Feta and Christmas

[mainelady]

I’m thinking of trying to make some cheese as Christmas gifts. Only the goats are in milk right now, and so far the only not-super-fresh cheese I can both make and tolerate is feta. Everything else develops this goaty flavor and I lose all ability to determine if I made the cheese right or not, because I can’t get past the goat flavor. 🤷‍♀️ I think maybe the feta is fine because I haven’t aged it very long, or maybe because I’m sort of expecting a not-cow flavor. I should mention too that this isn’t just a me problem- my mom will spit out cheese and say “it tastes like Jack” (Jack is my buck) 😂 So it sort of makes sense to avoid very goaty cheeses for this project

With that in mind, I’m wondering if I can make some Feta in the next few weeks so it will have a little age on it by December (and take some stress off of preparing everything in December). For lack of great storage options I’ve so far only tried to cube feta and put it in jars with either oil and herbs, or some of the heavy brine from Caldwell’s book. I tried a different brine and the cheese all dissolved. The oil is fine, but I don’t love oily cheese. The brine is making the cheese aggressively salty and kind of hard.

I’m wondering if I should use a different brine and try that, if cubing it and putting it in small jars is bound to fail anyway, if there’s a better recipe for feta aside from the one in Caldwell’s basic cheesemaking book, and generally if anyone has any thoughts about good goat cheese gifts I could make for Christmas. I’m trying to stay away from planning on anything fresh because I don’t know if the goats will still be in milk in the middle of December, and they don’t give a ton right now. I suppose maybe if I tried something that had something mixed in (like peppers) it might make the goatiness less noticeable?

[Meadow Creek Mama]

I've done Caldwell's Feta recipe with cow's milk and really like it. So I'm wondering...have you measured the salinity of your brine? When I brine mozzarella, too salty will make a hard rind. I think excess calcium will do that as well. Did you add calcium chloride to the brine?

If you want to try something else, I love making the acid set fresh cheese from Caldwell's book. We like it with added garlic powder, oregano and marjoram. It freezes really really well. If you shape it while soft, then freeze it, you could then nicely vacuum seal it for gifts.

[mainelady]

Sept 23, 2021 17:38:06 GMT -5 Meadow Creek Mama said:

I've done Caldwell's Feta recipe with cow's milk and really like it. So I'm wondering...have you measured the salinity of your brine? When I brine mozzarella, too salty will make a hard rind. I think excess calcium will do that as well. Did you add calcium chloride to the brine?

If you want to try something else, I love making the acid set fresh cheese from Caldwell's book. We like it with added garlic powder, oregano and marjoram. It freezes really really well. If you shape it while soft, then freeze it, you could then nicely vacuum seal it for gifts.

I haven’t- but I followed the recipe, which includes calcium chloride. I think the recipe in that book is for 10%? Maybe I should brine at a lower salinity, but I’m also a little confused about making brines. How do you measure the salinity? If I’m making a batch that’s x%, is the % by weight? Like if I am making a 5% would it be half pound of salt and 9.5 pounds of water?

A ricotta style? I hadn’t considered trying it because heating goat milk usually leads to goatiness, but I hadn’t even thought about using spices in it, sounds great!

[Meadow Creek Mama]

Sept 23, 2021 18:11:01 GMT -5 mainelady said:

Sept 23, 2021 17:38:06 GMT -5 Meadow Creek Mama said:

I've done Caldwell's Feta recipe with cow's milk and really like it. So I'm wondering...have you measured the salinity of your brine? When I brine mozzarella, too salty will make a hard rind. I think excess calcium will do that as well. Did you add calcium chloride to the brine?

If you want to try something else, I love making the acid set fresh cheese from Caldwell's book. We like it with added garlic powder, oregano and marjoram. It freezes really really well. If you shape it while soft, then freeze it, you could then nicely vacuum seal it for gifts.

I haven’t- but I followed the recipe, which includes calcium chloride. I think the recipe in that book is for 10%? Maybe I should brine at a lower salinity, but I’m also a little confused about making brines. How do you measure the salinity? If I’m making a batch that’s x%, is the % by weight? Like if I am making a 5% would it be half pound of salt and 9.5 pounds of water?

A ricotta style? I hadn’t considered trying it because heating goat milk usually leads to goatiness, but I hadn’t even thought about using spices in it, sounds great!

On the brine, there is a thing she talks about in the book called a salimometer (p. 62 in Mast. Art. Chsmkg) that floats in the water to tell you the salt content.  That's what I use, I got mine on Amazon.  I can't remember the salinity of the aging brine for feta but I too just followed the recipe.  When the cheese disintegrates in the brine, that is a pH issue.  The cheese and the brine need to be the same pH, anything different will ruin the cheese.  

The acid set cheese I'm thinking of isn't a ricotta style, rather a cheve style.  You warm the milk or just bring it fresh from the barn.  Then once at the right temp, add a culture and just a little bit of diluted rennet.  Let it set for 24 hours or so, then scoop it into cheese cloth and drain until it's the dryness you like.  It's easiest to add the salt and herbs while still room temp.  Check out pg. 150 in Caldwell's 'Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking.'  Mmmmmmmm.....

[Kelsey]

Slimy feta is a pH and calcium issue. Be sure to add calcium chloride to your brine, and a bit of vinegar (or use boiled, filtered and cooled whey + salt).
I would not cube feta and rebrine. Too much surface area and it will get really salty.
Just cut a nice piece and vacuum seal or place dry into a container.

Cheese in oil is always a bit risky, so I personally wouldn't do it unless you know the recipient will keep it in the fridge.

Chevre is always a nice option and it freezes really well so you can make now and freeze for the holidays.

Or goat milk soap.

And I think I'd want to find out why the cheese is so goaty

[mainelady]

Meadow Creek Mama ohhhh, yes, I make chèvre quite often. I think the last time I tried freezing it the texture didn’t quite make it. I’ll try again!

Kelsey so feta can be aged just vacuum sealed? I’m planning on doing soaps too- that’s next weekends project 🙂 I wouldn’t say that it’s “so goaty,” it’s just… goaty. When I do a chèvre I can’t taste goat at all, and I’ve kept the farmstead cheese (I think it’s called? The one from Mastering Basic Cheesemaking) for 2-3 weeks before I started tasting the goat, but it seems to build up over time? I tried a Colby as well, and it was hard to determine if I had been successful because it had that goaty taste. I think I’m overly sensitive to it, I can’t get past it in any store bought goat cheese (chèvre, Gouda, cheddar). I do alright with bloomy rinds that have mixed milk usually (like the Kunik, some of the things from Lazy Lady Farms in VT) 🤷‍♀️ I know it’s kind of ridiculous to be a goat farmer and not particularly like goat cheeses 😂

[bluebar23]

I've had very good luck keeping Feta for months in vacuum sealed packs.

[rosalind]

We vacuum sealed feta at the creamery where I worked... The cheese can still become chalky, etc, so it's important to get good pH, salt, and find a culture that ages well.

[mainelady]

Sept 24, 2021 20:00:48 GMT -5 rosalind said:

We vacuum sealed feta at the creamery where I worked... The cheese can still become chalky, etc, so it's important to get good pH, salt, and find a culture that ages well.

I usually use Flora Danica, or MM100, are either of those okay for aging? 

[rosalind]

I haven't brined feta using flora danica, I'm lazy and freeze my feta.

But I sure love the results of flora danica. Hopefully someone else can confirm, perhaps Kelsey? I'm guessing flora danica should be awesome for aging.

[Kelsey]

Sept 24, 2021 20:55:41 GMT -5 mainelady said:

Sept 24, 2021 20:00:48 GMT -5 rosalind said:

We vacuum sealed feta at the creamery where I worked... The cheese can still become chalky, etc, so it's important to get good pH, salt, and find a culture that ages well.

I usually use Flora Danica, or MM100, are either of those okay for aging? 

Those are pretty typical cultures for commercial feta - no reason it won't age well. All raw milk feta is aged 60+ days and many cheesemakers do it in vacuum sealed blocks.

[bluebar23]

I use Flora Danica for my feta that has aged well.