We @formaggiastic often hear from people that they “don’t like” goat cheese. The reasons for this in unison seem to be; “it tastes like nothing” vs. “it tastes like goat”
So, since goat cheeses seem to face the same prejudices as fish, we decided that the first post of our *springy goat* May series should be an introduction to goat cheeses by means of variety.
Goat cheeses in fact can be found in all families of cheeses: from fresh to aged and from bloomy- and washed rinds all the way into the veiny Blues.
Here you will find a visual tour through families and time meant to visualize the extensive variety of flavor profiles and stimulate your mental taste buds. Gustav says he´s confident that this will convince even the most stubborn doubters. But look and judge yourself…
For protection and taste alike ash is an often used add-on to goat cheeses – either on the outside as shown below on “Tomme de Chèvre Cendrée au lait cru’ ” from France or as in the lower picture of 6 week old Austrian “Wälder Edelziege Schwarz” on the inside.
In the Category of the Young, fresh, innocent yet wild ones we proudly present:
*Fleuron des Gachons* from France’s Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region -Gustav says he loves the fresh and spritzig raw-milk goat on his nose and the soft, wet and adhesive imprint on his paws. 🐾 On the tongue he says *Fleuron des Gachons* develops mild and sweet and leaves us with reminiscence of fresh grass with a fungal twist and a touch of sour cream.Get up – rise and shine! Not ready yet? Don´t worry – Raw goat´s milk cheese “El Bunch” by Catalonian cheese maker @Le Bolut will truly help you with this Monday morning goal!💪 Light, buttery and refreshing with hints of vanilla eggyolk and hazelnuts *El Bunch* pampers us with a rind that recalls memories of fresh dough and a paste of a soft and salty juice. Gustav rates our breakfast companion 13/10 and says “oops nothing left for the family”🐺😇
Wrapped to protect and intensify – no rind
“Ficu” by Azienda Agricola Montalbo – raw milk obtained from the Girgentana goat in Sicily. No starters added, fig rennet for coagulation and matured for 30 days. 🍃🧀 “Ficu”, who made Gold at this year´s World Cheese Awards, is proudly wearing a fig leaf coat which provides him with a balanced sweet, acidic flavor profile that lets your phantasy play with southern fruit and coconuts. The paste is of a creamy density that happily dissolves in a mild milky flow on your tongue.🤗🔥
Who says there can´t be a bloomy rind behind the leave?
*Le Banon*– a raw goat’s milk cheese from the Alpe de Haute Provence region, wrapped and ripened in plenty of chestnut leaves lets its creamy, soft paste play with your taste buts while offering a lactic, acidic and wonderful nutty flavour
In the family of semi-soft and pressed cheeses you can find for example these pals:
*Fondant de Chevre* Raw goat´s milk and in our case about a year old from France´s Savoy region, this friend has an elastic paste with a late break that comes with a wonderful, tender melt. It has a light spice that starts off sweet and finishes with a fruity, acidic earth.
*Toma di Capra* by Cascina Badin, a beautiful raw goat´’s milk Toma with a dry melt that lets your tongue play with every single eye in the paste.
How about some affinage?
*Caciottona di capra BIO con pepe ed olio extravergine d’oliva* by Latteria Perenzin in San Pietro di Feletto in the province of Treviso. Made of pasteurized goat’s milk *Caprino* 🐐 ripens for at least 3 months to then greet us with a salty smile of jumpy goat and its light acidity makes you think you can taste the jolliness of animal and vegetation alike
or some Washed rind from Switzerland?
*Hölzige Geiss* -Snack time swiss style! 💯🕺 Gustav howls 13/10 for this raw goat’s milk lunch snack by swiss cheese master Willi Schmid. 🐾💪
Last but not least – here some representatives of the mighty Blues
*Blu di Capra* – Italian goat with creamy shards and a soft and salty punge is surely gone in less than a breath.•Blu di Capra di Cantalupa• This beloved Piemontese raw goat’s milk cheese is definitely a partner in any crime and promises to guard us through all the challenges of this week. Well ripened, with a strong finish it carries the scent of his native landscape in a soft and melty texture that delivers his mold right to the point.l 🧀🥂
So what do you think- are goat cheeses boring and are people right to be scared of them?
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