We are cheesemongers.

As part of our goat-loving- we love goat products as well.
Especially cheese.

But holy heck, most goat cheese is expensive, and it's very simple to make. Also, the specific kind of cheese we wanted can't be found in stores.
So we made cheese.
You wouldn't believe how simple it was. Ridiculously simple.
In case you don't know this- we are very much into natural food preservation & nutrient enhancement (aka- traditional cooking) via lacto-fermentation and soaking.

If you are interested in making this cheese- do it!

Here's the recipe:

Clabber Cheese

(from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fermenting Foods by Wardeh Harmon)

Yield: 2 cups
Prep time: 15 minutes
Ferment time: 2 or 3 days
Ferment type: Lacto

Ingredients:
1/2 gallon raw milk [make sure it's raw, we used goat milk from a local farm]
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (optional)

Directions:
1. Put milk in a half-gallon jar. Cover with a cloth napkin or paper towel and secure with a rubber band. [Mtn. Man decided the best container for this was my brand new  KitchenAid mixer bowl, I reluctantly agreed]

The sour milk. Note the bowl.

Mtn. Man straining cheese. Note the Kitchenaid... without its bowl.

2. Leave at room temperature for about 2 days, until set up like yogurt. [I know this sounds crazy, but when you use raw, unpasteurized milk, the natural occurring cultures will start turning it into cheese! It's amazing what refrigerators keep us from learning.]

Whey dripping into pot.

3. Put colander into a container that fits it. Line the colander with 2 layers of 90-thread-count cheesecloth. [We used a sanitized gauze that I had in my fabric stash.] Pour sour milk into the cheesecloth layers. Tie up ends and put them inside the colander.

4. Let whey drip out for 1 or 2 days. Hang the bag to speed up process. [We just did this, so I will post updates on the finished cheese when this step is finished. By the way, don't discard the whey- it can be used as a starter for all kinds of ferments!]














5. Untie cheesecloth. Scrape out cheese and transfer to a storage container.

6. Mix in salt (if desired). Store in the refrigerator. Keeps for 2 weeks.

Variation: Add herbs and salt to clabbered cheese for a fantastic veggie dip. Or sprinkle it with cinnamon and drizzle with honey and eat it alongside fresh fruit. You can use it wherever you'd use cream cheese.

So there you have it! We made cheese.

Doesn't this look like cottage cheese?

***

For good measure, here are a couple pictures of the cat. He often sleeps in this faceplant position. Is it because we're being to loud? Too much light in the room? I don't know, but it's hilarious.

"Leave me alone."