100 Days of Growing Food: Days 60-69 Simple Farmer’s Cheese

While we have been harvesting more and more from our garden, I have yet to need the steam canner or pressure canner for storing any of our harvest. I know the time is coming soon, and that will bring on a whole other wave of busy until mid-September!

For now, I’ve been using our abundance of goat milk to fill in different needs around the kitchen. (Did you know we added a saanen to our herd? Check that announcement out here!)

Cow dairy products and I do not get along; however, during this pregnancy so far, one of the few things I can keep down are yogurt and cheese! Thankfully, I’ve got the art of yogurt making down to a science with our instant (check out how to make homemade yogurt with this easy recipe here!)

I’ve been using frozen berries we harvested this season, honey from our bees, and a sprinkle of salted seeds or nuts to top my morning yogurt lately!

But the process of making cheese has been a bit more daunting. Heating the milk, adding the cultures, staring properly, heating properly, pressing properly, storing properly, aging properly… Yikes!

Farmer’s Cheese

So when I found this easy recipe from a friend, I decided to give it a try! It’s a pretty serious commitment, cheese making. When you have to milk the animal yourself. To make about 1-2lbs of cheese, you need an entire gallon of milk!

Farmer’s cheese is one of the simplest and easiest cheeses you can make. The texture is slightly crumbly and can be used on crackers, as a cheese crumble for salads, and our favorite is on pizza!

This recipe is for a super basic, plain cheese. But know you can add in spices and herbs at a few points towards the end to change the taste.

What You Need:

• Large stock pot (big enough to fit a whole gallon of milk)
• Silicone spatula
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Digital Thermometer
• Cheese cloth for straining
• Glass storage container

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon full fat milk
• 1 tsp himalayan pink salt (or more to taste)
• 1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
• (optional) spices or finely chopped herbs/nuts to add to your final product

Directions:

• Pour all your milk into your stock pan. Heat on medium, bringing your milk just to a light boil. Make sure to stir frequently to avoid burning your milk! (temperature should reach right at 180 F or 82 C)
• Immediately remove from heat, and add in your ACV. Stir well. Curds should form almost instantly. Allow curds to settle for about 5 minutes.

• Strain your cheese into a double layer of cheese cloth. The excess liquid is whey, which can be used in soups, to make rice or pasta, but we add whey into our pig feed. Allow the cheese to strain on it’s own until it’s cool enough to touch.

• Gather the ends of your cheese cloth and either hang to allow further draining, or twist just above the cheese ball to squeeze the remainder of whey out.
• Place your cheese ball into a clean bowl. Add in your salt and any spices or herbs you wish. Use your hands to work the salt and herbs into the bowl (it should crumble easily for you).
• You can either leave your cheese crumbled and store, or place into your storage container and press firmly to create a more solid cheese.
• If desired, reforming your cheese into a ball will allow you to roll your cheese into an herb/nut bled for a delicious crust!

This cheese will last (theoretically) for a week refrigerated. It never lasts that long at our house, as we (I) eat it almost right away!

I have not had the chance to freeze this yet, but am hoping to try in the near future so we can enjoy homemade cheese over winter!