Caprine cooking with Mary Jane Toth:

Editor's Note: Without a doubt, Mary Jane Toth is my hero. When I first embarked on myown dairy goat journey 20 years ago, she was there, in my kitchen, in the form of her first

.:book, Caprine Cooking, encouraging me on in my quest to make use of all that wonderfulgoat milk my does were producing.

Now she has done it again. Just last week I got a copy of her new book, A Cheesemaker'sJourney, and once again I am inspired to raise and produce dairy goats, and create won-

.. derfulness with all that excepttonot.rnilk., . This time, every thing .in Mary Jane's book is easy to' understand, recipes are graded ona level of one to five for difficulty; and the spiral bound back and delectable pictures make itvery hard to put down!

1can't wait until my own goats produce extra milk this spring because Mary Jane has putinto print the culrnlnotton of my dreams, and those, I am sure; of many others.

It is with great opprecictlon I announce here that Mary Jane Toth has agreed to run aregular column in Dairy Goat Journal, explaining how to make goat milk cheese and otherproducts, shoring her vast experience in the industry, and highlighting recipes that haveworked for her for decades., ".Her new book is cvclloble from the' Dairy Goat Journal Bookstore (1-800-551-5691;www. :.,dOirygoatjournaLcom), and her oersoncltouch .on.ccprtnecooklnqwlth-be available for. many issues to' come, right here in Dairy Goat Joumoi ':

Chevre French-StyleSoft Cheese

This is a versatile style soft cheese.A great cheese to make when you havea home dairy and you are up to youreyeballs in milk. It can be used to makeanything you would use cream cheesefor and it freezes very well. Of all thecheeses that you can learn to make,this is an absolute must. Because of itsversatility it has hundreds of uses.

Supplies:>f:,I5-6quart stainless pot>faThermometer that can read

80°F>fa.Cheesecloth (muslin type-this

is not what is sold in grocery stores ascheesecloth)

>f;I.Largespoon to stir pot~ Some place to hang the cheese

to drainRecipe:

5 quarts whole goat milk1/8 teaspoon mesophilic culture

or chevre culture2 tablespoons diluted rennet (Di-

lution is 3 drops liquid rennet into1/3 cup of cool water.)

Warm the milk to 80°F. Sprinklethe culture over warmed milk andstir well. Add the diluted rennet andstir well again. Cover and let set un-disturbed for 8-12 hours. Cheeseis ready to drain when it looks likethickened yogurt. It mayor may nothave a film of liquid on the top. Pourinto a cheesecloth lined pan and hangto drain for 6-8 hours. Draining canbe hastened if you take down the bagof curds and scrape the inside of thebag towards the center, hang to finishdraining. Cheese is drained enough

when it reaches the consistency ofcream cheese.

Tips:• If used as plain soft cream

cheese, salt at a ratio of one teaspoonof kosher salt per pound.

• If freezing, freeze plain, unsea-soned. Imeasure and freeze in one-pound packages. Flatten the pack-ages to make them easier to stackin the freezer. This also makes themeasier to unthaw and use for specificrecipes.

• 2 cups equals 1 pound

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Discover for yourself that goats will milk completely without milk wetted teats andwithout pulling down on the cluster.

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DAIf/1" GOAT IOu/INAL. Mtll'Ch/April 2012 • ",,,,,,,.DI1i>yGol1fjollmfl/.collI 3;

d-tow ,to ChooseBy MARY JANE TOTH

'Probably the most often askedquestion from new cheesemakers is how to choose a

culture. This can be a daunting task,but made much simpler when youhave a basic understanding of howand why the cultures work. I hope youfind the following information usefulin choosing which cultures you needto be successful in your home cheesemaking endeavors.

It's important to understand whyyou need a culture. The purpose ofthe culture is to raise the acidity of themilk, which helps the rennet to set thecheese as well as aiding in preservingand developing the flavor during theaging process.

Milk is a perfect medium for goodand bad bacteria. The culture inocu-lates the milk with the good type ofbacteria, which multiply by consum-ing the lactose (milk sugar) in themilk. The result raises the acidity andonce the good bacteria have taken holdin the milk they help prevent the badbacteria form gaining a foothold. It'slike a war between the good and bad.The good win the war when they canquickly outnumber the bad.

.BasicinformationCultures can be broken into two

types: mesophilic and thermophilic.Choosing either a thermophilic ormesophilic will depend on the type ofcheese that you are going to make.

Mesophilic is a non-heat lovingculture and is used for making cheesesthat are not heated to more than 102°F.This is the most common and is usedto make 90% of the variety of cheeses.This would include soft cheese, chevre,blue cheese, feta, cottage cheese, farm-ers cheese, Colby, cheddar, Camem-bert, brie, cultured buttermilk, and

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sour cream, ere,Thermophilic is a heat loving cul-

ture and is used to make cheeses thatcan be heated to 130 degrees. This isused in most Italian cheeses such asParmesan, provolone, mozzarella andSwiss,Monterey jack, etc. Yogurt is alsomade using a thermophilic culture.

Many varietiesof these two types areavailablewith names such as flora dan-cia, lactoccus bulgarius etc. No matterwhat types of fancy names are specificto that culture it will still fall into oneof the two types of culture. This sim-ply means that they can have differentstrains of bacteria, which can produceslight differences in taste. I have usedseveral with results pretty much thesame and with no big noticeable dif-ference in taste in the end product. Nomatter what it's called, mesophilic willalways be a mesophilic and the same istrue of the thermophilic.

freeze dried DVIor reculturable:

Which type of cultureshould you use?

Another question asked often ischoosing between making a motherculture and using a DVI culture. Allcheese cultures will come as a freeze-dried packer. Keep them frozen forlong-term storage.

[)VI Culture:DVI stands for "direct vat inocu-

lant"; this is added directly to themilk, usually at a rate of 1/8 teaspoonfor each gallon of milk. The freeze-dried packet can be kept in the freezerfor several months . .I have been usingone from my freezer that is about fiveyears old. Just make sure to keep itdouble bagged in good freezer bags.The advantage to the DVI culture isthat it can be kept in the freezer for

a CuLturelong periods of time. It's very handyfor the average home cheese makerwho is not making cheese on a dailybasis. DVI cultures are definitely mypreference. They are more convenientand produce more consistent results.Even large cheese making plants nowuse them.

'Reculturoble orMother culture:

Must first be cultured in sterilemilk before it can be used. This typeof culture can be recultured by sav-ing some from the previous batch tomake the next batch. This can be keptgoing for a long time but the biggestdrawback is that it will only keep inthe refrigerator for about three days orit can be frozen in cubes for about amonth. This means that you will needto be diligent about reculturing it sothat the live bacteria are kept viable.It will not last forever. If not properlyrecultured on a regular basis it canproduce inconsistent results.

Chevre Spreadable CheeseChives & Garlic

1 lb. soft goat cheese2 teaspoons dried chives or 2 ta-

blespoons fresh chives1 teaspoon kosher saltV2 teaspoon garlic powderMix ingredients together. Shape

into logs or balls. Refrigerate.

Dill1 lb. soft goat cheese1 teaspoon kosher salt3 teaspoons dill weedMix together and shape into balls

or logs. Refrigerate.

Dill & Garlic1 lb. soft goat cheeseIj2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt3 teaspoons dill weedMix together well, roll outside of

cheese in parsley if desired or decoratewith pickle slices or dill weed. Refrig-erate.

french Onion1 lb. soft goat cheese3 tablespoons dried minced on-

ion1 teaspoon kosher saltReconstitute dried onion in warm

water. Squeeze out excess water beforemeasuring onions for this recipe. Mixingredients together well and shapeinto logs or balls. Refrigerate.

french Onion 'PepperMake French Onion as in above

recipe. Shape cheese into ball or log.Roll outside into. cracked black pep-per or seasoned pepper. Refrigerate.

Seasoned ChevreCheeses: Garlic

1 lb. soft goat cheese1teaspoon kosher salt1teaspoon garlic powderMix ingredients together. Shape

into balls or logs. Refrigerate.

'Pineapple Walnut Cheese1 lb. soft goat cheese1 teaspoon kosher salt1/2 cup chopped walnuts% cup crushed pineapple drainedMix together and shape into balls

or logs. Use more nuts or add cher-ries to garnish for a more festive look.Refrigerate.

Seasoned Sesame1 lb. soft goat cheese1 teaspoon paprikaV2 teaspoon garlic powder2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce2 tablespoon minced onion1 teaspoon seasoned saltSesame seeds, for outside of

cheeseMix all the seasonings with the

cheese. Shape and roll the outside

only in the sesame seeds. Refrigerate.

Taco Cheese1 lb. soft goat cheese1 teaspoon kosher salt14 teaspoon garlic powder1 can tomato paste, 6 oz.1 tablespoon dried mined onion14 teaspoon red pepper1 teaspoon chili powderOptional: 1 chopped hot pepper

or hot sauce to tasteReconstitute dried onion, squeeze

out excess liquid. Mix the garlic pow-der, red pepper, salt, chili powder, on-ion and tomato paste into the cheese.

Add chopped hot pepper or sauceif desired. Shape into balls or logs.Refrigerate. This makes a great partycheese!

Western 'Ranch Cheese1 lb. soft goat cheese3 teaspoon Ranch seasoning mix

(see recipe below)Add seasoning mix into cheese.

Mix well. Shape seasoned cheese intoballs or logs.

Western 'Ranch SeasoningMix

2 tablespoons seasoned salt1 teaspoon black pepper2 tablespoons parsley flakes1/2 teaspoon onion powder1 teaspoon garlicup powderShake seasonings together in a jar

with a tight fitting lid. This mix makesa zesty Ranch dressing and veggie dip.Stores well, in a tightly sealed contain-er. Shake before using.

'Ranch Salad Dressing3 teaspoon Ranch seasoning mix1 cup mayonnaise1 cup buttermilk or salad dressingAdd ingredients into a jar with a

tight fitting lid. Shake to mix thor-oughly. Add to your favorite salad orrecipe.

'Ranch Veggie Dip8 oz. soft goat cheese

DAf/!!" GOATjOIlRNAL. ManhlAp1'il2012 • wuno.Dnirytloatjournal.com

8 oz. sour cream or yogurt3 teaspoons Ranch Seasoning

MixBeat together until smooth. Re-

frigerate to chill. Great when servedwith a tasty assortment of crisp rawvegetables.

cHorseradish Cheddar Spread8 oz. soft goat cheese2 pkgs. cheddar cheese powder1 teaspoon sugar4 teaspoons horseradish, squeeze

out excess juiceMix ingredients together. Store in

a recycled margarine tub with a lid.Chill before serving. Makes a greatparty spread for crackers.

Quick Tip: The cheddar cheesepowder used in this recipe comesfrom inexpensive boxed macaroniand cheese dinners. We use the cheesepowder for seasoning cheese, and themacaroni is used in other dishes. Bulkfood stores also carry a powderedcheddar cheese.

Shrimp Spread8 oz. soft goat cheese1 can broken shrimp pieces1/2 cup sour creamSeafood cocktail sauceMix soft goat cheese and sour

cream. Beat until smooth. Stir indrained shrimp. Put into a pretty dishand top with seafood sauce. Chill andserve with crackers.

This is a great party dish. I guaran-tee you'll get lots of compliments andrequests for this recipe

~,CompleteDairySupply

Springwater Animal Supply1-800-600-0716

www.springwateranimalsupply.com

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