How to Make Farmer’s Cheese with Goat Milk

You can make delicious homemade cheese with just three ingredients: fresh goat milk, lemon juice, and salt. Use this recipe to make farmer’s cheese with goat milk for spreading on crackers or topping your favorite dishes. Ideas for flavoring your cheese and using the whey are also included in this post.

Ingredients for making farmer's cheese with goat milk

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I love goat cheese! Some goat cheese that you can buy at the store is just a little too “goaty” for me though, so I prefer to make my own with milk from my Nubian dairy goats.

Homemade farmer’s cheese made with fresh, raw milk is tangy, delicious, and doesn’t have that intense aftertaste. You can enjoy it spread on crackers or use it to top your favorite dishes.

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What is Farmer’s Cheese?

Farmer’s cheese is a mild, fresh cheese that is made by curdling milk with an acid like lemon juice. I like making farmer’s cheese because it is quick and easy. This is not an aged or pressed cheese; you can make it and eat it in the same day!

This recipe for a basic farmer’s cheese only uses three ingredients: raw goat milk, lemon juice, and salt. You can flavor your cheese by adding spices like dill, chives, rosemary, or cracked pepper too.

Usually, farmer’s cheese is lumpy and has a similar texture to cottage cheese. You can make it firmer by allowing it to drain for a longer period of time or really squeezing the whey from your cheesecloth. If you want a more spreadable farmer’s cheese, you can add some milk and blend it until smooth.

Farmer’s cheese can be used in so many ways. Of course, you can use it as a dip or spread for your favorite crackers. I also mix it into tomato soup or chili and scrambled eggs. It makes an amazing topping for salad or roasted vegetables too. I even use to make the world’s best cheesecake!

Cheesemaking is a great way to use up extra milk. For more ideas for using surplus milk from your home dairy, click here to read my other article.

Equipment for Making Farmer’s Cheese

I make my farmer’s cheese on the stove in a large stainless steel stock pot. You will need an accurate thermometer to measure the temperature of your milk during cheesemaking.

After the curds have formed, you will need a colander lined with some sort of cheesecloth to strain the whey from the cheese. I prefer to use butter muslin because it is washable and reusable. You can use butcher’s twine to hang the cheesecloth bags while they drain and will need a mixing bowl underneath to catch the whey.

I store my farmer’s cheese in the refrigerator in a large Pyrex bowl with a lid. It will keep for a week to ten days.

Farmer’s Cheese with Goat Milk Recipe

1 gallon of fresh, raw goat milk
½ cup lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons salt

I make my farmer’s cheese with raw goat milk. Since my milk is not pasteurized, the natural proteins and enzymes are intact and it curdles nicely. I choose my freshest jars for cheesemaking for the best yield and flavor.

You can use lemon juice or distilled white vinegar, or a combination of the two, as the acid to make cheese. I prefer using fresh squeezed lemons for my farmer’s cheese.

Use cheese salt or kosher salt to taste. Not only does the salt add flavor, it also helps regulate moisture and preserves your fresh cheese.

Directions for Making Farmer’s Cheese with Goat Milk

Add one gallon of goat milk to your stock pot and put it on the stove on low
Slowly warm the milk until it is just barely boiling, stirring periodically so that the milk does not get scorched. This should take at least an hour.
Check the temperature of the milk with your thermometer. When it reaches 186 degrees Fahrenheit, remove the pot from the heat.
Add ½ cup of lemon juice to the milk and stir slowly, curds will begin to form immediately
Allow the milk and lemon juice to sit undisturbed for 15-30 minutes while the curds and whey separate

Line a colander with butter muslin and ladle the curds and whey in until full. I use three 12-inch x 12-inch squares of butter muslin for this cheese recipe.
Tie butcher’s twine around the butter muslin to make a bag. Hang the bags and put a mixing bowl underneath to catch the whey.
Let the bags of cheese drain for one to six hours at room temperature, depending on how firm you want your cheese.
Gently squeeze out any remaining whey from your cheese bags then transfer the curds from each bag into your Pyrex storage bowl
Add salt to taste and mix thoroughly
Refrigerate and use your fresh cheese!

Uses for Whey

Using this recipe, you will end up with about two pounds of cheese and almost a gallon of whey! Don’t throw it out. Whey is a byproduct of cheesemaking, but it has a lot of different uses. Here are some ideas: