Chevre or Bovre cheese, which will you choose?
So I’ve tried mozzarella several times and I just can’t make it right.
It’s usually tasteless, rubbery, and squeaky on my teeth :/
I still use it on pizza or something, but to just eat it straight, I kept thinking, “Do I really want these calories when it’s not even that great?”
I have made Chevre before, commonly known as goat cheese.
Well, I don’t prefer goat milk or cheese made from it.
I have high sensitivity to the taste of goat milk. I don’t care what Scott says.. after just a couple of days I can detect the slightest hint of goat taste.
If you’ve never been around a buck (a male goat) during breeding season, you don’t know the distinct aroma lofting through your nostrils.
And the milk? Well, the longer it sits, the more it tastes like that appalling aroma.
We don’t even keep our bucks with the does (girl goats), but that is just the way goat milk is. And the cheese is even more so!
It’s literally like licking a buck, no joke!
In pops my favorite milk.
Can you guess??
Obviously our raw cow’s milk. Had ya goin’ there for a minute didn’t I ;) Learn more here.
Turns out there’s actually a name for Chevre cheese if you make it with cow’s milk.
It’s Bovre!
Because cows are bovines.
Man, this is just chock full of useless information for you, right!?
On with the easy-peasy, I’ll-stab-you-with-my-fork good recipe.
It is really that good!
Chevre or Bovre Cheese
You’ll need:
1 Gallon Hoffman’s Little Acres raw cow or goat milk
Mesophilic culture (cheesemaking.com)
Rennet tablets (cheesemaking.com)
Salt to taste and any seasonings like chives or green onions
Large pot, strainer(s), cheesecloth or butter muslin
Pour the gallon of milk into the pot and heat to 90*
Now, the tricky part is adding the culture. The culture packet shown here can culture 4 gallons of raw milk!
I measured one packet and it’s not quite a teaspoon. So I added less than 1/4tsp.
Sprinkle it on top of the warm milk, let it sit for 2 minutes, then stir in well.
Next is the rennet.
I use the tablets because the liquid stuff has a shelf life and I don’t make cheese often enough so it looses its umpf.
To make this type of cheese you don’t need much rennet.
I take 1 tablet and dissolve in 1 cup of water. Then separate out 1/4 cup of the rennet water.
You can freeze the rest (just remember how many ice cubes equals 1/4cup ;)
Gently but thoroughly stir in the 1/4 cup of rennet water into the warm milk.
Put the lid on the pot and leave undisturbed for 12 hours.
Next day or 12 hours later, place a cheesecloth-lined colander in another bowl to catch the whey.
Scoop out the curds into the cheesecloth and tie up the corners over the pot of whey to drain.
Drain for 4-8 hours. You can check to see how dry the cheese is getting.
When it’s close to the consistency that you want, add salt and drain longer if needed.
This can be spreadable cheese or put it in a form with drain holes to “mold” it and slice later.
I did half molded and half just crumbly with chives.
Add chives or whatever seasonings you like when it’s done draining and store in the fridge.
I literally put this cheese on everything after I made it, it is SO good!
Baked potatoes, pork chops, carrots, crackers, scrambled eggs…
Now that you’re a cheese guru, tell me how it turns out for you!
Chevre or Bovre
Ingredients
- 1 gallon Hoffman's Little Acres raw cow or goat milk
- Mesophilic culture
- Rennet tablet
- Salt to taste
- Large pot, cheesecloth, strainer
Instructions
- Pour the gallon of milk into a large pot and heat to 90* while stirring.
- Sprinkle the required amount of culture on top of the warm milk (see notes)
- Let sit for 2 minutes then stir.
- Dissolve 1 rennet tablet in 1 cup of water. Divide equally into 1/4 cups.
- Gently stir in 1/4 c rennet water (freeze the extra rennet water)
- Cover the pot and leave it undisturbed for 12 hours.
- Put a large strainer in a bowl and line it with cheesecloth.
- Scoop out the curds into the cheesecloth and drain for 4-8 hours.
- Add salt and drain longer if needed to achieve the preferred consistency.
- Add any seasonings and refrigerate until ready to eat!
Notes
The meso culture I used only needed less than 1/4 tsp for 1 gallon of raw milk. Pasteurized milk calls for more.
Anything leftover should be good for a couple of weeks.