getting into diary / the year of the goat
- 13 Feb 21
- 03:16
- One Comment
We can buy milk relatively expensively in town, maybe 70p a litre. Or we can buy it from our friends at the orphanage for half that. So we do. It comes unpasteurised though so we pasteurise it ourselves. I’m not sure it’s particularly hygienic, but after a couple of weeks and a bout of the ‘Haitian Sensation’ (my arrival pack included a strip of cipro…) it’ll do no harm. With power being so precious most things get ‘washed’ in cold water (though I like to boil up some water now and again to wash the dishes) or not at all.
Pasteurisation is new to me, so I learned you heat up the milk gently to 72 degrees for 1 minute then cool it quickly, et voila! We have a bain-marie system going too, but then we have a copper pipe coil from an old AC unit that we pipe cold water through and that’s where the hygiene is really compromised, as you can see. I’m not sure that would pass muster in the UK.
The main thing we crave here is cheese. You can get it, but its expensive and we have tried to make some but it wasn’t a great success – it had mozzarella texture but zero taste (well of slightly sour milk). So rather than keep trying to perfect the technique, we had the crazy idea to get goats, and try goat’s cheese. I really only went along with this as I have my eye on goat curry at some point and have recce’d a butcher (sort of). But they now have names which apparently means I can’t eat them. So lets just hope Gordon and Penelope have some kids and they can go nameless (or be known as tikka, korma, rogan josh…)
One thought on “getting into diary / the year of the goat”
Hi Phil,
Keep up the amazing work!
This curtainly brings into perspective all of the things that we take for granted here back home, that are real luxury items for many others.
I love your new look bushy beard too!
Looking forward to your next installment.
Take care,
Matt