Soft Cheese – Fresh – Goat’s milk cheese
Young fresh and soft, creamy, unripened cheeses
Some soft cheeses taste slightly sour and creamy. Fresher cheeses are not aged or fermented and have a lot of moisture, which means they last only a short time. Milk is turned into chunks and then drained to make these simple cheeses. In the US, cheese aged less than two months has to be made from pasteurized milk or cream.
These can be made with cow, goat or sheep milk.
Soft Cheese – Fresh – Goat’s milk cheese
Goat’s milk cheeses are often treated similarly, sometimes with white moulds and sometimes with blue.
Chèvre or Fresh Chèvre (goat) or Goat cheese log or Chèvre log
Goat milk cheese is called Chèvre. When it says “Pur chèvre” on the label, it’s made only with goat milk. Goat cheese has been made for a long time. The easiest way is to let the milk coagulate and press the curds. Other methods use acid or enzymes to thicken the milk. People make soft goat cheese at home by hanging cheesecloth bundles filled with curds in the warm kitchen for a few days. If they want to age the cheese, it’s often brined to form a rind and put in a cool place for several months to cure.
Characteristics & Tasting Notes
Goat’s milk and cow’s milk have similar amounts of fat. However, goat’s milk has more medium-chain fatty acids, which gives goat’s cheese its sour taste. Goat cheese gets soft when heated but does not melt like cow’s cheese. Hard goat cheese with a crust can be baked to make it softer. Young Chèvre cheese is mild and creamy, while old Chèvre is dry, firm, and slightly sharp. Fresh goat cheese is spreadable and crumbly, tangy, rich, and dense.
Serving Suggestions & Food Pairings
This cheese is made from goat’s milk and is excellent for putting on bread or a cheese board. You can also cook it lightly in a pan. It goes well with French bread, avocado, olives, and figs. You can use it in salads, omelets, pizza, and soufflés. The cheese has a mild flavour and goes well with watercress, anchovies, peppers, lavender, and honey. It’s a flexible cheese that can be flavoured with other ingredients and used as a dip. There’s no strong “goaty” taste; it has a fresh creamy texture with a citrusy finish. You can roll it in nuts and herbs and serve it as a salad. You can also stuff halved plums with the cheese, drizzle with honey, and serve.
Wine Pairings
Sauvignon Blanc is the perfect distinct white wine with tangy cheese that is not too strong. This is because Sauvignon Blanc is a light wine with a dry, refreshing taste with hints of citrus and grass that make it go well with the cheese. Sauvignon Blanc wine also goes well with firmer goat cheese from France with spicy flavours. When you serve Sauvignon Blanc wine with this cheese, ensure it is cool, light, and dry. Some other good white wines with this cheese are Sancerre, Mâcon, Côtes du Rhône, and Chinon. With this cheese, you can also have Wheat Beer, Lambic, Prosseco, and light red wine, like Merlot.
Substitutes/Similar cheeses
- Cream cheese
- Manchego
Buying
Look for this cheese in your local grocery store. It sometimes is sold in small rounds or little logs.
Storing
Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Best wine pairing
White wine: Sauvignon Blanc/Fume Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Sancerre, Vouvray, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Mâcon, Côtes du Rhône and Chinon, Grüner Veltliner, dry Riesling, Semillon, Pinot Grigio
Red wine: Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Gamay Beaujolais, Merlot
Rosé: Dry Rosé, Tavel rosé, Provence Rosé
Sparkling wine: Champagne, Prosseco, Cava
Pair with
French bread, avocado, Mt. Athenos Olives with Sicilian Herbs, Roasted Red Peppers, Figs, walnuts, strawberries, and cranberries.
Type
Fresh soft, artisan
Texture
Creamy, crumbly, smooth and spreadable
Rind
Rindless
Colour
White
Flavour
Smooth, citrusy, creamy, herbaceous, mild, sharp, smooth, tangy
Aroma
Smoky, fresh, goaty, mild and citrus tang
Source of milk
Goat’s milk
Aging time (Affinage)
10 days to 1 month
Country of origin
France, United States. Canada
Variations
There are different kinds of yummy goat cheese that you can buy. They come in different flavours like plain, garlic & herb, honey, cranberry cinnamon, four pepper, blueberry vanilla, tomato & basil, fig & olive, peppadew and lemon. Some cheese is covered with ash or herbs to make it taste even better! They also come in different shapes, like cones, cylinders, discs, drums, and pyramids.
These tips are from my own experience;
I’m neither a party organizer, a sommelier, nor a turophile (a cheese connoisseur).
I just love cheese, wine and spending time with family and friends.
I hope my easy tips will give you the confidence to host a wine and cheese party with a handful of close friends.
If you use my tips for your next Wine & Cheese party, please comment below and remember to take a picture, tag @Fast2eat.com and use #Fast2eat so that we can both marvel at how easy it was!
This article is part of “How to plan an unforgettable wine & cheese party”
I hope my easy tips will give you the confidence to step into the kitchen and prepare delicious meals to eat with a handful of close friends.
Have you made a Fast2eat Recipe? I love seeing your take on my recipe!
