colander and transfer the cheese to a clean bowl. Place everything over water bath, add oil, egg, soda and a pinch of salt. Stirring, boil the ingredients for 10 minutes (the longer you boil the mixture, the harder the cheese will become), and transfer the finished homogeneous mass into the chosen form and leave until cooled.

At the stage of melting the cheese, you can add garlic, chopped fresh or dried herbs, as well as any spices to the mixture of ingredients. This way you can diversify the taste and appearance product.

Goat cheese is very tasty and healthy for the body. It tastes a little different from usual product made from cow's milk. And it’s definitely worth trying, especially homemade, prepared with your own hands.

Reasons for popularity

Goat cheese has a fairly delicate structure and an interesting aroma. It also contains a small amount of sugar and is rich in nutrients. This product is very quickly absorbed by the body. In addition, it contains a large number of bacteria that ensure the normal functioning of the digestive system.

Goat cheese differs from others in its hypoallergenic. This makes it especially unique. Some doctors advise using such a product to combat bronchitis, even without resorting to medication. But not only cheese is useful. For those who suffer from cystitis, it is recommended to take goat's milk with a few drops of birch tar. And goat cottage cheese saves many from joint pain.

Calorie content of homemade cheese

The calorie content of cheese prepared at home is small. There are only 300 kilocalories per 100 grams of product. Of these, 85 kilocalories are occupied by proteins, 200 by fats, and the remaining percentage remains carbohydrates.

Main Ingredients

Of course, the main ingredient is milk, and it must be fresh. After all, a sour product will not make good, high-quality cheese. So, from eight liters of milk you can get up to one kilogram of cheese.

Another important ingredient is rennet, which can be obtained from the stomach juices of cows. If it is not possible to get it, then you can replace it with pepsin, which is most often purchased at the pharmacy. In addition, you can use a starter obtained from an edible mushroom.

Cooking technology

An interesting point is that small grains of fat end up in the whey when the milk is fermented, so the resulting cheese will not be as fatty as the original product.

To slightly increase the coagulability of goat's milk, it can be combined with cow's milk, because in it this process occurs ten percent better. In addition, its small share will not affect the taste qualities goat cheese.

There is another way to improve clotting. To do this, you need to add more lactic acid bacteria. At home, you can use yogurt or sour cream instead of sourdough. The only drawback is that you have to calculate the quantity yourself.

To obtain a denser consistency, the liquid must be heated by first adding pepsin. Great importance has utensils that are used for cheese making. After all, you will need a lot of it and large volumes.

Delicious recipes

Goat cheese can be made at home, and there are many different ways to make it. interesting recipes its preparations. Based on your preferences, you can cook soft and hard cheese.

Classic goat cheese

Required components:

• 10 liters of high-quality goat milk;
• 0.3 ml rennet;
• 0.5 l of purified water;
• salt to taste.

Step by step recipe:

• To prepare cheese, you need to heat the milk to 37 C degrees.
• Combine it with the enzyme, which must first be diluted in warm water.
• Wait half an hour for the milk to ferment.
• A whitening jelly clot that appears and easily pulls away from the walls of the pan will indicate the completion of the stage.
• Chop the resulting layer into thin strips using a knife. And the smaller the pieces, the denser the cheese will be.
• Put the milk on the fire and heat it slightly, stirring it at the same time.
• Using a slotted spoon, select the cheese grains that will form during the whey separation and place them in a pre-prepared sieve covered with several layers of gauze.
• Wait until the liquid drains.
• Cover everything on top with gauze.
• When approximately two hours have passed, you can remove the gauze and remove ready cheese. It must be salted and transferred to a waffle towel, put in the refrigerator.
• To give the cheese some piquancy, you need to add herbs to your taste at the fermentation stage.

Russian cheese made from goat milk

Required components:

• 9–10 liters of high-quality goat milk;
• 0.5 tsp. sourdough;
• 0.5 tbsp. l. 10% calcium chloride;
• 0.5 tbsp. l. rennet;
• 0.5 liters of warm water.

Step by step recipe:

• The milk must first be pasteurized and then cooled to 30 C.
• Add the starter into it and wait three minutes, then stir everything with a slotted spoon.
• Pour 50 g of warm water into two vessels. In one, prepare a solution of calcium chloride, and in the second, rennet. Then add everything to the container with milk and mix thoroughly.
• In order for the curd to ripen, you need to close the resulting mass with a lid and wait half an hour.
• Cut the hardened mass with a knife into centimeter cubes. Then knead everything well for ten minutes. After this process, grains of cheese will appear.
• The whey must be carefully drained, leaving 3 liters in the container, and stir everything for another five minutes.
• Add 2 liters of warm water, thus reducing the acidity of the cheese itself.
• Knead the mixture for another 25 minutes, maintaining the temperature at 40 C.
• Place the contents of the container in a drainage bag, being careful not to compact it too much. This is necessary to give the product airiness.
• The cheese should be pressed for about 15 minutes, after which it must be turned over. Pressing occurs on the other side in the same order. When turning over, you need to pull the cheese out of the drainage bag so that there are no traces left on it.
• After pressing, salt the cheese and dry it. Then it must be placed in a aging chamber, where the temperature should not exceed 13 C. This process lasts up to two months. The cheese must be turned over daily.

Cheese Caciotta

Step by step recipe:

• Heat the milk over low heat to 37 C.
• Add the starter into it and mix everything thoroughly. Let the product stand for one hour so that the milk gains acidity.
• Dilute the enzyme in warm water and combine with milk. You also need to add calcium chloride. After 40 minutes a clot should form.
• Cut it into pieces up to two centimeters and gently knead for 25 minutes.
• Drain off excess whey (approximately 40% of the total mass). Then you need to mix the cheese mixture again.
• Prepare a mold by covering it with thick cloth or several layers of gauze. Carefully place the cheese grains here, compacting everything a little with your hands.
• Place everything in a steam bath and leave for an hour and a half. During this time, you need to turn the mass 3 times.
• Transfer the product to a wire rack and leave for 3 hours.
• Next, move the cheese to the refrigerator (up to 8 C) and leave there for up to six hours.
• Place the product in a pre-prepared brine (4 liters of water per 1 kg of salt and 1 tablespoon of vinegar). This process takes up to two hours.
• The cheese is dried and aged. The process occurs at temperatures up to 10 C. If mold appears on the surface of the product, it must be removed with gauze soaked in a saline solution.
• In ten days the cheese will be ready, however, the real taste will appear only after two months.

Cheese Chevre

This cheese appeared a hundred years ago in France. It was prepared by ordinary peasants for their own use. This name is translated as “goat”.

Required components:

• 7–8 liters of healthy goat milk;
• 1/3 tsp. rennet;
• 1/3 tsp. calcium chloride;
• 1/3 tsp. mesophilic culture;
• mold Geotrichum candidum.

Step by step recipe:

• Milk must be pasteurized and calcium added.
• Pour in the mesophilic culture so that the fermentation occurs faster, and leave it like that for half an hour.
• Heat the milk to 32 C and add mold and sourdough. Then you need to close the lid and leave for half an hour.
• Add enzyme dissolved in 50 ml of warm water, stir and cover with a lid. Then leave everything for 12 hours. Although the clot forms earlier, you should not cut it before the end of the specified time.
• Drain the whey and cut the curd into small pieces with a knife. Then everything needs to be mixed and put into a drainage bag to drain the liquid.
• After six hours, add salt to the cheese. To do this, you just need to rub it with salt on each side.
• Divide the mass into equal pieces and form them into cylinders up to ten centimeters long. You can make them using a bamboo mat.
• Spread the formed mass on a mesh and leave it to dry for a day.
• After 24 hours, send the cheese to the refrigerator for aging, the temperature should be up to 6–10 C.
• This process lasts up to a month. The mass must be turned over every day.
• Only ripened cheese will have a delicate structure, then its density will increase every day.

How to store?

Goat milk cheeses are stored in the refrigerator. It's best if it's the middle shelf. An airtight container that will prevent excess air from getting inside works well as a storage container. This measure will help protect the cheese from drying out and mold. And also many people store the finished product in salt water. With this choice, the shelf life can double.

As you can conclude, you can make goat’s milk cheese at home, which will allow you not to worry about whether the product was purchased in a store.

In addition, by making it with your own hands, a person will be able to taste the real taste of goat cheese, and not the chemical additives that production in large factories requires.

To learn how to make goat milk cheese at home, watch the following video.

Sep-2-2017

What is goat cheese?

Goat cheese is a fermented milk product made from natural goat milk. Its hard, soft and curd varieties are known. Plus options with mold. Most often the product is found in a soft creamy form. Distinctive feature goat's milk cheese - White color(since it does not contain beta-carotene). Other shades indicate the use of dyes in production.

Properly made cheese has a pleasant taste with some spice.

Of particular importance in the composition of this cheese are substances such as riboflavin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, folic acid, cyanocobalamin - B vitamins. Here it is important to mention retinol and niacin, which are the basis for the formation of vitamins A and PP in the body.

The total calorie content of the product per 100 grams is about 290 units. It contains a minimum of carbohydrates, about 22 grams of protein and fat. In terms of its nutritional composition, goat cheese is dietary product, which is well suited for both adult and baby food. In addition, it is good to use during periods of increased physical activity.

Benefits of goat cheese:

All types of goat cheese are rich in nutrients. It contains especially a lot of calcium, which is necessary for health and strength. bone tissue, teeth, hair, nails. In addition, sufficient calcium intake into the body significantly reduces the likelihood of developing cancerous tumor colon, mammary glands. This is also facilitated by probiotics, also contained in goat cheese. They reduce the risk of cancer and improve the condition gastrointestinal tract, promote complete digestion of food and, of course, improve the condition of the immune system.

Regular consumption of 2-3 pieces of this product reduces the possibility of migraines and helps normalize blood pressure, has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the entire nervous system.

Regular use activates metabolic processes, which prevents the body from accumulating fat. Therefore, despite its calorie content, you can safely include cheese in your menu without fear of gaining weight. Of course, you shouldn’t eat kilograms of it. Just 50 - 100 g is enough for the whole day.

It should be noted that cheese contains a minimum of cholesterol and sodium. Therefore, it can be used when diabetes mellitus, heart disease. The product is almost completely absorbed, saturating the body with healthy saturated fats.

According to experts, regular consumption of small amounts of this product helps to improve the health of the genitourinary system. There is also evidence that eating cheese reduces pain during menstruation.

This product is very important for people who, due to intolerance to cow's milk, cannot consume cheeses made from it. Goat's milk cheese contains lactoglobulins, is considered hypoallergenic, and therefore can be included in your diet.

How to make goat cheese at home?

Ingredients:

5 l goat milk

1½-2 tablets of acidin-pepsin per 1 liter of milk (Brynza recipe)

Salt - to taste (from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon per 1 liter of milk)

If you want to make cheese from pasteurized milk, boil it and cool it to a temperature of 36–38 °C. Heat fresh milk to this temperature. Pour acidin-pepsin starter into the prepared milk, diluted in a third of a glass of milk at room temperature. If you have an electric stove, be sure to move the pan away from the burner so that the milk does not heat up and the enzymes do not cook. Cover the pan with a lid.

After 30 minutes - 1 hour, a dense clot should form, but sometimes you need to wait about 2 hours: the time depends on the amount of starter. Determine the readiness of the clot using a knife blade: if after immersion in the pan the blade comes out clean, the clot is ready, that is, the starter particles are compressed and do not stick to the blade.

If you get a mass similar to yogurt, cover the pan again with a lid and leave for another 30 minutes. Such a mass could have resulted from an insufficient amount of acidin-pepsin. If after an additional 30 minutes the mass does not reach the desired consistency, slightly heat the pan, stirring the mass thoroughly, and place it in a fine sieve. After draining the whey, you will have a young cheese that tastes good, but perhaps a little dry.

If the clot has matured in 30 minutes or 1 hour, then a little greenish liquid should separate on the sides of the clot. Cut the curd into squares lengthwise and crosswise and leave them in the whey for 10 minutes. You can mix the cheese mass later: the curd will no longer absorb moisture, but will only release it anywhere in the cut.

Transfer the mixture into small sieves lined with cotton cloth, add salt (do not add salt in the pan!), mix and compact. Tie the ends of the fabric and place the mass under the weight. Periodically cut the mixture into cubes and stir so that the whey drains faster.

If, due to the strong pressure of the load in the center of the clot, bulges form on its sides, cut them off 2-3 times and place them in the vacated holes to level the surface. The next day you will have young cheese like Adyghe cheese. Place it in a storage pan, cover and place in the refrigerator.

How to make soft goat cheese Gaiskasli:

10–15 l goat milk

1–2 tablets of abomin (recipe " Homemade cheese feta")

Salt - to taste

Dissolve abomin tablets in half a glass cold water and add to fresh milk. Let sit for 40 minutes until the milk has curdled, then stir thoroughly, pour into a tall mold with holes in the bottom and sides and let the whey drip off, adding salt to the top of the mixture. After 2 days, remove the mixture from the mold and, turning it over, salt the other side. This cheese matures for 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

How to make Crotten goat cheese:

Crottin de Chavignolles is a soft goat cheese, it is a small round piece with a diameter of 4–5 cm, a height of 3–4 cm and a weight of 60–130 g. The crust can be covered with white or blue mold. The cheese has a pleasant taste with a slight sourness and a slightly nutty flavor.

"Crottin" means "horse manure" in French. The cheese justifies such an unappetizing name only externally, and then only after aging for 4 months, when it dries out to small gray heads.

Cheese production usually begins in March, when the goats are taken out to pasture. Young spring cheese is very delicate and has a light, unobtrusive taste. In autumn, a sharper cheese is produced with the characteristic aroma of goat's milk.

Some fans prefer to age cheese made in the spring until fall. The result is a tangy cheese that is covered with a hard rind and hardened inside. Several versions of this cheese are produced in France.

Crotten is served at the end of lunch with fruit and bread, or grilled on lettuce.

Ingredients:

4 liters of goat's milk, ¼ tsp. mesophilic starter, ⅛ tsp. liquid rennet, ⅛ tsp. calcium chloride, 1/32 tsp. mold Geotrichum candidum, 2 tsp. salt

Lay out a drainage system of mats so that liquid can pass through them unhindered, and place crotten molds (10 pcs.) on top.

Heat the milk in a container to 22 °C, stirring, then remove from the heat and scatter the powdered mesophilic starter and mold over its surface in a thin layer, leave for 3 minutes. Slowly stir the milk mixture, lifting the lower layers to the top with a large spoon or slotted spoon. Add calcium chloride to the milk, dissolved in 50 ml of cooled boiled water. Dissolve the rennet in the same way. Mix everything again with slow movements. After 18–20 hours of exposure under the lid at room temperature The milk should separate into curd and clear whey. Excess liquid drain so that some of the whey remains at the bottom. Then remove small layers of cheese from the curd and place them in molds. The process will take quite a bit for a long time, since the cheese layers will gradually settle to the bottom and become denser. Place layers of cheese at intervals of 20 minutes. Cover the molds with a moisture-absorbing towel or napkins and leave to mold and mature under its own weight for 2 days. After 24 hours, you need to turn the molds over for equilateral self-pressing of the cheese.

Remove the cheese heads from the molds, sprinkle with salt (¼ tsp) on both sides and leave for 24 hours on a drainage surface, covered with a towel. Place the cheese heads in a large container. A drainage mat should be placed in it, and under it 2-3 layers of paper napkins. Keep the cheese in a cool room (8–10 °C) for up to 2 weeks. Periodically check the release of moisture inside the container by removing wet wipes and wiping the lid dry. To create optimal humidity for the development of white mold culture and the appearance of a wrinkled surface on the cheese, do not install the lid of the container too tightly. Store fresh cheese for 5 weeks in the refrigerator, where the temperature does not exceed 4–5 °C. The cheese becomes most aromatic and tender from the 14th to the 25th day of storage.

How to make Saint Maur cheese:

This goat cheese is made from unpasteurized whole milk. The cheese has the shape of a cylinder, 16–17 cm long and weighs about 250 g. Under the gray, moldy crust of the cheese there is white tender pulp.

It is made in the form of a log with a straw inside. The straw helps maintain the shape of the cheese and indicates handcrafted production. Now they produce two varieties: simply with white mold and in the old style - dusted with ash. This soft Saint Maur takes 15 days to mature.

Ingredients:

4 l goat milk, ⅛ tsp. mesophilic starter, ⅛ tsp. calcium chloride, 1/32 tsp. Geotrichum candidum mold powder, 1/32 tsp. mold Penicillium candidum, ⅛ tsp. liquid rennet, 2 tsp. salt.

Prepare a drainage system: place a wire rack with legs in a deep container or place it on top of a bowl, place a drainage mat on the wire rack, place cheese molds vertically on the mat. To prevent the molds from falling, you can connect them with an elastic band or place each one in a Camembert mold.

Pour milk into a saucepan, stirring, bring to a temperature of 22 °C. Remove the pan from the heat, sprinkle the mesophilic starter and both types of mold on the surface. Let stand for 3 minutes to allow the powders to absorb moisture. Mix the entire volume of milk well with smooth movements from top to bottom using a slotted spoon. Dissolve calcium chloride in 30 ml of water and add to milk. Also dissolve the rennet in 30 ml of milk and add to the milk. Mix everything well with a slotted spoon. Cover the pan with a lid and leave the milk to ripen at room temperature for 18 hours. A stable clot should form, with a layer of whey on top. Remove excess whey with a cup or large spoon.

Use a slotted spoon to collect a thin layer of curd and place into molds. So, layer by layer with an interval of 15 minutes, you need to put the entire curd into molds. Do not rush to fill the molds: after a few hours the curd in the molds will settle, and you will end up with cheeses that are too small, half the size of the mold. Cover the molds with a napkin and leave to compact at room temperature for 24 hours. During this time, you need to turn the molds with cheese 4 times, covering them with a wire rack with a drainage mat. Place a layer of napkins or paper towel in the container for aging the cheese.

Remove the cheese from the molds, sprinkle each ½ tsp. salt. For a classic version of this cheese, sprinkle a thin layer of charcoal over it through a sieve. If you want a modern cheese with a white rind, don't sprinkle it with charcoal. Then place the cheese in a container on a paper towel. Cover and leave overnight at room temperature. Remove cheese and paper towel. Place a new paper towel on the bottom of the container, a drainage mat on it, and cheese on the mat. Close the lid and leave to ripen for 2 weeks in the refrigerator or room with a temperature of 8 °C. During this time, turn the cheese a quarter turn daily to maintain its shape and allow mold to develop evenly. It is necessary to monitor the humidity: if the paper towel becomes too wet, it must be removed. After 2 weeks, wrap the cheese in special double-layer paper or put it in a tightly closed container and store in the refrigerator for another 2-3 weeks.

How to make Valencey goat cheese:

Valence is a French cheese made from goat's milk, made in the shape of a truncated pyramid about 7 cm high and weighing 250 g. Covered with fluffy mold and sprinkled with wood ash. Ash on the surface of the cheese during cooking allows it to firm up better, gives a beautiful color to the rind and speeds up the ripening process.

The cheese has a delicate, slightly sweet taste, reminiscent of hazelnuts.

Valence cheese is business card the province of Berry, which produces other famous goat cheeses (Pouligny Saint-Pierre, Levre).

Ingredients:

4 liters of goat's milk, ¼ tsp. mesophilic starter, 1/32 tsp. Geotrichum candidum mold powder, 1/32 tsp. Penicillium candidum mold powder, ⅛ tsp. calcium chloride solution, ⅛ tsp. liquid rennet, salt, finely ground coal

Heat the milk to 22 °C, remove from heat. Sprinkle the surface of the milk with mesophilic starter powder and both types of mold. Leave for 3 minutes for the powders to absorb moisture. Then carefully mix the entire volume of milk with a slotted spoon. Dilute rennet in 50 ml of water and add to milk. Also dilute the calcium chloride solution in 50 ml of water and add to the milk. Mix everything, cover the pan with a lid and leave at room temperature for 18 hours (if the room is hot, reduce the time to 15 hours). After 15–18 hours, a clot should form, and a small layer of whey should form above it. Remove the whey from the surface with a ladle or large spoon. Using a slotted spoon, remove layers of curd 1–1.5 cm thick at intervals of 15 minutes and place them in 4 molds. The clot will thicken and settle. Cover the molds with a towel and leave to compact and ripen for 48 hours at room temperature. Periodically drain the whey from the pan.

Place two layers of paper napkins in the ripening container and place a drainage mat on them. Sprinkle each wheel of cheese with ¾ tsp. salt. Place 2 tsp in a strainer. ground coal and sprinkle each wheel of cheese. Lightly tap the surface of the cheese with your fingers to prevent the coal from crumbling. Place the cheese on a paper towel in a container, cover and leave at room temperature for 24 hours. Remove the cheese from the container and paper towels. Place a drainage platform or a couple of layers of drainage mats on the bottom, and place cheese on top. Keep the cheese for 10 days at a temperature of 8 °C. If moisture accumulates at the bottom of the container, remove it with a napkin and open the lid slightly. High humidity can cause spots of blue mold to form, and too dry air will cause the cheese to dry out, so you need to regulate the humidity by tightly closing the container lid. After 10 days, wrap the cheese in double-layer paper or place it tightly in a container. The cheese is ready to eat. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

Recipes for dishes with goat cheese:

Sandwiches with fried goat cheese, tomatoes and pickles:

• 2 heads of mini goat cheese
• 1 tomato
• 3 small pickled cucumbers
• 2 eggs
• 6 slices tin white bread
• 4 tbsp. spoons of breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp. spoons of paprika
• 1 pinch of sugar
• 6 teaspoons olive oil

Cut the tomato and bread into thin equal circles, cut each head of goat cheese into 3 circles. Beat eggs, mix breadcrumbs with paprika. Dip goat cheese circles in eggs, roll in breadcrumbs and fry in 5 teaspoons of olive oil.

Place a slice of tomato on each slice of bread, sprinkle with sugar, pour over the remaining olive oil and add a circle of fried cheese. Serve garnished with pickled cucumber slices.

Sandwiches with goat cheese, fried onions and raisins:

• 6 heads of mini goat cheese
• 1 ciabatta
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp. spoons of olive oil
• raisins - to taste

Cut the bread diagonally into 6 slices. Fry the onion in olive oil until translucent, add the garlic and still fry a little, without letting the garlic brown. Place the onion and garlic mixture on the bread and pour over the remaining oil from frying.

Cut each goat cheese in half and place 2 halves on top of the onion on each slice of bread. Bake in the oven for 2 minutes at 160°C until the cheese softens. Serve sprinkled with raisins.

Open pie with goat cheese and zucchini:

• 100 g goat cheese
• 1 medium sized zucchini
• 11/3 cups flour
• 1 pinch of sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp. spoons of sour cream
• 1 tbsp. spoon of balsamic vinegar
• 1 handful of shredded green lettuce leaves
• 180 g butter
• olive oil, pepper and salt - to taste

Beat flour, granulated sugar, chilled butter cut into pieces in a blender and lightly salt. Add 1 egg, 4 tbsp. spoons of water, balsamic vinegar and knead until the dough pulls away from the walls of the blender bowl. Roll out the resulting dough, place it on a baking sheet lined with foil and make punctures in the dough with a fork.

Cut the zucchini into circles, cook for 2 minutes in salted water, drain in a colander and let the water drain. Then place the prepared zucchini mugs on the dough. Beat the eggs with sour cream, mix with goat cheese, salt and pepper, place on top of the zucchini and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes at 180°C. Serve sprinkled with green salad leaves.