Cheese Thermometer
Double Boiler (Or a small pot sitting in a larger pot to create a water bath)
Strainer
1/4 Rennet Tablet, Dissolved in 1/4 cup Non-Chlorinated Water (Bottled or tap water left out overnight)
1/4 Teaspoon Cheese Salt
1/2 Gallon (2 L) Goat Milk (Not Ultra-Pasturized)
1/8 Cup Kefir (or yogurt whey)
Prepare a water bath in a double boiler or two different sized pots so that a smaller pot fits into a larger pot. Heat water bath until it reaches 100° F (38° C). Turn off burner, add milk to top pot and heat to 90° F (32° C), about 20 minutes. Remove from water bath if milk gets too hot, turn burner on low if milk isn't at temperature after 20 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, add kefir (or yogurt whey) to milk then stir in an up and down motion to evenly distribute.
Using a slotted spoon, add rennet to milk then stir in an up and down motion to evenly distribute. Cover and let sit in water bath (with burner off) for 12 hours.
After 12 hours, milk will have formed into a yogurt-like mass with whey at the edges. Line a strainer with cheesecloth and place over a large bowl or pot. Gently pour your curds and let strain for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle curds with salt and tie the edges of the cheese cloth together into a sack and hang over the pot for and additional 6-12 hours to reach desired consistency. At 6 hours you will have a creamy, easily spreadable chèvre that you can enjoy immediately or refrigerate for up to a week. Draining for longer will give you a drier, denser cheese that can be formed into a chèvre log and will keep refrigerated for up to a week.
