Creamy goat’s cheese with smoked salt & herbs recipe

Ingredients (Makes 1 cup)
 It’s also a fun project to keep in mind for friendly soirées. You can purchase cheese-making kits from many kitchenware stores and grocers, or specific cheese-making ingredients online. You will need a kitchen thermometer, electronic is best.

• 1 L (4 cups) goat’s milk
• 0.3ml calcium chloride (see note below if you don’t have a 1 ml-capacity syringe)
• ¼ drop spoon mesophilic culture (see notes below if you don’t have a drop spoon)
• 0.5ml liquid rennet
• Flavoured salt and herbs, to taste, optional

Method

Place milk in a heavy-based saucepan. Stir in calcium chloride.

Heat the milk, stirring, to 22°C Add the mesophilic culture, rennet and stir through the milk for 30 to 60 seconds. Set aside at room temperature for 16 to 24 hours until the curds have visibly separated from the whey into a block.

Line a sieve with cheesecloth and strain the mixture into the cloth. Add flavoured salt and herbs, if using. Gather the edges and hang to strain over a bowl, in the fridge, for 6 to 12 hours.

Press into a cheese basket (if using) and turn out before serving. Store the cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 to 7 days.

TIP: Measurement conversions
If you don’t have a 1-millilitre syringe, use regular kitchen measuring spoons, where 1 teaspoon is 5 millilitres. For 0.3 millilitres of calcium chloride use ¼ of the ⅛ teaspoon measurer; for 0.5 millilitres of rennet use just under half of an ⅛ teaspoon. For ¼ drop spoon (which is a 64th of a teaspoon) use the amount equivalent to about 2 sesame seeds.