Kamil Perry
Goat cheese, or chèvre, is made from goat's milk. Goats were among the first animals to be domesticated for food production, and goat cheese is now made all over the world, with a variety of recipes and styles, from fresh and soft to aged and hard. Goat's milk can be made into almost any kind of cheese, and fresh goat cheese is the most popular type sold in the US. Goat cheese can be buttery and mellow, with hints of lemon, or more piquant and goaty, depending on how long it has been aged.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Milk source | Goat's milk |
| Texture | Fresh and soft to aged and hard |
| Taste | Buttery and mellow, with hints of lemon |
| Nutritional value | High-quality, nutrient-rich |
| Seasonality | Goats produce milk for only 9 to 10 months per year |
| Availability | Widely available in grocery stores and specialty cheese shops |
| Colour | Creamy white |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
Goat cheese is made from goat's milk
Goat's milk can be made into almost any kind of cheese (and butter!). Fresh goat cheese is the most popular type sold in the US and is often called chevre, which is the French term for "goat". The term can also refer to any type of cheese made from goat's milk, including aged cheese. Fresh chevre is pretty intense, with a strong flavour.
Some goat cheeses are buttery and mellow, with hints of lemon. Firm, aged, and rinded varieties offer flavours of nut skins and cooked milk—much more subtle than younger styles, which are more piquant and goaty.
Goats produce high-quality, nutrient-rich milk under even the most difficult environments, making them valuable to arid or mountainous areas where cattle and sheep cannot survive. In addition, like all animal products, goat milk is heavily influenced by what the goats are eating.
The Mystery Behind Mascarpone: A Cheese Conundrum
You may want to see also
Goat cheese can be fresh or aged
Goat's milk can be made into almost any kind of cheese, from fresh and soft to aged and hard. This includes firm, rinded varieties, which offer flavours of nut skins and cooked milk. Goat cheese can also be spreadable, washed, rinsed, and aged, like Tomme goat cheese, which is made only in France.
Añejo is a firm, aged Mexican goat cheese, while Brunost (or Geitost when made with goat milk) is a brown goat cheese from Norway with a sweet flavour profile.
Breakfast Burrito Bliss: Cheeses to Start Your Day
You may want to see also
Goat cheese can be soft or hard
Goat's milk can be made into almost any kind of cheese, and the most popular type of goat cheese sold in the US is fresh goat cheese, often called chevre, which is the French term for 'goat'. Fresh chevre is pretty intense, with hints of lemon. It should be creamy white with no separation of liquid or discolouration.
Aged goat cheeses tend to be more approachable, with flavours of nut skins and cooked milk. They should have a consistent rind or surface without signs of cracking or deterioration.
Tomme goat cheese is a variety made only in France, but US cheesemakers are creating tomme-style goat cheese. It is spreadable, washed, rinsed, aged, and uses raw milk.
Manchego Cheese: The Heart of La Mancha's Cuisine
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Goat cheese is made around the world
Goats were among the first animals to be domesticated for producing food, and they continue to be valuable to arid or mountainous areas where cattle and sheep cannot survive. Goat's milk is heavily influenced by what the goats are eating, and the resulting cheese can be buttery and mellow, with hints of lemon.
Some of the most popular types of goat cheese include fresh chevre, which is widely available in grocery stores and specialty cheese shops. Tomme goat cheese, a variety made only in France, is spreadable, washed, rinsed, aged, and uses raw milk. Añejo cheese is a firm, aged Mexican cheese traditionally made from skimmed goat's milk, and Brunost (known as Geitost when made with goat milk) is a Norwegian brown goat cheese with a sweet flavour profile.
Goats are seasonal lactators, producing milk for only 9 to 10 months per year and stopping lactating from late December through February. This seasonality can impact the availability of fresh goat cheese, so some people opt for aged goat cheese during the winter months.
Black Bean Burger Bliss: Cheese Melting Magic
You may want to see also
Goat cheese is influenced by what goats eat
Goat cheese is made from goat's milk. Goats were among the first animals to be domesticated for food production, and goat's milk for human consumption dates back to about 5000 B.C., with cheesemaking soon following. Goats are versatile in their ability to find sustenance, capable of scrambling among mountains and rock formations because of their small and spry build.
Goat's milk can be made into almost any kind of cheese, from fresh and soft to aged and hard. Fresh goat's cheese is the most popular type sold in the U.S. and is often called chèvre, the French term for "goat". Chèvre can also refer to any type of cheese made from goat's milk, including aged cheese. Chèvre comes in many different flavours and textures, from crumbly to creamy, young to mature, mild to tangy. It can be white, coated with ash or herbs, or wrapped in grape leaves.
Goat's milk is influenced by what the goats are eating. Goats tend to convert more beta carotene into vitamin A to keep up with their active lifestyle, and therefore less of it gets passed on into their milk. Consequently, while cow and sheep milk are tinted by the beta carotene they pass on, goat's milk remains relatively white, even in aged varieties.
Exploring Fresco: A Classic Italian Cheese Variety
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
Goat cheese is cheese made from goat's milk.
Some examples of goat cheese include Añejo, Brunost (known as Geitost when made with goat milk), Majorero, Tomme, and fresh chevre.
Goat cheese is the opposite of cow's milk cheese in that the longer it's aged, the more approachable it tends to be. Goat cheese can be buttery and mellow, with hints of lemon.
Fresh goat cheese should be creamy white with no separation of liquid or discolouration.
Goats are seasonal lactators, producing milk for only 9 to 10 months per year and stopping lactation from late December through February.
