Don't laugh.
It had been a really, and I mean REALLY, tough day. So what did I do? I made chèvre, of course.
Armed with two quarts of goat milk from (sob) the Test Kitchen, and rennet and mesophilic culture courtesy of the terrible twosome (the Stenard sisters, Deb and Pam) who went out of their way to go to the New England Cheesemaking Supply Co. for me...
I heated the goat milk to 78 degrees... sprinkled it with the culture... let it sit for 3 minutes... stirred carefully... added the rennet... stirred even more carefully... and then let it sit undisturbed for 16 hours.
The next morning, I carefully placed the now thickened yogurt-like mixture into a sieve lined with a warm tea towel (here's where you use cheesecloth if you have it) and started the draining process. I must confess, Dear Reader, I was a bit apprehensive because, when I make ricotta (the cheese I make most often) there are clearly curds and whey, while this looked like thick yogurt....
Yes, the recipe said it would look like thick yogurt, but I can be quite a skeptic.
Anyway, about 1 hour into the 6-12 hour draining period, I took a look. Lo and behold... it had begun! So I decided to taste a bit. OMG... the real, clear, definite beginnings of a lovely fresh chèvre.
After letting it drain for 12 hours (and boy, was it hard to wait 12 hours, but I did), I opened the draining towel...
And there it was: a surprisingly large mound of chèvre. I laid out some paper towels, placed the chèvre in a rough log shape, rolled it a bit to round out the shape a bit, closed the paper towels and rolled the whole thing in plastic wrap - just for the night, not to store - never store cheese in plastic!
This morning, I opened the package, and lo and behold... it was gorgeous! I changed the paper towels (which were soaked). But before I refrigerated it again...
I tasted it.
Folks... just unbelievable... Lovely, fresh, smooth, well-flavored GOAT'S CHEESE!!!!!
There are a few things in the kitchen that seem like alchemy, cause the cook to glow with pride, and seem impossible until - BOOM! - they happen.
Bread baking and cheese making.
So worth it. So smile-inducing.
So delicious.
This project really helped me live through quite a difficult day.
And at the end, I have this log of chèvre...
THAT I MADE!!!