Dairy Products and How to Make Them

[BarredBuff]

If you have read anything I have posted lately or even looked at my siggy. You will know Im getting Dairy Goats this Spring.

Im hoping for either two Alpines, Saanens, or a Nubian cross of any of them.

So hopefully this May I will be milking and will be getting 1 gallon and a half to 2 gallons a day and thats a lot of milk.

Of course I want milk to drink and to cook with. But Im sure there will be extra.

So here is my tentative list of things I'd like to make with the milk:

Butter/Buttermilk (How would this work out with goat milk and storebought cream? Cultrued together and churned together)
Cheeses (What kind of cheeses are easy to make and tasty?)
Simple Ice Cream found here
Soap definitely. Any recipes? Where can lye be found?

Thanks!

 

[Emerald]

I can't help much with any recipes but I do know that our local ACE hardware carries lye.. but sometimes you have to ask them for it as it isn't right out on the shelf...
So all I can say is usually all those types of stores carry the same thing so I would check the yellow pages for Ace hardware and call them.

 

[CrimsonRose]

I've never had butter from goats milk but with buttermilk I would start with a storebought culture and then just like with yougurt save some and freeze it for next batch...

Homemade cheese is amazing (even when you mess your first batch or two up... still tastes good! LOL) I made mozerella my first time... but instead of stretching it crumbled... LOL After looking through cheese recipes the mozerella and riccotta looked like the easiest to try to make first... yougurt cheese was pretty easy too! If I was you I would maybe take a gallon or two of store bought milk next time it goes on sale then practice on it... just make sure it's not ultra-pasturized...

my favorite icecream is to take a large plastic cup (I think it's like 24oz)... put in one egg, tsp or two of vanilla, about an 1/8th cup of honey, then fill the cup about 2/3rds full of whole milk.... then use an immersion blender and stir it all up... put it in the freezer for about 15mins... then blend again... put back in freezer for a few mins.... continue to keep blending it every few mins till it's the consistancy you like... I love to eat it while it's still sorta soft... it's also great with rootbeer for a float!!!

as for lye only place I've been able to find it is TSC look over in the drain section. I still haven't made soap yet... hubby keeps running off with my lye... (with 3 young kids the drains get clogged quite a lot)

best wishes with the goaties!!! we just picked up our gal yesterday... now I need to find her a man and set her up on a date.... ROFL

 

[Marianne]

When I was messing around with soap making, I got lye from Ace Hardware. Red Devil drain cleaner, maybe? Been too many years now....

 

[freemotion]

Lye is used in meth labs so it isn't readily available. I got my local Ace to order it for me, and more recently, I ordered some from AAA Chemicals online.