Prairie Fruits Farm-style chèvre

Prop Stylist: Amy Lauhoff O’Brien; Food Stylist: Lisa Benitez Kuehl; Photo Assistant: Nicole Stege

Leslie Cooperband has developed a cultlike following for her goat cheese, which shows up everywhere from the city’s best gourmet grocer counters to cheese plates at restaurants such as Vie and North Pond. While you can’t buy milk straight from her herd of goats (unless you visit the farm) or her exact blend of cheese cultures, you can get pretty close to replicating the flavor with readily available ingredients—and a little patience.

Makes two pounds of cheese.

1 gallon goat milk, pasteurized
1 direct-set chèvre starter packet
2 tsp sea salt (Note: Avoid salt with iodine; it will kill the culture.)
1 tbsp chopped herbs, such as sage, rosemary, thyme or oregano

1. Heat the milk to 86 degrees in a double boiler or thick-bottomed pot to avoid scalding.
2. Mix in contents of starter packet then let set at room temperature for at least 12 hours or until thickened and an acid-testing kit (starter and kit available at cheesemaking.com) measures the acidity somewhere between 45 percent and 65 percent. (Testing the acid isn’t necessary, but if you’re trying to mimic the flavor of Prairie Fruits Farm’s cheese, that’s the acidity level to aim for.)
3. Once the milk has thickened to the consistency of Greek yogurt, ladle the curd into a colander lined with cheesecloth. Tie up the ends of the cloth and hang the bag to drain for 6 to 12 hours.
4. Remove the cheese from the cloth, knead in sea salt, form into a puck-size round, then press the herbs around the exterior of the cheese round. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate in an air-tight container.

TIPS
• Try pressing edible flowers like calendula and marigolds into the finished rounds.• Hooking a bungee cord through the knot in the cheesecloth and hanging it in your shower is the easiest home method, especially if you don’t own cheese molds.

RETAIL $7 for six ounces
AT HOME $2 for six ounces

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