Experiments in Preserving Milk Kefir Grains

Every year I seem to hit a bit of a dry spell in terms of milk. This year I hoped to change that by breeding Sky for a fall kidding. While that was a success, she was never trained to the milk stand and is absolutely terrified of it. So it's been slow to get her used to being milked. I think in part, this is because she's an older doe. My experience with the younger ones is that they may not like it at first, but they adapt pretty quickly because, well, food. Sky is much more leery. 

One of the reasons I want year around milk is for our kefir. It's an important part of our diet, and also, kefir grains are alive and need to be nurtured. That means a regular supply of milk. When we have no homegrown supply of milk, I have to buy it, just to keep my kefir grains alive. This year, I decided to experiment in preserving milk kefir grains. If I can do that, I won't have to worry about buying milk. 

My first experiment was to dehydrate some grains. Kefir multiplies, so extra grains are pretty easy to come by.

The first step was to wash freshly harvested grians.

Here's what they look like after a thorough rinsing.

Then I spread them out to dry. The humidity is fairly low in our
house because of wood heat, so the conditions were good for this.

Most directions say to coat the dried grains with powdered milk.
This, I didn't have, so I wrapped them in a baggy & then in a paper bag.

Once we have milk again in the spring, I'll see how well they kept! Folks who've done this tell me they'll keep frozen for 4 to 6 months.

For my next experiment, I decided to try freezing some in milk.

I froze the jar, then lidded it, and am storing it in the freezer in a paper bag.

I'm still keeping some going with boughten milk, so I'll still have have some in case my experiments fail. Hopefully, I'll have success!

I'm curious if any of you have preserved kefir grains and how well it worked. Any tips would be welcome.

Experiments in Preserving Milk Kefir Grains 

© Jan 2022 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Prepper's Cheesemaking

If you've read the comments to my "Chèvre" and "Cardoon for Vegetable Rennet" blog posts, then you know we've been discussing alternatives to buying rennet and cheese cultures. The following is a relevant excerpt from chapter 7 of my Prepper's Livestock Handbook. Chapter 7 contains off-grid ways to process, make, preserve, and store eggs, milk, butter, cheese, and meat. Cheese is the traditional way to preserve milk, so here are a number of alternative ideas for making and storing cheese.

Cheese

Sustainable cultures. These can be substituted for commercial thermophilic and mesophilic starters. Commonly used are kefir, yogurt, whey, cultured buttermilk, and soured raw milk. In general, use 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup per gallon of milk. If your cheese is too bland for your taste, increase the amount of culture in your next batch. If your cheese tastes too sour, decrease it.

Natural rennets. Animal rennets are made from the stomach of a calf or kid, where enzymes curdle liquid milk into soft, digestible curds. See “How to Make Calf or Kid Rennet” under Resources for how to make your own. Plant rennets are made from plants that will curdle milk: thistle, cardoon, ground ivy, sheep sorrel, butterwort leaves, mallow, yarrow, teasel, knapweed, perennial ryegrass, narrowleaf plantain, henbit, shepherd’s purse, kudzu, globe artichoke, Jerusalem artichoke flowers, Irish moss, and safflower are examples. To make the rennet, gather and dehydrate any of the above. Make a strong tea by boiling a handful of the plant matter in 2 cups of water. Use 1⁄2 cup of tea per 1⁄2 gallon of milk. Results may vary!

Fig sap. The white latex-like sap from figs will also curdle milk. It only takes a few drops per quart of milk, and makes a soft, spreadable cheese.

Calcium chloride. This is often recommended when using pasteurized milk for making cheese. In raw milk the calcium is correctly balanced, so calcium chloride is not necessary.

Preserving cheese. If cheese is a way to preserve milk, then how do we preserve cheese? Cheeses that aren’t eaten fresh can be waxed, bandaged, or stored in oil or brine. The idea is to keep the cheese from becoming contaminated by airborne bacteria and fungi that might change your cheese in undesirable ways.

Waxing. The most common way to preserve cheese. Cheeses are coated with melted wax and then aged. Beeswax is an alternative to commercial cheese wax. If you find beeswax too brittle and prone to cracking, coconut oil or vegetable shortening can be added to melted beeswax to increase pliability:

• 13.5 ounces melted beeswax 
• 2.5 ounces oil or shortening 

Waxed cheeses are typically aged 60 days or longer at 50 to 60°F (10 to 15°C) and 75 to 95 percent humidity.

Bandaging. Another option for aging and storing cheese. Several layers of cotton cloth are cut in rounds for the top and bottom of the cheese wheel, and strips cut for the sides. The bandage is coated with butter or lard and then aged the same as waxed cheeses.

Oil submersion. Used for soft cheeses. The cheeses are submerged in extra-virgin olive oil and kept in a cool root cellar or refrigerator. Herbs such as rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, savory, oregano, peppercorns, and garlic may be added to the oil for flavoring. The herbed oil may later be used for salads and sauteing.

Cold storage. Cold storage, such as a root cellar or cheese cave, can be used to store cheese without refrigeration.

• Cured, uncut cheeses can be stored until it’s time to consume them. 
• Cut cheeses will keep longest if kept as cold as possible. Cut off mold as it develops and feed it to the pigs, chickens, or compost. The rest of the cheese is still good. 
• Natural rinded cheeses will need to be examined periodically for growth of molds. 
• Moldy spots can be scrubbed with vinegar and salt to remove the mold. 
• Waxed cheeses need to be turned about once a week to keep the natural moisture within the cheese from settling on the bottom. 
• Brine- or oil-kept cheeses must be checked periodically to make sure they remain submerged. 

Freezing. Generally not recommended for cheese, because freezing alters the texture and causes the cheese to be crumbly. It still has good flavor, however, and is acceptable for cooking. Some cheeses such as grated mozzarella and paneer, freeze very well.

Bibliography: 
Tate, Leigh, Prepper's Livestock Handbook, Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2018

~~~

The last section of the chapter, "Off-Grid Storage of Eggs, Milk, and Meat," discusses non-electric alternatives for refrigeration and freezing. For a prepper, these are the best ways to not lose what we've worked so hard to preserve and store. The appendix on Resources offers links to the tools mentioned in the chapter and further detail on various topics.

I think this is an important topic, because it greatly expands the prepper pantry with alternatives to canned and dehydrated protein foods. Especially since homemade is usually much cheaper than ready-made.

More information about Prepper's Livestock Handbook, including a list of chapters and charts, can be found here.

Prepper's Cheesemaking © July 2019 by

Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Cheesemaking Challenges in a Hot Climate

I love my Kinder goats!

Milk products are an important part of our diet, especially cheese and kefir. (Also ice cream!) Milk production is highest during summer, so that's when I work on making as much cheese as possible for the upcoming winter months. Because I don't have a cheese cave, I've had to learn what cheeses I can make in a hot, humid climate, and how to preserve them for winter eating.

What's a cheese cave? Commonly it's a small refrigerator set between 45 to 58°F (7 to 14.5°C) and 80 to 98% humidity. These are the conditions necessary to properly age cheese. People often keep a small fridge like a wine cooler for this purpose. I've thought about getting one, but I honestly don't have the room for it. Instead, I've experimented with cheeses I can make without controlled aging. Here are the ones that are working well so far. The names of the cheeses are hyperlinked to directions for making them.

Mozzarella

Mozzarella is always first on my seasonal cheesemaking list. It's easy to make, requires no aging, freezes well, and is a must for Friday night pizza! I grate it, measure it, and freeze it in freezer bags. Each bag contains enough for one pizza. These individual bags are stored inside a large paper grocery bag in the freezer.

Paneer

Paneer wrapped and ready for the freezer.

I first made this for fried cheese. Then we figured out it was great for snacking, for sandwiches, in eggs, and for added taste and texture in things like refried rice or spaghetti and meatballs. It is absolutely the easiest cheese in the world to make. Follow the link to learn how. The bonus is that it freezes well.

In the photo above you see my substitute for freezer paper. Freezer paper has really gone up in price, so I started wrapping things first in wax paper, then in a paper bag or packing paper. 

Feta

Last year I learned to make feta and experimented with ways to keep it. This is a brined cheese, native to the Mediterranean area where caves for aging and storing cheese aren't readily available. Instead, it is aged and stored in a salt brine solution. The aging requires no special temperature, which means it can be done in a refrigerator. Those things make it a good cheese for my climate.

Feta curing for two weeks in brine.

I made several batches last year and tried two ways to store it: some in brine and some with herbs in olive oil. The feta stored in brine gradually got saltier as time passed. It can be rinsed off in cool water, but what I really liked was the feta stored in herbed olive oil.

Crock of feta, rosemary and oregano sprigs in olive oil.

The cheese kept a wonderful flavor and the oil's cheesy herb flavor makes it wonderful for sauteing vegetables, for cooking eggs, as a salad dressing, as the oil in pizza dough, or as a dipping oil with French bread. I'll make a couple of crocks-worth of feta in oil for winter eating.

Farmers (fresh) Cheese

Salting a Farmers Cheese

For a harder cheese I've been making farmers cheese. It's mild, tasty, and meltier than paneer. Farmers cheese is meant to be eaten fresh, so I make as needed. However, this same basic cheese can be waxed or bandaged and aged for a more flavorful hard cheese.

Aged Cheeses 

Since aging (curing) a hard cheese requires a specific temperature and humidity range, that means waiting for autumn when our daytime temps drop to facilitate curing cheese. Last fall I made one aged cheese, Farmhouse Sage. It was fantastic, so I'm hoping to make a variety of aged cheeses this year.

The problem is that winter is usually the time the does are dried up in anticipation of spring kidding. So my goal is to have at least one doe in milk at all times of year. You can read more about that in my "Year Around Milk" blog post. I'm planning to only breed two does this fall, and milk the other two throughout the winter. Plus, I have Ellie.

Hopefully Ellie has been bred for an October kidding.

She is my first attempt at an early summer breeding for a fall kidding. For that, we're on wait-and-see status, because I haven't had her pregnancy confirmed. But if I can vary when kids arrive, then that will help with that year around milk supply. Year around milk supply will not only add variety to my cheese making, but also let me keep a year around supply of kefir and chèvre. These are examples of dairy products that can't be stored and so need to be made fresh.

Part of seasonal living is learning how to adapt to one's seasonal challenges. It takes a bit of trial and error, but in the long run it's well worth it.

Cheesemaking Challenges in a Hot Climate © Aug 2018

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Year Around Milk

We don't drink much milk, but sometimes nothing
beats an ice cold glass with freshly baked cookies.

One question I had when we first started producing our own food, was how to have a year around supply of everything. In the beginning I canned, froze, or dehydrated all the vegetables, fruits, and eggs I could. As we shifted toward a more seasonal model of living, I began to build my menus around what was producing well rather than what was stocked in the pantry.

This shift in eating habits shifted other things as well. By that time I had learned what grows well for me and what doesn't. Initially I wanted to grow a large variety of foods, but by focusing more on seasonal eating I realized I didn't have to grow dozens of different fruits and vegetables, because our variety is seasonal. Just about the time we're tired of one thing, it's done and something else is ready to eat.

I used to freeze and dehydrate a lot of eggs, but now I use
them if I've got them, or plan meals without them if I don't.

I can have variety in other ways too. For example, I save both watermelon and cantaloupe seeds, but we can only eat so much melon. Rather than devote a large amount of garden space to growing both, I grow watermelons one year and cantaloupes the next. Planting every other year also works well for things that tend to cross-pollinate, such as cantaloupes and honeydews.

I still preserve foods, but by focusing more on extending my gardening season, I can preserve less, which is a time and energy saver. Even so, I combine my biennial plantings with my food preservation plan. One year I grow enough green beans to can two years worth. The next year I grow enough black turtle beans to dry two years worth. These space and work savers help me manage my time and energy better.

And then there's milk. The traditional way of preserving milk is as cheese. It's a rare person who doesn't love cheese, after all, and most folks like to take a break from milking. However, fresh milk is one thing I would really like a daily supply of. Why? Two reasons. Most importantly, feeding my kefir. Secondly, because I find it easier to make fresh cheeses to eat as we need them, rather than going through the business of waxing, aging, and storing them (things challenging to do in our hot humid climate).

Still waiting...

So what are the options for having a year around supply of milk? Dairy animals require a two-month break at the end of their pregnancies to let them put all their nutrients into their soon-to-be-born young. One way to keep the milk supply going is to stagger breeding and birthing. In fact, that's what I tried to do this year. Last year Anna was bred a little later than the others, in hopes she'd still be giving milk while they are dry. Alas, she's pretty much dried up herself now, with less than a month until my first due date. So that's an experiment that didn't quite work out as I hoped.
 
Anna gave me milk for about seven months, but some does don't dry up as quickly. Some will produce milk for as long as two years or more. These individuals make good candidates for breeding every other year. With an extended lactation, it's possible to "milk through" the breeding and kidding season without taking a break. Some Kinders are capable of this, but none of my goats so far has had this trait.

The other option for me would be to breed twice a year. Once for spring kiddings, and six months later for fall kids. Most goat babies are born in spring after a fall breeding. Kinders are aseasonal breeders, however, which means they can conceive and kid any time of year. If I bred half my girls in fall and the other half in spring, it seems I'd have a better chance at having year around milk.

Jessie, Cinnamon, Anna, Violet, Ellie, and Daisy

So that's the plan, assuming no one gives birth to quads and needs all her milk to feed them. I have one yearling doe that will probably be ready to breed late this spring. If that works out, maybe next year I'll achieve my goal for year around milk.

Year Around Milk © Jan 2018 by Leigh 

at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

A Treat For the Goats: The Harvested Corn Field

Every year after we've harvested our dried field corn, I turn the goats into the corn field.

The girls get the morning shift, and then the boys get their turn in the afternoon.

The goats love the change of diet and eat the corn leaves plus the weeds and grasses growing in between the corn stalks. This plus a handful of chopped oregano, rosemary, and okra pods every evening, and I'm getting 25% more milk! Everybody's a winner!

A Treat For the Goats: The Harvested Corn Field © 

Sept 2017 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Dry Days Ahead

Nope, I'm not referring to the weather (over 12 inches of rain in the past 6 weeks) but to milk. It's customary to dry up a dairy goat about two months before she kids. Daphne is hopefully due at the end of February, so December is the month to dry her up.

Daphne

Actually, she dried herself up. Milk production just dropped until it was less than a cup per day, so I stopped milking. I've had this happen with mature does before and can't help but wonder if they know they need to do this for the kids growing inside them.

I admit that it's nice to have a break from milking, but I'd still like to have a year-round milk supply. This is mostly to keep my kefir alive, but it's also nice to have extra to feed the pigs. On top of that, I was in the middle of experimenting with quick cheeses, and had to stop when the milk stopped.

Cheese is the traditional way of preserving milk.
Happily, this year's came out very well (so far).

I found a neat little book at the library entitled One-Hour Cheese by Claudia Lucero, and it's been fun working through the quick cheese recipes. I think quick cheeses would be wonderful for my summer cheese making, especially considering how much trouble I seem to have with my hard cheeses (wax cracking being the latest - with both bees and cheese. More on that another time).

One to the thing I love about Kinder goats is that they can go into heat any time of year (aseasonal breeders). To ensure a year-round milk supply, all I have to do is breed them at different times of the year. Before I sold her, I intended to keep Helen in milk until Daphne kidded. But I think seven does is too many to overwinter, so Helen was the one to go, which leaves me milkless.

So Daphne should kid at the end of February, with four of my first fresheners due in April and May. Those will be my busy months, hopefully. I don't do pregnancy testing so we'll just have to wait and see.

I'll save Violet for a late summer or early fall kidding.

Violet

That will hopefully ensure next winter's milk supply. At least that's my plan. Only time will tell as to whether or not the goats will agree to cooperate.

Dry Days Ahead © December 2015 by
Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Earning Their Keep. When Are They? When Aren't They?

Lily and Surprise

My goat plan for the year was to keep my two Nubians in milk until my Kinders kidded. Having been milkless in the past, I hope that by not breeding one or two of my does each year but milking them through, I'd benefit both the goats and us. They'll get a break from the stresses of pregnancy and kidding, and I'll have year around milk. I don't actually need a lot, especially if I'm not in a cheese making mode, but I want enough to keep my kefir alive and to help feed the pigs.

From what I've read, some goats are better suited than others for milking through. Every now and then I read about a doe who's still producing a quart or more per day after two years of kidding. That's more the exception than the rule, but that kind of producer is nice to have around.

It finally got to a point were Lily and Surprise together were giving a little more than a pint per day, but eating just as much as always. With my first due Kinder date coming up, it was time to make a decision. Each Nubian eats almost twice the amount that each Kinder eats. Even though I'm not one to usually rate things on a money scale (see "Contemplations on Value & Money") the question of when they are no longer earning their keep, nonetheless, came to mind, especially since I'd already decided to sell them.

Helen and Daphne

To some that may sound somewhat heartless, to get rid of animals when they no longer produce enough to make them "worth" it. That may make sense for a hobby homesteader, but for those of us working toward sustainability, it misses the point. The very definition of sustainability on a homestead requires balance. Any scenario where input exceeds output, or output exceeds supply, is not sustainable. Eventually, one thing gives up or the other runs out. Small scale sustainability requires tough decisions.

If I had the land and resources, I could happily allow all my animals to retire and live out their lives in comfort and ease. Having small acreage means we must carefully steward and protect our land from overuse. I would love to keep 20 goats, but must be realistic. I'm hoping I can manage 4 to 6 does over winter and 2 or 3 bucks. That includes pasture and forage plus areas for growing hay and feedstuffs. It also means I must sell or trade animals still in their prime so as to have value to the person taking them.

Long story short, Lily and Surprise have gone to a new home with someone who is thrilled to have them. I priced them in hopes they'd go together, i.e. $50 discount for buying both. I've learned that critters which are bought or sold with a companion have a much easier transition with less stress on everyone. They went to a 41 acre farm with other critters including other goats, plus animal-loving 4-H kids.

The only one who's not to happy about the whole thing is Bunny.

Bunny

For some reason Surprise and Lily tolerated her, while the Kinders girls don't. But that's just life in the animal world and I know adjustments will eventually be made.

Earning Their Keep. When Are They? When Aren't They?
© March 2015 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Kids From A To Z: Our 2013 Kids in Review

As promised, here is a look at 2013's crop of goat kids. From 3 does we had a total of 7 kids: a single, twins, and quads. All survived except one, and our total goat population doubled to 12.

Alphie was first, born March 13th

Surprise and Alphie, who is just learning to stand.
His was a difficult birth and required help

Here he is now....

Alphie, 3 months old, a Nubian/Kiko cross

Alphie and Hooper

At three months of age, Alphie now lives with the bucks. Weaning was tough, but he's a big boy now and is buddies with Hooper.

On May 8th, Lily gave birth to twins.

Lily and her two brand new baby girls

Happily, it was an easy birth. Here they are now ....

Rosie Whitefoot, 5 weeks old

Daisy May, 5 weeks old. 

It's interesting how their colors change as they get older. If you look closely, you can see that Daisy isn't actually the solid white she has appeared to be in her photos so far. She is white with light gold or cream markings. This is a fairly common Kiko coloring.

The twins are half Nubian, half Kiko
You can see Rosie's one white foot in this photo.

On May 27, Ziggy, at long last, gave birth to quads. The births were easy, but sadly, one was stillborn.

Ziggy and her brand new babies, a girl and 2 boys. I'm not 100% about
their paternity, but likely they are all half Kiko, half Nigerian Dwarf.

Here are those babies two weeks later.....

Zoey, 2 weeks old

Zoey was Ziggy's firstborn and the only surviving doeling.

Buster Brown, 2 weeks old

Buster Brown was second. He's the biggest and most boisterous of the three.

Zed (as in the last letter of the aphapbet), 2 weeks old

Zed was born last and is the littlest. Zed is my bottle baby.

Zed always comes to see me.

At first, Ziggy's two little bucklings had trouble finding her teats. I was concerned about this and started them both on bottle fed colostrum. The colostrum was extra from Surprise, which I had frozen in muffin tins for emergencies. I offered the bottle every three hours during the day, but not at night, so that they would learn to go to Ziggy. This worked for Buster Brown, but Zed was always getting pushed out of the way by his brother and sister.

Zed in the foreground, Buster Brown behind the bucket.
Like Daisy May, Zed has faint cream spots too. 

Soon, Buster Brown was nursing exclusively along with Zoey, but there never seemed to be enough leftover for Zed. Even when I would put him on Ziggy she would walk away. She would look at me  as if to say, "I'll babysit him but you have to feed him." It's as though she knows she can't make enough milk for all three.

Zed, Buster Brown, & Zoey bringing up the rear.

As they get older, I'm still not certain Ziggy makes enough milk, even for two. When I was milking her last year for all those dairy goodies, at best I would get 2 & 1/2 to 3 cups, twice a day. It seems that now, Buster Brown gets frustrated sometimes. I've taken to offering him the bottle after Zed. Sometimes he's interested, sometimes not.

Zoey and Buster Brown

Having never bottle fed kids before, I did some reading up on it. Pat Coleby, in her Natural Goat Care, seems to think that too much milk is not good for kids. This puzzled me. My own maternal instincts kicked in with, "but shouldn't they get as much as they want?" I'm guessing, however, that if they are full of milk, they won't start eating as much solid food as they need to develop a good rumen.

Buster Brown and Rosie

In observing dams with their kids, however, I note that all of them begin to walk away from their nursing kids after about a week or so. The kids nurse when they want, but the amount because increasingly limited by their mothers. In turn, the kids begin eating more solid food. Eventually, the mother weans them by this method, until she finally doesn't let them nurse at all.

Zoey, Buster Brown, and Rosie. 

Rather than increase the time between bottle feedings, I decided to follow the goat moms example and start to limit the amount Zed can have, and Buster Brown too. They nibble grass, leaves, and hay now, which is as it should be.

Zoey, with Buster Brown and Rosie who are still going at it.
Their game is great fun until Ziggy chases Rosie away.

In regards to herd dynamics, Surprise is the queen, but not a benevolent one. She is a bully, but seems to be accepting the twins better, now that the triplets are on the scene. She still won't let them in the stall, especially Daisy, but she tolerates them. She and Lily are buds, and the twins hang out with themselves, unless Rosie is investigating the little guys. Ziggy is still very businesslike in keeping the others away, especially the twins. I am still cautious, and don't leave them all together if I have to leave the property. Some things, they'll have to sort out for themselves.

In spite of the mean queen, the kids are happy and growing well. And that's a lot to be thankful for.

Kids From A To Z: Our 2013 Kids in Review © June 2013 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

What I'm Learning About Rennet

Here is a compilation of all my notes on rennet, the key ingredient to making hard cheese.

~ Rennet is a coagulant. Its function is to separate milk solids from milk liquids, i.e. curds and whey.

~ Junket is a weak form of rennet used for making puddings and custards

~ Raw milk naturally separates into curds and whey as it sours. Rennet enables this separation while the milk is still sweet.

~ There are four types of rennet:

• animal rennet - made from the 4th stomach of ruminant (calf, lamb, or kid) which has consumed colostrum only
• natural vegetable rennet - made from plants
• microbial rennet - made from various cultured fungiform microorganisms (molds): Rhizomucor meihiei, Cryphonectria parasiticia, Mucor pusillus, Mucor miehei.
• recombinant (genetically modified) rennet called chymosin - derived from animal rennet

~ 80 to 90% of the commercial cheeses manufactured in the USA and Great Britain use chymosin

~ Natural vegetable rennet are proteolytic enzymes derived from plants, such as bromelain (from the pineapple) and ficin (from the fig), as well as biosynthetic chymosin.

~ Plant sources of natural rennets: thistle, fig, yarrow, ground ivy, Lady's Bedstraw, to name a few. An extensive list is here. 

~ Hard cheeses made from vegetable rennet are said to develop a bitter taste as they age, but apparently only in cows milk, not goat or sheep milk.

~ Some cheeses are always made with animal rennet: Parmesan,Grana Padano and Gorgonzola. They must be labeled "Parmesan style" for example, if using vegetable rennet.

~ Chlorine (in water) kills the active enzyme in rennet

~ Rennet cannot make curds in ultra-pasteurized milk because the milk's casein has been denatured due to the high heat involved in the ultra-pasteurizing process.

~ An alternative to renneted cheeses are kefir cheeses. I've not experimented with this but there is lots of information at this website, http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefir_cheese.html. [Sorry it's not a link. The website owner requests permission before linking to their site, which I respect and did in my first kefir post. It's a bit of a hassle though, so forgive the addy with no link. Just copy and paste to go to the site.]

I definitely want to experiment someday with both kefir cheeses and vegetable rennets. I have fig trees, yarrow, and ground ivy (Creeping Charlie) readily available. Recipes for most of these are practially nonexsistent, so perhaps I can start with one of the thistle or nettle recipes. That project is still future, but here are some how-tos I collected from around the internet

• Homegrown Rennet - Joy of Cheesemaking
• How to make thistle rennet - Answers.Yahoo
• Another thistle rennet recipe - Medieval Cheese Forum
• Rennet from thistle and nettles - Prepare 4 Anything
• Stinging Nettles and Cheese Making - Country Farm Lifestyles (scroll about 1/3 way down)
• Making Rennet From Fig Sap - New England Cheesemaking Supply Co.

A step by step how-to (with photos) for making animal rennet can be found at Dr. Fankhauser's cheese making website, Rennet Preparation

And a few more resources. These actually form my bibliography:

• 200 Easy Homemade Cheeses, Debra Amrein-Boyes, Robert Rose, Inc. 2009
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cheese Making, James R. Leverentz, Alpha Books, 2010
• Home Cheese Making, Ricki Carroll, Storey Publishing, 2002
• "Rennet 101" at Artisanal Premium Cheeses
• Homegrown Rennet
• Chymosin (GMO Compass)
• Cheese Fact Sheet The Vegetarian Society of the U.K. Ltd
• FAQ About Cheese Making Leeners

Do you have any tidbits to add? I'd love to hear them.

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What I'm Learning About Rennet © December 2012 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/