Goat’s Milk and It’s Cheesy Story: Part II

DISCLAIMER: This post is information and science heavy and probably a little overwhelming. However, interspersed are pictures of baby goats being adorable, as well as some great Photoshops (if I do say so myself), a la my wonderful Lebrongoat. So take a minute to scroll through and check out the pictures and, if you are intrigued, take a read too.

Ah, milk. So vital to cheese making.

I found pages and pages of information on milk’s mythological and symbolic significance. First and foremost, it was “the essence of the mother goddess” (Andrews, 147). The mother goddess is depicted in many forms, most commonly a tree, woman, or cow. In each one she nourished kings, gods, and even the land with her milk.

Prehistoric depiction of the Mother Goddess - Venus of Willendorf (24,000-22,000 BC)

The tree form often has female attributes, i.e. numerous breasts. In an African legend, the tree provided milk to a tribal chief’s daughter so that she could feed her brother. A Scottish-Gaelic tale tells of a milk-giving tree that provided the Milk of Wisdom.

Quick Tidbit: Coffee Houses

This week, I worked a two day gig as an IT person (I know, the idea is laughable) for an Executive Summit. For discretion’s sake, I won’t tell you what the company was called, but I will tell you the key note speaker was excellent.

This is a nerd who looks slightly better than I did.

The speaker’s name was Steven Johnson. He’s written 7 books, the most recent of which is called Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation.

Mr. Johnson was an incredibly engaging speaker, but what I found to be most striking was the way he shared his information. He did it exactly like I want to. Through stories and anecdotes, he entertained us while at the same time teaching us. If you’ve read the “Why’d I Do This?” section of the blog, you’ll understand how strong a hold that idea has on me.

Goat’s Milk and It’s Cheesy Story: Part I

I looooove goat cheese. You may think that when I say goat cheese, I mean chèvre. Well, yea I do. But I also mean all the other cheeses made with goat’s milk.

“Whaaaat!? There are other cheeses made from goat’s milk in the world!?” I totally heard you think that through my computer screen. Don’t deny it.

But yes, there are plenty of other cheeses made with caprine milk. “Caprine” means of or pertaining to a goat. Like Capricorn.

Gotta love the mystical beast image.

Goat’s milk cheeses can be hard, soft, semi-soft, or firm. They have a wonderful array of flavors, not just that deliciously tangy, smooth chèvre. Would you like me to tell you about them?

We Tried Making Mozzarella…

I thought this would be a good supplement to Cheese: Go Make Some. It’s a few things I noticed when my boyfriend made mozzarella. He did, in fact, go make some while I was writing that last post. It didn’t turn out exactly how we’d have liked, but here are some homemade pictures from me. He’s made it twice before and used a video by Rahm Fama from the Food Network as a guide, which I’ll post after pictures.

This is the beginning of the curdling process before a firm curd has formed.

Instant Folgers: It’ll Fix Your Marriage!!

Ok, so, this isn’t really a post in the sense of a regular, long as heck post, but I thought it was relatable to the blog. This is a mashup of two Instant Folgers coffee commercials from the 1960’s. It’s amazing how much and yet how little food advertising has changed in the past 50 years. Husbands aren’t THIS mean anymore, but wives are still the main focus of most food commercials. Take a look:

Right? Pretty much wow. Personally, I prefer this one with Anthony Head and Sharon Maughan. It’s 8:36, but just watching the first 3 minutes will change your perception of Nescafé Gold Blend forever.

I love you, Rupert Giles.

Oh, Giles. Will you sing to me now?

Keep eating and asking, my friends.

Esther

Cheese: Go Make Some

Ah!! A whole week has gone by. I’m ashamed. I was trying to flesh this post out with a little history and exciting content, but it’s already 7 pages long as is. That’s without pictures. I’m posting this one today and an accompaniment about goat milk and cheese tomorrow. Just to give your eyes a break.

Not to continue gushing about the Philly Science Festival, but I went to a Philly Science Festival event called “The Artisanal Microbe: Cheese.” It was hosted at DiBruno Brothers in Center City which, by the way, has become quite epic. I was all like “whoa!” (Time for some pics pulled from their website)

Uhhh epic.

So....much....

CHEEEEESSSSEEEE!!!!!1!!11

The event was a quick, simple walk through of how cheese is made. There was less focus on the microbe than I had hoped but, nevertheless, it was fascinating. The presenters were Al and Catherine Renzi, owners of Yellow Springs Farm in Chester Springs and expert cheese makers. It was emceed by Tenaya Darlington of Madame Fromage fame.