Homemade Herbed Goat Cheese

I couldn't believe it but goat cheese is incredibly easy to make!  You can add whatever herbs your little heart desires.  I have been able to find goat milk at almost any grocery store (Safeway, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods).  In terms of cooking tools that you might not have at home-- you will need a thermometer and cheesecloth (2 sheets) to make this.


1 quart goat milk
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1.5 - 2 lemons)
Salt, pepper and any herbs you want (thyme, rosemary, sage, chives, dill, etc)


Heat the goat milk in a heavy-bottom pot over medium heat.  Keep an eye on the thermometer until the milk heats to 180 degrees (F).  

Remove from heat as soon as it hits 180 degrees and add the 1/4 cup lemon juice.  The milk will curdle a bit which is what you want. Stir the lemon juice in gently and allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes.  Place two sheets of cheesecloth (one over the other) in a strainer in the sink.  Pour the thickened milk mixture into the cheesecloth and allow it to drain/drip for about 30 minutes. 

At this point you can either leave the mixture in the cheesecloth for another 1.5 hours or move the cheesecloth into some other suspended straining device for the 1.5 hours.  My trick is to place the cheese/cheesecloth into a mesh bag (it is used to make nut milk) and suspend it from my kitchen cabinet over my sink as pictured.  The point is to allow the liquid to gradually drip from the cheese.  

After this you can place the cheese in a bowl and mix in salt/pepper to taste and any of the herbs you have selected.  Spread on crackers and enjoy!