Yogurt and butter from goats milk

[valedevento]

I am able to buy some fresh goats milk from a local shepherd and would love to make my own yogurt, butter and cheese. Has anyone done this before? What kind of equipment do I need? I heard that goats milk has lower fat percentage and it doesn't separate to make cream (and butter), so you would need a separator. What can I use as a starter for my cheese to curdle? Thanks

 

[Morning Glory]

See the thread Have You Ever Made Cheese? Following on from that I posted the world's simplest way to make cheese! See it here: Recipe Simple white cheese. This is simple home-made cheese. To make the real deal, matured and all that, you are embarking on a major time-consuming possibly life-changing project! But simple cheese and yoghurt is easy-peasy. No special equipment required. As for butter - I think that you need thick cream not milk. There is a good guide here: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/feb/22/how-to-make-your-own-butter

 

[kgord]

Yes, I think there are simple ways to make cheese and yogurt. I haven't made yogurt for years but I recall it was easy to do, and cheese I think, would be the same so it is one of those things I will probably do eventually. If I can save money, I am all for it!

 

[valedevento]

I just wonder if you can use the same procedure with goats milk? I think making cheese from goats milk is the same as from cow milk. Yogurt should also be easy if I can find a good starter culture. But not sure about cream and butter. For me it's a matter of saving money, but also health! I can buy some cheese made from raw milk, but 99.9% of the cheese sold is from pasteurized milk. I am not a fan of boiling milk and kill all the good bacteria and enzymes. And then there's all the other stuff they put in commercially produced dairy, like preservatives, that I would like to avoid. Although I will keep it simple and will still buy mature, hard cheeses.

 

[Corzhens]

We have goat's milk in the supermarket but I think it is not the fresh type although it is in a farm bottle. My husband has a friend in the nearby province where fresh goat's milk is available every morning. Once my husband was able to buy 2 bottles of fresh goat's milk that he kept in the fridge for his daily use. With the cheese, I still have to see how it is made from milk particularly goats' milk. And I understand that cheese made from goat's milk is pretty expensive compared to ordinary cheese.