Chris Banker
Chevre (Soft Goat Cheese) is a very simple and forgiving cheese that can be made in 1-3 days with very little effort. It lends very well to adding herbs, spices, and fruits.
Ingredients:
3-4 qts goat milk (not ultra pasteurized)
½ tsp calcium chloride (optional)
¼ tsp flora danica (or other culture)
1-2 drops of liquid rennet, mixed into ¼ cup of water
Recipe:
Heat milk slowly to 86 degrees
Add in calcium chloride (if used) and cultures
If cultures are freeze dried, allow to rehydrate for about 5 minutes
Mix rennet in water and add to milk
Stir slowly in up-and-down strokes for about 25 strokes
Set aside for at least 12 hours or until curd has formed
Spoon into molds or cheesecloth, a mesh ladle works really well for this
Allow to drain until desired texture is reached
I like about 48 hours for molds or about 24 hours for cheesecloth
Sprinkle with salt and/or coat with herbs, spices, etc.
Tips:
Circular or square cup-style molds are easy to use and clean, and produce a consistent result with minimal effort. They produce a nice puck-style cheese, which can be coated with herbs or ingredients can be mixed in and it can be rolled back out.
Cheesecloth draining tends to be a bit quicker
Some good variants:
paprika and garlic salt
honey and lavendar (mixed in)
herbs de provence and truffle oil (mixed in)
dill
fresh strawberries (chopped and mixed in)
dried apricots (chopped and mixed in)
vanilla and honey mixed in, dusted with cinnamon