goat milk

First Milking

April 24, 2012 · 10 comments

My goat kids (Admiral Ackbar and Mon Monthma) are a month old today, and so begins milking season. Last night, I shut Minnie up in a stall apart from her kids (but still within smelling and hearing distance) for the first time. They complained a little last night about the separation, but it wasn’t too […]

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Lactation Cycles

December 23, 2011 · 1 comment

                A fairly significant annual milestone in my life came and went without fanfare a few weeks ago. The weekend before we went away to California, I made the decision to stop milking my goat, Bella. Though my brother in law was housesitting while we were gone, and he […]

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Easy Mozzarella

July 1, 2011 · 14 comments

I really don’t understand why fresh mozzarella tastes so good.It’s just milk plus salt, acid, and rennet, and yet  the simple, creamy flavor complex plus the dense, slightly squeaky texture  will always satisy and impress any cheese lover. Mozzarella is probably the most common cheese attempted by cheese making amateurs for good reason. A basic […]

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Homemade Yogurt

May 18, 2011 · 6 comments

It’s not hard to make your own yogurt at home. Whether it’s cheaper or better than good commercially produced yogurt is debatable if you start with store-bought milk, but anyone with a dairy animal or access to good-quality fresh milk, should get used to making and eating lots of yogurt. It’s fun, and it’s good […]

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Operating a small home dairy and kitchen cheese making facility does require a few pieces of specialized equipment. In general, it is recommended that you use stainless steel or glass tools and vessels if they are going to come into contact with milk because they won’t leach into or interact with dairy products, and they […]

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