After reading about Rabid Little Hippy’s goat coming home and then rabid herself going to a workshop on cheese-making http://rabidlittlehippy.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/life-is-good/, I was delighted to find this post on the ‘Mortgage Free in Three’ blog: http://mortgagefreeinthree.com/2013/06/homemade-feta-cheese/Â Good pictures and clear instructions.
Then I looked up my favourite bought feta (was called Dofo, but they were bought out by someone else; the cheese seems the same now, which is good news for me); sorry, I do digress, don’t I 😉
Anyway, I found this: http://gourmet.lovetoknow.com/Difference_Between_Feta_Cheese_and_Goat_Cheese
where they say that technically, feta is made from at least 70% sheep’s milk and up to, but not exceeding, 30% goat’s milk. I doubt there’s a lot of sheep’s milk around, but I bet if you used 70% goat’s milk and up to 30% cow’s milk, you’d get a tasty cheese. Worth trying, I’d say.
A Random Harvest 
The cheese we made was 100% raw goats milk! Awesome no? 😀
Awesome indeed!! Let us know how it compares (in your opinion), ok?
Thanks Linne 🙂 I’d quite like to try cheese making. A chef friend of ours did a course in it last year, hopefully he can give me some tips.
I could get goat’s milk at the store, but not sheep’s milk. Would be worth trying it with cow’s milk, even. At least it would be a cheaper way to indulge myself . . .
Yes, it would be cow’s milk for me just because it’s cheaper. Nice cheeses are soooo expensive, I just don’t buy them now.
Yep, that’s my thing, too, unfortunately. We buy the cheap cheddar from Safeway, ’cause Mum likes it, but that’s all. So making it’s definitely in my future. 🙂 And the whey can be used for bread making, pancakes, muffins or other baking, too; there’s nutrition there and so you won’t want to toss it. Or you can feed it to the chooks. Of course, it can always be recycled through the compost, too.
Have you made kefir cheese Linne?
No, I only just got started with the kefir. I have put some through a coffee filter ’til I had a big lump, then I added some dry onion soup mix to make it sort of like a dip. I ended up using some on rice and veg, some on pasta and veg. It was pretty good. Cheese will be the next big thing, I suspect. Once I’m back upstairs, anyway. Did you see Narfie7’s comment to me including a couple of links to making feta cheese from tofu? That’s on my list, too, for when I have space for tofu making.
Ah ok. I wondered what it would be like, I am keen to try that. Narf is sending me some grains, very kind of her. Yes, I did see her comments, that sounds interesting too. So many things to try!!
The first couple of batches may smell quite yeasty, so some people have recommended tossing them out. I don’t mind odd flavours, so I made blender drinks out of them and they were fine. I did add some maple syrup to offset the sourness.
Now, if the kefir tastes a bit sour (if I leave it too long or the grains multiply too much) I add a Med-Jool date or two. Apple juice is nice with it, too.
You can feed excess to birds and animals if you don’t use it for baking.
Yes I read that. I’m sure we could use it in smoothies or something – it would have a healthy about of good bacteria I imagine 🙂 Yep, there’s always the chooks.
I am thinking of going back to having a cup of hot water, honey and apple cider vinegar first thing in the morning; can’t remember which blog it was on (no memory left on my little head chips), but apparently the ACV has pre-biotics, which facilitate the use of the kefir’s pro-biotics. And ACV is good for chooks, too; also goats, dogs, etc. ~ Linne
Yes, I drink this, I made two big bottles instead of buying it.
I was thinking that was likely your post; it was getting close to when I was going down to make supper for my Aunty, so I didn’t take the time to look it up. I haven’t tried making ACV yet; another thing on my list . . . At this rate, I’ll never kick the bucket!! 😉 or I’ll go kicking and screaming like a little kid, “But I’m not finished yet!!” LOL Oh well, at least I won’t die from boredom . . . 🙂
Oh I know..so much to try, so little time!!
Yeah . . . and the years just keep rolling on . . . I want a do-over . . . oh, I forgot . . . I’m coming back anyway! 🙂
My Crafty Friend called me today to say one of her granddaughters has moved in for a while, so they were shifting things upstairs to give the girl a room. My Friend found a box of my books (she’s storing some stuff for me that won’t fit in the storage or that I don’t want damaged). On top was a book on Fair Isle knitting . . . now when the Lewiscraft chain closed, I bought more yarn than you would believe (I didn’t mean to, honestly! But it was a type of yarn herre and a set of colours there and suddenly I had over seven leaf bags full! I beat Baa, baa, black sheep!!). Anyway, I had lots of Astra, a worsted weight, I think, in a variety of colours. I was knitting teddies then (and recently found a bunch of them partly done and have resumed the work on them). I used two strands of a colour to make each ted, resulting in lots of leftovers. So then I bought a couple bags of that yarn in a very hot pink. The plan was to use the hot pink as the background and the various leftovers for the patterning of a Fair Isle long cardi for myself (my own design, of course, never do anything the easy way; that’s my motto!). So I don’t think it’s accidental that my Friend found the Fair Isle book! The cardi, once done (don’t ask when!) will be known as the Teddy Cardi. You know, I need another obsession (and more UFOs . . .)!
That’s sweet of her; if I remember correctly, she got hers from Jess of rabid little hippy; a nice connection.
Yes, lots to try and it all saves money.
Oh nice 🙂 That’s pretty neat to share it around like that 🙂
Yes, it’s like that ‘Amish Friendship Cake’ starter (I think it’s a variant of sourdough) that was going around here a year or so ago; it seems nicer to get it from a friend than to buy it at a store.
Yeah it does. I used to have that myself around 30 years ago!
Wish I had some of that starter now . . . but I really don’t have time to bake regularly (or at least I can’t count on having time), so it better wait for a bit, too. Besides, Mum hates a crowded fridge and with my veggies and now the kefir, it’s a bit of a jungle at the best of times . . .
Or you could just make vegan feta out of tofu and do away with the need for a sheep/goat/cow all together! 😉
Yes . . . speaking of poo . . . 😉
I wonder how you’d get that flavour, though . . . tofu is the right texture, at least.
http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2013/03/08/vegan-recipe-herbed-tofu-feta/
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Vegan-Feta-Cheese
🙂
Well . . . ask and I shall receive! Thanks a lot, Narfie7!! Will be checking those out soon. ~ Linne