In this country many people associate Goats
Cheese with soft cheese and France. This is because
in France there are hundreds of Artisan cheesemakers who make
small quantities of cheese from their own goats or sheep and
soft cheese is the easiest of all cheeses to make, requiring
very little in the way of equipment or storage. The different
areas, grazing, temperature, atmosphere, all add to the variance
in the milk and its environment for maturing, hence the multitude
of different tastes and types of soft cheeses available.
In this Country more goats cheese
is now being produced, although as a Nation we are only just
getting used to eating goats cheese and realising
that it can be a very pleasant experience.
The following gives the basic process
for soft cheesemaking.
First of all milk is warmed up and
a starter culture added so as to speed up he process of converting
the lactose in the milk to lactic acid. Milk would naturally
sour if left but the addition of the starter culture prevents
this as it works quickly and prevents unpleasant flavours developing.
Next the rennet is added and this
has the effect of coagulating the milk. For soft cheese the curd
is left for several hours in a warm place until it becomes firm
and will break cleanly.
The curd is then ready to either ladle
into small molds or muslin so as to drain. When curd has drained
sufficiently to hold its shape it can be tipped out of mold and
lightly salted, or if muslin drained, when the drips have almost
stopped it may then be salted and stored in small pots.
This method produces a fresh cheese
which will be very mild but is ready to eat straight away.
In France many of these soft cheeses
are stored and left to ripen for weeks when they will become
coated in mould and develop much stronger flavours.
At Woolsery we make several soft
cheeses which are suitable for spreading, grilling and they come
in pots, individual rounds or logs.
