Learn how to make goat cheese using a traditional cultured recipe. It’s an easy and delicious cheese for beginners. Try one of the six flavor options!
Homemade goat cheese is a delicious addition to salads, crepes, pizza, and sandwiches. This traditional recipe is based on simple cultured cream cheese.
If this is your first time making cheese, check out my post on how to make cheese at home. It will provide more details on each of the steps in this recipe.
Flavoring Soft Goat Cheese
Flavored goat cheese is a delicious and impressive appetizer.
Here are a few popular flavor additions:
- Dried herbs result in a Boursin-style cheese
- Fresh herbs like basil, chives, and dill with a drizzle of olive oil
- Olive tapenade
- Roasted garlic with a drizzle of olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Blueberry or cherry jam
2 Ways to add flavor
There are two ways to add flavor to goat cheese. Stirred into the freshly drained curds or added on top of the cheese.
- Salting and flavoring right after draining the whey will result in soft spreading cheese.
- For a firmer slicing cheese, sprinkle the salt and other flavors on the surface of the cheese after it has been pressed.
- Firm cheese logs can be rolled in the toppings.
- Alternatively, pack the cheese into a mason jar, then add the toppings on top.
How to make goat cheese
Homemade soft goat cheese, like chevre and goat cream cheese, is easy and delicious. Adding flavors to goat cheese turns it into an impressive appetizer. See the section above for more information on how to flavor goat cheese.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: Approx. 1 1/2 lbs
- Category: Cheese
- Method: Cultured
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1–gallon whole goat’s milk
- 1/2 portion of mesophilic starter or chevre starter (see notes)
- 1/2 portion of rennet mixed in 1/4 cup of chlorine-free water (see notes)
- 1 Tbsp cheese salt (optional)
Instructions
- Heat milk to 76F (24C).
- Add the rennet and the mesophilic culture at the same time. Stir thoroughly to ensure even mixing.
- Maintain at 72F (22C) for 12 hours to set the curd.
- After 12 hours, it will have formed a thick curd. Gently pour the entire batch into a strainer lined with butter muslin.
- Hang in the butter muslin for 6-48 hours, until you have reached the desired thickness.
- After draining, add the salt and any flavorings. Goat cheese can be a soft spreading cheese or a firm log. See the sections above for more information on flavoring and forming the cheese.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge and use within 1 month.
Notes
- Only use half the amount of rennet that is normally used to set a gallon of milk. The exact amount will depend on whether you are using liquid rennet
or a rennet tablet
. Follow the instructions on your rennet package or use 1 drop of liquid rennet.
- Chevre is officially made with its own specific mesophilic culture
. However, soft goat cheese can be made with any type of mesophilic culture, including a 1/4 cup of milk kefir or a 1/4 cup of mesophilic yogurt. For a mild-tasting cheese, don’t add any culture.
- The consistency will depend on how long the cheese drains. Hang the cheese for 6 hours for a creamy spreading cheese or 48 hours to get a firmer crumbling cheese.
or a 
. Follow the instructions on your rennet package or use 1 drop of liquid rennet.
. However, soft goat cheese can be made with any type of mesophilic culture, including a 1/4 cup of Keywords: chevre, goat cream cheese, soft cheese, easy, diy, homemade, flavoured, herb, garlic, fruit, olive
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