Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Turk Raphael]

As I said before, put your goat milk in half gallon glass jars. Let sit in a very cold fridge for 2 - 3 days and the cream layer is very easy to see and remove. It gets very thick the longer it sits. Don't agitate the milk though or it won't seperate well. We do this all the time.

Everyone does that...before they get a cream separator...

 

[erinszoo]

My latest frugality project - making cheddar cheese with my goat milk. Built my own cheese press for $8.75. Works like a charm. No more buying cheese at the store for us. Yeah!!

I would be honored if you shared your recipe & methods. Thank you.

Cheddar goat cheese
Warm milk to 86°. I do this ona gas stove with a heavy bottomed stainless steel pan 2 gallons at a time. Add starter culture which I get very cheaply through new england cheesemaking company (google it). Put lid on pan. Wait 45 mins. Add 1/2 tsp rennet. Check temp and adjust as needed to keep at 86° or so. Wait until curd cuts clean (separates and doesn't stick back together quickly)

Then cut the curd and stir gently while bringing it up to 102° over 30 mins. Drain the curds in cheese cloth and place in stainless steel or glass bowl in sink full of warm water. They should form a soild mass.

Turn every 15 mins for two hours. At the 45 min mark, cut the mass in quarters and stack. Keep turning and keep at 90 - 95°. Then at 1 hr and 15 mins stack all together. (4 in one stack) Turn for remainder of time.

Remove from cheesecloth and cut into cubes about 1" or so. Add 2% salt by weight. (usually about 2tsps) stir until well dissolved. Then pack in cheese cloth lined molds.

We made our own press with pvc pipe (4" long), 2 1x12x12 inch boards, 4 10" threaded bolts, nuts and washers. We use a canning lid and wooden dowels (handrail for stairs in this case) as a follower. We made two molds, put them in the center of the wood, drilled the bolt holes at each corner close to the molds (the closer the better).

Then put your salted curd in cheese cloth lined molds and tighten press as much as you can for 30 mins. Remove the cheese, and take off the cheesecloth as it will fold into the curds. Rewrap, turn over and put back in the mold. Again tighten as much as you can and leave for 1 hour. Turn, rewrap, tighten mold, leave for 2 hours. Repeat, leave four hours. Rewrap one lat time (it should be fairly smooth by now) and repress for 24 hours tightening press as you can.

Remove from mold, air dry for 3 days and then coat with hot wax. Store around 55° for 6 weeks to 2 years. (We've never gone that long.) 3-4 months gives a nice tang.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Cheddar goat cheese
Warm milk to 86°. I do this ona gas stove with a heavy bottomed stainless steel pan 2 gallons at a time. Add starter culture which I get very cheaply through new england cheesemaking company (google it). Put lid on pan. Wait 45 mins. Add 1/2 tsp rennet. Check temp and adjust as needed to keep at 86° or so. Wait until curd cuts clean (separates and doesn't stick back together quickly)

Then cut the curd and stir gently while bringing it up to 102° over 30 mins. Drain the curds in cheese cloth and place in stainless steel or glass bowl in sink full of warm water. They should form a soild mass.

Turn every 15 mins for two hours. At the 45 min mark, cut the mass in quarters and stack. Keep turning and keep at 90 - 95°. Then at 1 hr and 15 mins stack all together. (4 in one stack) Turn for remainder of time.

Remove from cheesecloth and cut into cubes about 1" or so. Add 2% salt by weight. (usually about 2tsps) stir until well dissolved. Then pack in cheese cloth lined molds.

We made our own press with pvc pipe (4" long), 2 1x12x12 inch boards, 4 10" threaded bolts, nuts and washers. We use a canning lid and wooden dowels (handrail for stairs in this case) as a follower. We made two molds, put them in the center of the wood, drilled the bolt holes at each corner close to the molds (the closer the better).

Then put your salted curd in cheese cloth lined molds and tighten press as much as you can for 30 mins. Remove the cheese, and take off the cheesecloth as it will fold into the curds. Rewrap, turn over and put back in the mold. Again tighten as much as you can and leave for 1 hour. Turn, rewrap, tighten mold, leave for 2 hours. Repeat, leave four hours. Rewrap one lat time (it should be fairly smooth by now) and repress for 24 hours tightening press as you can.

Remove from mold, air dry for 3 days and then coat with hot wax. Store around 55° for 6 weeks to 2 years. (We've never gone that long.) 3-4 months gives a nice tang.
THis begs the question: can I use fresh cows milk as a substitute? Found a farm locally to get milk.

 

[wwmicasa1]

Cheddar goat cheese
Warm milk to 86°. I do this ona gas stove with a heavy bottomed stainless steel pan 2 gallons at a time. Add starter culture which I get very cheaply through new england cheesemaking company (google it). Put lid on pan. Wait 45 mins. Add 1/2 tsp rennet. Check temp and adjust as needed to keep at 86° or so. Wait until curd cuts clean (separates and doesn't stick back together quickly)

Then cut the curd and stir gently while bringing it up to 102° over 30 mins. Drain the curds in cheese cloth and place in stainless steel or glass bowl in sink full of warm water. They should form a soild mass.

Turn every 15 mins for two hours. At the 45 min mark, cut the mass in quarters and stack. Keep turning and keep at 90 - 95°. Then at 1 hr and 15 mins stack all together. (4 in one stack) Turn for remainder of time.

Remove from cheesecloth and cut into cubes about 1" or so. Add 2% salt by weight. (usually about 2tsps) stir until well dissolved. Then pack in cheese cloth lined molds.

We made our own press with pvc pipe (4" long), 2 1x12x12 inch boards, 4 10" threaded bolts, nuts and washers. We use a canning lid and wooden dowels (handrail for stairs in this case) as a follower. We made two molds, put them in the center of the wood, drilled the bolt holes at each corner close to the molds (the closer the better).

Then put your salted curd in cheese cloth lined molds and tighten press as much as you can for 30 mins. Remove the cheese, and take off the cheesecloth as it will fold into the curds. Rewrap, turn over and put back in the mold. Again tighten as much as you can and leave for 1 hour. Turn, rewrap, tighten mold, leave for 2 hours. Repeat, leave four hours. Rewrap one lat time (it should be fairly smooth by now) and repress for 24 hours tightening press as you can.

Remove from mold, air dry for 3 days and then coat with hot wax. Store around 55° for 6 weeks to 2 years. (We've never gone that long.) 3-4 months gives a nice tang.

Thank you soooo much for taking the time & effort to share this with me. I already make Chev're, Feta & Ricotta so I "think" I have a fairly good understanding of the recipe. Thanks again

 

[Arielle]

FETA???? Would you share that recipe??? I can never get enough feta!!

 

[wwmicasa1]

FETA???? Would you share that recipe??? I can never get enough feta!!

Give me a few hours. I'm still trying to get the last of the corn harvested.

 

[LindaB220]

Is it frugal to slowly work thru the contents of the frig/freezer until the shelves are empty??

Does it count to get 28 ducks into the freezer and not need to feed them anymore? Though they did a lot of foraging and I only put out a small amt of grain or them each day. THe real plus is not having to refill the kiddie pools for them every day with clean water.

Duck dinner was delicious!

Fabulous, Arielle, I'd love to do that. My only concern would be the plucking.

 

[LindaB220]

The milk and cream are both VERY white so it is difficult to see the layer of cream that rises. It is hard to skim the little bit of cream for just a bit of butter. It does separate quite efficiently with a separator and the butter is delicious!!!


For the persons who were discussing storing grains for a long time, my dad mentioned that mylar bags of various are available on line and are relatively inexpensive, considering the ease of use and the fact that grains like corn, feed mixes and so many other things can be stored with no fear of mold or bug infestatioon. In fact, it will protect product for over 20 years and it will be as good as the day it is sealed up. A regular clothing iron can seal the bags. I'm going to look into them myself!


FYI...I had my first caponization classes today...so far do good. If the ones I did (marked) survive over night, I'll be encouraged to begin again this morning...even though I know the first ones aren't out of the woods.

Turk

Good luck, Sweetie, I know that it is nerve wracking learning something new. Practice makes perfect. I didn't know about sealing mylar bags with an iron. Neat idea.

 

[MoonShadows]

Thanks , friends for sharing-- so much to learn.

My other frugal right now is living off my natural fat. ANd quickly dropping weight.

I'm buying fewer groceries as I dont need the intake of calories!! lol From 2 sources I discovered L-tyrosine and it is an appetite suppressant. Naturally. It is an amino acid. Found one caution that it can cause some people to be irritable. Two meals each day is enough, and sometimes feels like too much.

Using less food is frugal, right????

Using less food is frugal, but if you want to increase your weight loss, you should split that food into 3 even 4 meals a day. Multiple small meals as opposed to 2 larger meals will raise your metabolism and burn more fat.

Jim

 

[Arielle]

Quote: NO RUSH!!! Corn comes first!!