Goat cheese, or chevre is cheese made from goat’s milk. Goat cheese is made in a wide variety of styles, from soft fresh cheese to hard aged cheese.
Cow’s milk and goat’s milk have similar overall fat contents. However, the higher proportion of medium-chain fatty acids such as caproic and caprylic in goat’s milk contributes to the characteristic tart flavor of goat’s milk cheese. (These fatty acids take their name from the Latin for “goat”: capra.) It also has a lower lactose content than cow’s milk.
Goat cheese has been made for thousands of years and dates back to Ancient Greece around 5,000 B.C. In the simplest form, goat cheese is made by allowing raw milk to naturally curdle, and then draining and pressing the curds. Other techniques use an acid (such as vinegar or lemon juice) or rennet to coagulate the milk. Soft goat cheeses are made in kitchens worldwide, with cooks hanging bundles of cheesecloth filled with curds in the warm kitchen for several days to drain and cure. If the cheese is to be aged, it is often brined so it will form a rind, and then stored in a cool cheese cave for several months to cure.
Goat cheese softens when exposed to heat, although it does not melt in the same way many cow cheeses do. Firmer goat cheeses with rinds are sometimes baked in an oven to create a softer, more viscous texture.
Types of goat’s cheese
Source: https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/food/goat-cheese-varieties
6 Types of Goat Cheese Every Fromage Fan Should Know
Aged
Aged goat cheeses are usually French, and they come in various shapes and sizes. Often an aged goat cheese will be covered in an edible ash to prevent it from drying out and to keep its surface clean. It may have a fluffy middle and a gooey exterior. Readily available aged goat cheeses include Chevrot, Valencay, and Selles sur Cher.
To buy: Murray’s Cheese Shop; murrayscheese.com.
Tomme style
Tomme style refers to a wheel of cheese with a rind. Humboldt Fog, produced by Cypress Grove in northern California, proves that high-quality French-style goat cheese is available domestically. The cheese is covered in edible ash, which keeps a crust from developing.
To buy: Cypress Grove; cypressgrovecheese.com.
Blue
Blue mold is mixed into the curds. As the cheese ages, the flavor changes, making blue goat cheese sharper, earthier, and more pungent than the fresh variety. Cayuga Blue is one of the best brands available, but it’s not easy to find. Bleuet de Chèvre is a good alternative.
To buy: Artisanal Cheese Center; artisanalcheese.com.
Brie
Goat’s milk Brie is more subtle and refreshing than a traditional cow’s milk Brie. For a treat, try Peilloute.
To buy: Citarella; citarella.com.
Cheddar
Goat’s milk cheddar has everything you want from this beloved cheese: It’s sharp and fruity, but with a distinctive goaty tang. One of the best is Quebec’s Le Chèvre Noir.
To buy: Artisanal Cheese Center; artisanalcheese.com.
Gouda
Holland produces some lovely fresh and aged goat’s milk Goudas. Fresh Gouda is soft and creamy, making it a good table cheese. Aged Gouda is sweet and delicious, with caramel overtones. Balarina is a widely available variety.
To buy: Artisanal Cheese Center; artisanalcheese.com.
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HOW TO MAKE GOAT CHEESE RECIPE – CHÈVRE
Goat Cheese or chevre, no matter what you call it; is go-o-o-o-o-o-d! Sorry, I couldn’t resist. It’s unbelievably easy to make, not to mention inexpensive compared to the cost of a store-bought portion. Seriously, it’s about half the cost. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to make goat cheese, you’ve come to the right place.
THE OLDEST CHEESEMAKING IN THE WORLD
Goat cheese is made by a process known as acid/heat coagulation. It is the oldest method of cheese making in the world. Lemon juice and vinegar break apart the protein structure of the milk once it has reached a certain temperature. The most specialized equipment you will need is a digital thermometer.
Goat cheese and goat milk production date back to around the 5th millennium when goat herding was increasing along the plains of the Euphrates river. Goats were a mobile food supply which made pastoralism easier for shepherds and herders. As a result, milk production increased during this time and consequently cheese-making too.
Goat cheese makes an appearance in Greek mythology. In Homer’s epic tale The Odyssey the Cyclops Polyphemus is found molding goat cheese into rush molds. There is also evidence of cheese-making from drawings found in Egyptians tombs. By the time of the Roman Empire cheese-making was already an established art.
KEEP AN EYE ON THE TEXTURE
When making goat cheese you need to be aware of the fact that the curds and whey will not separate in the same manner as they do with whole milk. The texture of goat cheese will not contain the larger curds like ricotta.h
Yes, the recipe for ricotta will be forthcoming soon. In order to improve the separation I use two types of acids: lemon juice and vinegar. You should make sure that you have a double or triple layer of fine cheese cloth so the tiny solids don’t go through.
FEEL FREE TO ADD HERBS
I like to add herbs to my goat cheese. My choice is tarragon, because of its sweet taste. I think it adds a nice contrast the slightly acidic taste of the goat cheese. Some find goat cheese to taste slightly tart or earthy. It pairs well with so many different and satisfying dishes. Contrary to popular belief, feta cheese and goat cheese are quite different! Goat cheese has a creamy, spreadable texture compared to the crumbly feta. And, not to mention feta is made from sheep milk, we want the freshest goat milk we can find for this yummy recipe.
I am actually very proud to say that I recently taught a French student and friend, Hélène how to make goat cheese. Goat cheese or chèvre as it is known in France is her favorite cheese. She was amazed. “I am going to teach my dad.” she said. She started to rattle off all the wonderful dishes one can make with goat cheese including a tomato tart with goat cheese and basil that sounds positively fabulous.
Yes, I will extract the recipe from her and post it. Hélène also likes to drizzle honey over her goat cheese. She advises the use of a honey without a distinctive flavor. I haven’t tried this yet, but you can bet the goat farm I will! The steps to make this are pretty easy.
STEPS TO MAKE GOAT CHEESE:
Read more
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To buy
https://www.ardithmae.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ardithmaefarm/
Ardith Mae Farm was started in January 2006 in Pennsylvania. In February of 2013, we decide to leave PA and move to a farm in Columbia County, NY. With the help of Columbia Land Conservancy Trust, I found the perfect home for me and my crew of goats . In the middle of winter, with the help of some very loving and incredible friends we packed up and moved the herd of 60 goats, 4 dogs, and 2 cats to Stuyvesant, NY.
On the new farm, there was an empty barn and big, beautiful pastures just screaming for some animals. Once we were all settled, we rebuilt the cheese facility and in August of 2013, we were up and running again.
We milk a herd of 60 goofy and rambunctious Saanen, LaMancha, and Alpine goats. With their lovely milk, we make a variety of French style cheeses that are carefully hand crafted from beginning to end.
The fresh cheeses include:
- Fresh chevre that we make fresh every week. In addition to plain chevre, we also make flavored varieties including: basil, garlic scape, and honey lavender
- Feta that is soft, crumbly, and creamy all the same time, packed in brine so it will last in your fridge for a few months.
The soft-ripened cheeses include:
- The Mammuth – Our Camembert style cheese. Elegant, unique, and complex enough for a cheese plate but delicate and well balanced enough for breakfast with jam and crusty French baguette.
- The Bigelo – Vegetable ash coated pyramid, similar to a classic French style Valençay. Tangy and well-balanced when young; gooey and more potent as it ages. Excellent for a cheese plate.
- Green Peppercorn – A larger pyramid with Green Peppercorns velvety and creamy, the peppercorns become soft and provide a mild peppery bite after it’s 3-4 week ageing process. Beautiful on a cheese plate or atop a burger.
- Silhouette – Dense and creamy with a delicate layer of vegetable ash, this goat cheese is perfect for spreading on a thin, crispy cracker with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of walnuts.
- Mixed goat and cow’s milk cheeses that are soft and creamy, and which we make plain as well as with veins of either peppercorn, or smoked paprika
- My favorite, a cheese called Doolan. This cheese is a small button, similar to a Crottin. This cheese is everything I love in a piece of cheese: a perfect balance of sweet and salty; the flavor profile is complex and yet, somehow simple. It’s dense and creamy and absolutely adorable – a perfect little snack. This lovely little cheese is actually named after Kristen Doolan, the master cheese maker and fearless goat farmer that that taught me everything I know about cheese making, farming and raising goats organically. I must also say a thank you to George van Vlaanderlen, her hilarious husband and superhero farmer. George also taught me so much about farming and that darn electric fencing that I struggled with while interning on their incredibly beautiful farm, Does Leap Farm, in Northern Vermont.
https://www.thecourtyarddairy.co.uk/shop/category/buy-cheese/goats-sheep-cheese/
