Making Soft Cheese from Goat Milk

By Essential Ventilation Tips for a Livestock Barn
Comments 35
24 Sep 2026

Making Soft Cheese from Goat Milk

Goat milk is a wonderful thing to have on a smallholding. Whether you keep a couple of goats or buy fresh milk from a local farm, it makes beautifully soft, spreadable cheese. With a simple rennet set and gentle draining, you can produce fresh cheese for salads, tarts or toast at home with ease.

Why Goat Milk Makes Exceptional Soft Cheese

Goat milk is naturally homogenised. Its fat globules are smaller than those in cow’s milk, so the cream does not separate. This gives a delicate curd and a smooth, creamy cheese. The flavour is mild, slightly tangy, and reflects what the goats eat. If you keep goats, you will taste the difference when they browse on herbs and hedgerow. Many breeds also have less alpha-s1 casein, which makes the curd softer and easier to digest for some people. Soft cheese is the perfect first cheese for a smallholder: no press, no wax, no long ageing. Just milk, rennet, and time.

What You Will Need

Gather your ingredients and equipment before you start. Everything should be spotlessly clean.

Ingredients: 2 litres fresh goat milk (raw or pasteurised, but not ultra-pasteurised), 2 drops liquid rennet (animal or vegetable), 1 tbsp live yoghurt or buttermilk (optional, for flavour), 1 tsp fine sea salt, non-chlorinated water.
Equipment: a stainless steel or enamel pan, a thermometer, a slotted spoon, a colander, a large bowl, butter muslin (or a clean tea towel), a cheese mould or small clean flowerpot (optional), clean jars.

Sterilise everything with boiling water before you start. This is not fussiness; it prevents off-flavours and keeps your cheese safe.

The Simple Rennet Set

Pour 2 litres of goat milk into your pan. Warm gently to 30°C. Use a thermometer; too hot and you kill the rennet, too cold and it will not set. If using yoghurt or buttermilk, stir it in now. This adds a little tang and helps the culture along.

Dilute 2 drops of liquid rennet in 2 tbsp of cool, non-chlorinated water. Add to the milk and stir gently for 10 seconds. Do not whisk. Cover the pan and leave at room temperature for 40–60 minutes. The curd is ready when it gives a clean break: insert a knife, and the curd pulls away cleanly from the blade.

For a soft, spreadable cheese, do not cut the curd. For a slightly firmer cheese, cut into 1cm cubes and rest for 5 minutes.

Gentle Draining and Shaping

Line a colander with wet muslin and set it over a large bowl. Ladle the curds gently into the cloth. Do not pour; you want to keep the curds intact. Gather the corners of the muslin and tie them into a bag. Hang the bag over the bowl to drain.

For a spreadable cheese, drain for 6–12 hours.
For a sliceable cheese, drain for 12–24 hours.

Drain in a cool place, around 10–15°C, or in the fridge if your kitchen is warm. After 2 hours, stir 1 tsp of salt into the curds. This helps draw out whey and adds flavour. You can also salt at the end.

For a moulded cheese, pack the curds into a clean cheese mould or a small colander lined with muslin. Turn it once after 6 hours. Keep the whey. It is rich in protein and makes excellent soup, bread, or a treat for pigs and chickens.

Flavouring and Using Your Fresh Cheese

Plain goat cheese is delicious, but you can roll it in chopped chives, thyme, dill, cracked black pepper, or chilli flakes. Add lemon zest for a bright lift, or a little honey for a sweet contrast. Use it crumbled over salads, spread on toast, dolloped on tarts, or stirred into omelettes. It is also lovely in stuffed peppers or with roasted beetroot. Because it is a fresh cheese, it will not melt like cheddar. Treat it as a condiment or a soft topping.

Storing, Safety and a Few Rural Tips

Store your cheese in a clean jar or wrapped in greaseproof paper in the fridge. It will keep for 5–7 days. For longer storage, freeze in small portions for cooking. Hygiene matters. Wash your hands, wear a clean apron, and keep pets out of the kitchen. If you milk your own goats, chill the milk quickly and use it within two days for cheese.

Rennet loses potency over time. Keep it in the fridge and check the date. If your curd fails to set, your rennet may be old or your milk was too hot or cold. Troubleshooting: if the cheese is too wet, drain it longer. If too dry, drain for less time or add a splash of cream. Rural tip: use the leftover whey to water acid-loving plants like blueberries (dilute it first), or heat it to 90°C to make a simple ricotta.

Recipes

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5 Comments

Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply
- John Abraham says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
  
  I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
  Reply
  - Robert Sonnysays Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
    
    I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
    Reply
Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply

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