Uh Oh - I've Got a Broody!

Meet Buttercup.  Buttercup is a special chicken. 

Despite having both wings clipped in an effort to keep her safe in the fenced in chicken run, she somehow manages to get out each and every day. She's just so darn friendly, she just has to get out to come say hello.

 

Well, I've long come to terms with the fact that Miss Buttercup is a loner, a rebel.  She does what she wants and goes where she wants whenever she wants!  So it comes as no surprise (to me) that she has decided to go broody -- in JANUARY! Yes, it has been verrrrry coooold lately.  Today, we are looking at a high of 3 degrees.  That's not even counting the wind chill, and boy is it a blow'in. Brrrrr!

 

 

Now I've been hoping a hen would want to be a momma ever since I started keeping chickens.  I no longer wish to buy chicks or incubate.  I've had Barred Rocks, Speckled Sussex and Silkies -- all breeds that were supposed to be broody, but nobody would cooperate! So this last summer I decided to give Buff Orphingtons a try.  Guess I finally got the breed right.  I just wish Miss Buttercup had gotten the season right!

 

                                       

 

So now, I have to decide if I should try to break her broody, because it is going to be very difficult for her to keep those eggs and (hopefully) chicks warm.  I have no intentions of bringing her into the house.  (Been there, done that.)  But I've been wanting to do this for soooooo looooong.  So, I guess I'm gonna let her try.  Who knows, maybe we'll have some chicks on Valentine's Day!



Save the Whey!

No, I'm not advocating saving some exoctic, endangered species that you've never heard of.  I'm just say'in next time you make cheese, don't throw out the whey!  Why not?  'Cause you can use it to make more cheese -- ricotta!  Yep, ricotta cheese is made from the leftovers. 

Making ricotta is super simple.  Here's how:

 

Heat 1.5 quarts whey to 195 degrees.  Slowly add in 1 quart whole milk and bring temp back up to 195 degrees.  Stir, stir, stir until you see small clumps.  Then pour whey/milk into a cheese cloth lined colander.  Bring the sides of the cheese cloth up to make a little bag.  Hang bag for about an hour, or until it stops dripping.  Put cheese into a container and add some salt to taste. 

 

Congratulations! You just made ricotta cheese!  See, I told you it was easy...

Making Yogurt is Soooooo Easy!

I just made my first batch of yogurt and it is sooooo easy to make, that I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner!  Very often people just don't understand why I make my own bread, build my own furniture, grow such a big garden and milk my own goats when it's so much easier to just buy it at the store.  Oftentimes, I do have to admit that it is much easier to just run to the store and get what you need, but I have my reasons for DIY (I'll save that discussion for another post).  But when it comes to making vs. buying yogurt, that argument just doesn't hold water!

I wanted to make raw milk yogurt to get the benefits of enzymatic and probiotic components of fresh raw milk and fermentation in one glorious, creamy, lovely food.  I also used my Excalibur Food Dehydrator to incubate the yogurt.

Ingredients

• 1 quart raw milk
• 2 tbsp starter OR 2 tbsp yogurt from a previous batch OR 2 tbsp plain, unsweetened, additive-free yogurt with live active cultures found at any grocery store

Instructions

1. Heat milk to 110° Fahrenheit. (Don't heat any higher or the food enzymes and naturally occurring beneficial bacteria will be killed.)
2. Remove from heat and whisk in starter culture or yogurt.
3. Pour the mixture of starter and raw milk into a 1-quart glass mason jar and put on a lid.
4. Place the mason jar into the food dehydrator, set the temperature to 110° Fahrenheit and allow it to culture for eight to twelve hours.
5. Once the culturing period is complete, place it in the refrigerator to chill and solidify.

Yep -- it's that easy, and delicious! 

Now, do me a favor and see if you can pronounce half the ingredients in your store bought yogurt. Didn't think so.  Now that you know how easy it is to make your own yogurt with ingredients you actually know and can pronouce, what are you waiting for?

Making Goat's Milk Mozzerella

Now that I have lots of fresh, organic milk to use, I decided to try my hand at making cheese.  I chose to start with mozzerella, because it's (supposedly) easy to make and I figured I'd have the best luck getting my kids to eat it (think pizza or mozz cheese stix)!

I started with the cheese making kit I purchased from Hoegger Supply Company.  It had all the supplies, ingrediants and recipes I would need to get started. 

I also incorporated some info I gleaned from 5 Acres and a Dream, because she uses goat's milk, whereas the recipes in "A Cheesemaker's Journey" were made for cows milk. 

So here are the supplies I used:
    - liquid rennet
    - citric acid powder
    - colander
    - long slotted spoon
    - 2 wooden spoons
    - long knife
    - whisk
    - thermometer
    - large stainless steel pot (not shown)

Start by mixing 1 1/4 teaspoons of citric acid powder into 1/4 cup of cool water.  Add this to your cool milk in the large stainless steel pot.  Bring the temperature of the milk to 88 degrees and then remove it from heat.  Then mix the rennet into another 1/4 cup cool water and stir into the milk.

My recipe book said to wait 15 minutes for it to coagulate.  But the sources I found for goat's milk said to wait 30 minutes, so that's what I did.  Once it has coagulated enough, use your long knife to cut the curds into 1 inch cubes.  Now let it rest for 10 more minutes. 

For me, this next step was the trickiest part.  You are supposed to slowly bring the temperature of the curds up to 108 degrees and hold the temp there for 35 minutes.  Unfortunately, I have an electric stove and found it very difficult to hold the temperature steady for the whole time.  I would think I had it at 108 degrees, then I'd check it again a minute or so later and the temp had shot up to 120 degrees.  If anyone has suggestions on this part, please feel free to chime in!  During this step, you are also supposed to gently stir the curds every 5-10 minutes to keep them from sticking together.

Next, it's time to drain the curds in a colander for 15 minutes.

Once drained, cut the curds into 1 inch pieces and place in a large bowl.  Pour hot water (140 degrees) over curds.  Using the two wooden spoons, stretch the curds until smooth and glossy and you can shape them into a ball. (I didn't get a photo of this step as my hands were too full playing with the cheese)

Once shaped, place the ball into a brine solution made of 1/2 gallon warm water (100 degrees) and 1 1/2 cups kosher salt. Let it sit in the brine for 2 hours, turning occasionally.  Finally, remove cheese from the brine, pat dry, cover and let it sit in the fridge overnight to let the salt fully permeate the cheese. 

 

Since I knew I was going to use my mozzerella for pizzas, I decided to shred it all.  We used about half for a pizza tonight, then I froze the other half for pizza later!  Yum.  It was delicious!