Ricotta Report!

The past couple of days, Charlotte has consistently milked a half-gallon every morning.  It seemed just perfect to make ricotta cheese with the milk in the fast-filling fridge.  (I had seen the ricotta cheese-making process demonstrated at a class before.  It is one of the most basic cheeses to make, so I thought I would give it a try!)

Typically ricotta cheese is made from the whey left over from making other cheeses.  However, there are numerous recipes for ricotta cheese made from whole milk.  All of the recipes I found online had a little different method.  However, I found a recipe I liked on the Hoegger Farmyard website.  You may find the link here.  I decided to make a half batch to begin with.

 I poured 4 pounds of milk into a stainless steel pan.  The recipe said to heat the milk sloooowwwwly.  I kept the heat on low, and it took over 30 minutes to heat to 190 degrees from the original refrigerator temperature!  In future batches, I will definitely keep the burner a little hotter.

While I waited for the milk to heat, I prepared the cheesecloth.  Butter muslin has a tight weave which is great for draining whey from soft cheeses.  It is 100% cotton and I plan to wash the cloth to reuse over and over.

Just to make sure the muslin was sanitary, I boiled it before pouring my cheese into it.

 Additionally during the process of waiting for the milk to heat, we made pita chips drizzled with olive oil and "herbs de provence."

 After the milk was heated to 190 degrees, I poured in 1/8 cup vinegar.  I used rice vinegar because the flavor is milder.  This is to acidify the milk and help the curds to break.

The curds are beginning to form!

I let the curds sit (off the burner) for 10 minutes.  The curds are supposed to be separated from the whey leaving "lemon-juice colored" whey and fluffy white curds.  The whey still seemed a little milky, so I added a tad more vinegar which seemed to help.

I drained the curds into a colander filled with cheese cloth.  At this point, I added a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.  From my understanding, this is to balance out the vinegar and stop the acidification process.

The finished cheese was perfectly delightful.  

Delicious!  I made another batch right then-and-there!

Rain, Rain, Rain

It has been pouring down rain for the past two days!  This was the first time it has rained since purchasing the goats.  Unfortunately, the shelter didn't stay the driest but it offered adequate protection.  It was quite funny to see all five of the four-legged creatures huddled together out of the rain.  Blue Bell is under the milking stand, Charlotte is on top of it, Brazos is next to it, Elly May is on top of the crate, and Edna is against the other side!

After the rain, there was a beautiful rainbow!

And a beautiful sunset!

The clouds have now cleared.  The full rain gauge reminds me of the blessing of rain "poured" out on our land!

"I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing."

Ezekiel 34:26

I finally received my Caprine order in the mail!  It contained my long awaited milk filters!

I like the old-fashioned catalog Caprine Supply produces!

The filters make it easy to filter the milk.

It is nice to filter out those flecks of dirt that seem to creep into the milk.

Goodnight!  (It seems that Charlotte often offers me a "goodnight" at the end of the day!)

A Mozzarella Flop!

About 6 months ago, I attended a local cheesemaking class.  The instructor demonstrated how to make goat's milk Ricotta cheese and let me taste a bit of Feta.  I heard about the "New England Cheesemaking Supply" for the first time.  I also learned that goat's milk was key ingredient to having a multitude of yummy cheeses that I could make in my kitchen!  That experience sparked my desire to raise goats...and to make cheese.

"The Recipe" (from cheesemaking.com)

One of core beginner cheese recipes is Ricki Carroll's "30 Minute Mozzarella."  I have made this recipe twice before with pasteurized cow's milk from the store.  Raw goats milk is sure to throw some curve balls (the pH value is not always consistent, etc.), but goat's milk mozzarella cheese is possible to make.  I was determined to try! 

 I measured 8 WHOLE pounds of hard earned milk into a pot!  It seemed like a lot of milk!

Here is the fridge shelf--after I took out the amount for cheese.

 I dissolved some citric acid into a cup of water.  I noticed on the recipe that it said to increase the citric acid when using raw milk.  I didn't read this until after I had poured in the cup of dissolved citric acid.  So, I ended up dumping in a little more "undissolved" citric acid to the milk...(mistake)

Once the milk reached 90 degrees, I added some diluted rennet to the milk.

 I covered the pot and expectantly waited for 5 minutes.  After the waiting, the milk should congeal and the curds be ready to cut. 

To my surprise, I took off the lid and found a pot of milky whey with heavy, clumpy curds at the bottom.  Not what I was expecting!  At this point, I was disappointed and stopped taking photos.  I did attempt the salvage the batch by dumping it into a glass bowl.

I microwaved the bowl to heat the curds and began stretching it (like the recipe calls for).  I stretched and stretched.  It was really stretchy (a good thing)! 

 While I stretched, I sprinkled some of my favorite seasoning into it (However, I forgot the salt!  Ooops!)

 I shaped the cheese into a little ball and plopped it into a bowl and stuck it in the fridge!  I was disappointed that the yield was low and the consistency was off.  It was a mozzarella flop!  However, it was not all in vain because I did learn three very important things:

1) Only make cheese in 1/2 batches until I know what I am doing.

2) Don't forget the salt!

3) Be careful of adding more citric acid.  I read on the mozzarella troubleshooting web-page that my "clumpy curds" problem was likely related to milk with too high acidity.  To fix this problem, I needed to adjust the temperature.  And--adding the extra citric acid just might have been my error!

Despite the difficulties, we did eat the cheese for dinner.  I let it drain in the fridge and it became nice and "hard" (perfect for grating).  I also found it melts nicely.  I am sure that homemade mozzarella will soon be a staple around here!  With more practice and more tweaking, I am excited about making the perfect mozzarella cheese!

A Week in Review

Goat and life.  Life and goats.  Sometimes it seems that goats are my life!  Then other times, it seems life gets in the way of the goats!  This past week was one of those weeks where there was a lot more "other life" than "goats!"  Here is a week in review (in pictures)...

I thought summer was here in full force last week.  We had soaring temperatures which threatened to hit 90 degrees!  I found this wasp attempting to build a nest under the porch railing.  A sure sign of hot weather!

But then, surprise! surprise!  I woke up one morning and the temperatures were "cool" again.  I pulled my jacket back out of the closet to do morning chores!  As I write, I think the cool front has passed, but I am glad for the last little kiss of winter (Texas winter, that is).

Goats are browsers, not grazers.  They would much rather eat trees and brush than grass.  Since it was not an option to put the goat pen around trees, we have been cutting "browse" from various trees around the property.  The goats love it!  In addition to browse, they have also been eating from the kitchen compost bucket.  So far, carrots are a big hit.  The following pictures give you a glimpse of their eagerness around carrots...

"Here comes the Goat Girl…Hey, Edna, what do you think is in that compost bucket?"

"Oh, goody!  Carrots!  Yum!"

"Let's be greedy!  More candy for me!"

"I can't believe these are so yummy, Elly May!  Aren't they just amazing?"

"Hey, girls.  Move over.  Give me those!"

Moving on from carrot eating pictures, Elly May has this really funny tuft of hair on her back.  The hair grows in the wrong direction causing the hair to always stand up straight!

Best Friends (who enjoy a good head butt for fun)

Elly May and Edna both have cracked hooves and pasterns.  A fellow goat owner told me it was vitamin A&E deficiency.  So, they get their daily dose now!

A good picture to end on--the milking routine!  Charlotte has been producing about 4-6 pounds per day, for which I am very happy!  She has definitely made some improvements such as excitedly jumping up on the milking stand in the mornings and evening when I milk, eating more grain, and patiently waiting to be milked.  Such a good goat!

Frustration

My sister and I were discussing the word “frustration” today.  We were talking about how it is an abstract word which is difficult to precisely define.  Frustration comes in many shapes and sizes.  The New Oxford American Dictionary defines frustration” as “the feeling of being upset or annoyed, esp. because of inability to change or achieve something.”  I especially relate to the last part of the definition…“because of the inability to change something!”  Yesterday brought a situation that I was powerless to change, yet it frustrated me.

I woke up early Saturday morning looking forward to a relaxing, restful day.  It had been a long week of learning to milk and care for the goat, and I had carefully planned to get up and milk then go snuggle back in bed.  Ha!  The life of a “farmer?”  Anyway, I prepared the scale, milk strainer (which consists of paper towel on top of a pitcher right now), the iodine teat wash, and the bottle for Edna.  7:30 am and I am out the door. 

The night before had been “perfect.”  Charlotte had eaten all of her food and we had a lot of fun directly squirting the milk into our mouths (nothing like milk straight from a teat!).  Well, I went out to milk and Charlotte would NOT eat her food.  She nibbled a little bit, but she is supposed to eat 2 quarts!  Then, she just laid down on the milking stand.  I set the little bit of milk I had milked outside of the goat pen because the kids were trying to drink out of the bowl.   Another uh-oh: The puppies came bounding up to the milk bowl and spilled most of it!  Frustrated, I next tried bottle-feeding Edna.  She has always had a voracious appetite, but this morning hardly sucked.  Why do I worry myself silly over these ridiculous goats, I thought to myself!  So much for my relaxing morning.  I did go back to bed, but it was more in retreat than in relaxation.

I thought I would try giving her more grain later.  I tried, but still she didn’t eat.  More frustration—I couldn’t change the situation.  I noticed Charlotte laying on her side in the goat pen.  I tried to keep from over-reacting, but I didn’t know if skipping a meal and laying down funny was serious or not.  Did she have some sort of “disease?”  Was the weather changing?  Could Charlotte sense something I could not?  Did I need to give her any type of medicinal “boost?”

Dinner-time rolled around.  Charlotte only ate a handful of grain.  I called the farm where I purchased Charlotte and they graciously told me to just wait.  It is probably the heat, they told me.

Thankfully, this morning and evening Charlotte ate about a quart of grain at each feeding!  She still needs to eat more, but at least she has an appetite.  Edna drank her milk, too. 

What I learned from my frustration:  A friend was recently explaining about worrying about new animals.  She explained about having a lot of “head knowledge” but only a tiny bit of “experience.”  I must gain the experience in order to truly understand what is worth concern.  I learned a little bit more about the nature of frustration, more about how Charlotte reacts to weather changes, and how to trust the Lord in all situations (like when the goat doesn't eat!).

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6&7

The "Set-Up"

About 7:15 this morning, Charlotte started her desperate calling to be fed (and milked).  Guess where she chose to perform?  On the milking stand!  Whew!  She had gotten up there by herself, so no more lifting that silly goat.  She also ate all of her grain this morning.  And, she gave another 3 pounds, 9 ounces of pure, frothy milk.  She stood still for the whole milking and didn't put her foot in the bucket.  Lots of positive improvements for Miss Charlotte!  But lest you think she is perfect, she really butts poor Edna.  She also doesn't let Elly May nurse very much.  And she is still looking for Elvis like everyone else (Elvis is Elly May's twin who was left behind).  But life with a goat is good.  I have a growing appreciating for these amazing creatures.

I thought I would post a few pictures of the "set-up."  Although it is far from perfect or permanent, it seems to be working for now.

The goat pen:
The goat pen is made up of 8 "goat panels."  These panels are 5 feet high and 16 feet long, with 4 inch square openings.  Even with the small openings, the kids still poke their heads through the fence.  Eventually, I would love to have a goat pasture instead of a goat pen, as there is soon not going to much vegetation left!

The hay bag:
Building a real wooden hay feeder is on the list of projects, but until then, a hay bag intended for horses is working just fine.  It doesn't waste too much of the expense alfalfa hay Charlotte, Elly May, and Edna seem to think is so tasty.

The water trough:
This big black water trough is next to the hay bag.  It was at an unsightly slant, but a few concrete pavers put under it quickly fixed the problem.  We have to keep the trough full so the Edna and Elly May can reach the water level, but that will change as they grow.  It has already had to be scrubbed out once because it got leaves and goat hair floaties in it (and someone on the farm washed out their ice cream bowl in it, what!?).

The mineral feeder:
This mineral feeder is zip-tied onto a piece of wood in the shelter.  It has baking soda (needed for good digestion) on the left and minerals on the right.  The goats really go after the baking soda!

The kid crate:
We have tried several methods of separating the kids at night.  We tried putting them in the cattle trailer at night, but Charlotte and Elly May start "singing" to each other.  So, for now, Edna and Elly May sleep in a large dog crate in the shelter.  This seems to work good because Charlotte can lay next to them in the evening.  I feel good about leaving the kids under Charlotte's "care" at night, too.

Until next time...Elly May says thanks for stopping by the Great Goat Adventure!

Mix It Up

Good grain is important for goats.  For my goats specificially, Charlotte needs a quality daily ration because she is producing a ton of milk (not a ton literally, but 1/2- 3/4 gallon a day!).  And Edna and Elly May are growing kids, so they need a good feed too.  Feeding my goats a high quality, natural grain ration is important to me because I am drinking what I put into the goats!  No GMO's allowed.  I had begun feeding Edna the Texas Naturals Sheep & Goat feed before I got the other goats.  However, Charlotte and Elly May had been eating a special homemade mix that I thought would be fun to try.  I wrote down the recipe when I picked them up and I was able to find all of the "ingredients" at Tractor Supply and the local feed mill.

The mixture is half barley and half oats with a few other things.  The originally recipe made 100+ pounds of feed, but I only wanted to make about a third of that to try it out.  We decided to use 17 pounds from each of the 50 pound barley and oat bags.  17 pounds filled up a 3 gallon bucket to the brim.  We also found out that oats and barley weigh about a pound per our scoop.  (Wonder how we got these specific amounts?  The bathroom scale.  We really need to invest in a "barn" scale!)

Here is the oat bag (I didn't get a picture of the barley bag, it was just plain brown!).

The bucket of barley.

 We also added about a scoop of BOSS (Black Oil Sunflower Seeds).

 A little bit o' beet pulp...

 

 And a cup or two of molasses drizzled over the mixture.

 The feed was mixed in a wheel barrel with a hoe.

In the end, there was about 40 pounds of feed.  It is being stored in a cow lick tub that has a snap-on lid.  It seemed a tad sticky, so next time I might reduce the molasses.

 The grain mixture was well received by the kids!  (Charlotte's appetite is still a little off due to the stress of moving.  She is eating a little over half of what she should be eating.)

Yum! Yum!