When Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy closed its farm last fall, Margaret, the farm manager, selected a few of the best goats and moved them to her one-acre plot in East Boulder. This winter, she successfully bred her herd and ended up with eight baby goats and a new supply of high-quality goat milk from their moms.

I jumped at the chance to spend a few hours learning to make fresh goat cheese with Margaret and Joan, another alum from Haystack’s farm.

Margaret and Joan already had two big pots of fresh goat milk going over a low flame when I arrived.

There is no hurrying this part of the process. For ricotta and feta, heat the milk slowly so that it doesn’t scald. We decided to do the ricotta first, since the only ingredient, other than goat milk, is a combination of lemon juice and vinegar. For ricotta, heat the milk to 185 degrees, then mix in a vinegar/lemon juice combo and stir gently with a big wooden spoon for 3-5 minutes.

As the curds float to the top, gently scoop them out of the whey into the cheese filter cloth spread over a colander and let it drain for about 10 minutes. Add salt to taste.

For raw goat milk feta, we heated the milk to 90 degrees, then gently added a little culture, lipase and the vegetable rennet. More gentle stirring for 10 minutes, then scoop out the curds, reserving some of the whey for brining, and strain again in the cheese filter. Then press the curds together and let them drain for an hour or two, turning after an hour. The curds are then placed in a salty brine/whey mixture, and refrigerated and occasionally turned for at least three weeks.

Making cheese is fun, but it also gives me an appreciation for the hard work and time involved in making something artisanal.