Hi thinnerii, My husband was called away on an emergency computer problem so I had some time to look at my cheese recipes and think about your situation.
Some people believe it is very important to chill down goats milk ASAP after milking, there is nothing wrong with doing this.
Milk should be heated in a double boiler system. I use two large (2 gal and 3 gal) stainless steel pots to accomplish this. I will give two recipes for the style cheese you made;
Heat 1 gal milk to 180 degrees F and hold this temp for 10 minutes, in a double boiler.
Add 1/4 cup WHITE vinegar very slowly while stirring very slowly until the whey separates from the curds. The whey will turn a light yellow. This is an indication you have added enough vinegar. Stop stirring and take off heat, let set 10 minutes.
Drain off whey into strainer or seive or colander. Cheese is ready for salting;sprinkle salt, stir and sprinkle again, 2 large pinches of salt.
package.
Now this recipe indicates the cheese can be stirred, meaning it is not of a sliceable consistency.
Recipe 2
Heat 2 gallons of milk in a double boiler set up to 190 degrees F. Add 1 cup of white vinegar. Turn off heat and let cool. When cooled, drain the curd into a colander and cut up into small pieces with a knife. Salt or season and package.
This recipe implies the cheese is of a sliceable condition.
Study the subtle differences between these two recipes.
Your recipe has the salt added to the curds and whey, this is novel. I have not heard of adding salt at this point nor that this could affect the consistency of the cheese. But your recipe certainly could/should produce a cheese that can be sliced. A cheese does not need to be "very hard" to be sliceable, cream cheese can be sliced. If fact, you would need to press a cheese to yield "very hard" cheese.
I can not say why your cheese turned out to be like a dry cream cheese, there are too many variables that can affect how a cheese turns out. You can add milk/cream to the cheese you made to make a cottage type cheese. Or put it in a food processor or mixer and add milk and herbs to make a spread for bread or crackers.
This type of cheese does not have much flavor, never will, on its own. It is customary to add salt and seasonings to this type of cheese, or to marinate it or saute it with garlic, anything to introduce some flavor.
I currently use two different cheese books, both offered through this website.
http://www.cheesemaking.com/
The book I use the most is Goats Produce Too! by Mary Jane Toth, excellent book for all kinds of goat products.
The other book I use is written by Ricki Carroll, the owner of New England Cheesemaking Supply Co, of the web site link given above. The book I have is Cheesemaking Made Easy, which is no longer available. I see where her book has been renamed Home Cheese Making. I am sure this updated version is excellent and I highly recommend both books, Mary Jane's and Ricki's.
I would expect that you could get Ricki Carrolls book through your local interlibrary loan system, she is a well know cheese expert. I would recommend buying Mary Jane Toth's book, it has so much goat related recipes.
I would be happy to answer any questions you have on cheesemaking!
Beth