One of the best ways to use your raw goat milk, here at the Silly Couple we’ve been hard at work perfecting our cheesemaking abilities. On Friday this week, we’ll share our first and simplest goat cheese recipe. However, before diving into the process of making any sort of cheese, we thought it made sense to first review the science of cheese making. So, sit back, eat some cheese, and enjoy this fascinating discussion of all things curds and whey.
Making Curds and Leaving Whey
The foundational science of cheese making is quite simple: separate curds from whey. All cheese, regardless of what kind, starts with this seemingly simple step. The curds are simply curdled milk, a solid formed during cheese making that is, essentially, the cheese you’re making. Similarly, the leftover liquid is known as whey. Yes, just like the protein powder you might use, this liquid is high in protein and includes other nutrients from the milk.
But How Does This Process Work?
Typically, this process of separating the curds from the whey involves three core ingredients: milk, rennet, and a starter culture. Take these, combine it with some chemistry, and you have cheese. But, how exactly does this liquid get turned into a solid cheese? To understand this, it helps to realize that milk is nearly 90% water by volume. That 10%+ includes all the protein, fat, and other nutrients that make the milk taste so good.
In making cheese, you are actually curdling the milk. This causes those parts of the milk that aren’t water to be formed into solids. At a micro-level, when any liquid is heated it causes the molecules to move quicker. The hotter it gets, the more spread apart these molecules get and the faster they move. During this process, the rennet and culture act to chance the lactose in milk to lactic acid. This stimulates the separation of the curds.
Ultimately, all they need is the right temperature and the right amount of rennet and culture. Some cheese simply require the milk to be heated a bit over room temperature. Others need the milk to be heated near boiling. Regardless, the right temperature with the right culture means you’re on your way to cheese.
Acid-based Cheese
Of course, there is an easier way to make cheese. Remember, the foundational science of cheese making simply involves separating curds from whey. And, rather than worry about rennet or starter culture of any kind, you can actually use vinegar or lemon juice to stimulate this separation. Either one of these ingredients, when milk is heated to the right temperature, will start to break down those bonds between the curds and whey, effectively separating them and leaving you with a quick and easy cheese. We spent more than a month working with different recipes around this and on Friday we’ll share our favorite way to make this simple farmers cheese.
Leveraging the Science of Cheese Making
With the basic science understood, you can even start experimenting with your own cheese making. Full discloser, we aren’t doing too much experimenting yet. However, over time you can expect to see lots of completely unique and original recipes here on the blog. In the meantime, we keep taking aspects of different recipes we find and work to create the best version of that cheese. Remember to come back Friday, where we’ll discuss the absolute simplest goat cheese recipe. For now, keep studying the science of cheese making. And, until next time, we’ll see you around the homestead.