Beginner's Sheep Cheese

This cheese is quick, easy, can be made with ingredients you most likely already have, and most importantly, oh so delicious. This is a soft, spreadable cheese and one of our family's favorites. There is so much you can do with it flavor wise. It is delicious plain, but we have done a lot of experimenting and tried everything from adding garlic powder, to chopped herbs (chive and dill is a favorite), to a dollop of jam. 

You will need to make sure you have a few materials before diving into this recipe, so be sure to check out the list below.

Materials:
- 2 or 3 layers of cheese cloth (occasionally we will just use a clean tea towel or 2)
- med to large pot
- thermometer (most thermometers will work as long as you can get a fairly accurate read, but we have this one and it is wonderful for yogurt and cheese making) 

Ingredients:
1 quart sheep milk
2T lemon juice
1T white vinegar
1/2 - 1 tsp salt

Instructions:
Pour milk into pot and heat on low until milk reaches 175-180F
Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and vinegar until incorporated (you will start to see the separation of curds and whey)
Let sit for 10 min
While you wait, line a colander (or if you don't have one, a large bowl) with at least two layers of cheesecloth and place in the sink (or inside a bowl if you would like to save the whey! We feed it to the pigs, but some people like to use it for bread making.)
After 10 minutes, pour the curds and whey into the cheesecloth and tie. If you have never tied cheesecloth before, here is a great tutorial. 
Hang cheesecloth in your desired location (the kitchen sink faucet works well) for 1-3 hours. The length of time you let your cheese hang will determine its consistency. a shorter hang time will produce a light, fluffy, high moisture cheese (our favorite!) and a longer hang time will produce a more dense, drier cheese). Keep in mind: if you double or quadruple this recipe, your cheese may need to hang for longer to reach desired consistency. 
Take your cheese out of the cheesecloth and place in a bowl. Salt to taste.
Stir in herbs, spices, jam, etc and form into logs or balls.
Optional: roll logs/balls in more chopped herbs for garnish

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