Best Goat's Milk Cheeses of the Season - Cheese Course

by Max Shrem, Posted Apr 27th 2010 @ 5:00PM

For food lovers, spring is synonymous with goat cheese. Over the past month, cheesemakers like Peter Dixon at Consider Bardwell Farm and Laini Fondiller of Lazy Lady Farm, have been busy milking their goats and producing cheeses that will be ready for customers to buy in just a couple of weeks. We can't wait to try them, but why is this time of year particularly good for goat cheeses? Not surprisingly, one of the main reasons has a lot to do with pastures rich with grasses, herbs and flowers.

"The young sweet spring grass gives the milk so much flavor and butterfat," says Sergio Hernandez, manager of Bklyn Larder in Brooklyn, N.Y. More butterfat means the cheeses are richer and creamier. "Grass-based herds begin to graze on pasture in April, and the variety of grasses and flowers available directly affects the flavors in the cheese made from this milk," says Michael Anderson, affineur at Murray's. In other words, the flavor profile will be more complex. For instance, take Nettle Meadow Farm's Kunik. In spring, the wide variety of forages on the farm produces rich and herbaceous flavors in this cheese that are less pronounced in other seasons.

More than sheep and cows, goats take advantage of spring pasture. "Goats are notoriously voracious, and love to get out and eat the delicious, succulent new growth in spring months," says Anderson. To top it off, spring is also the beginning of the goats' lactation cycle, when their milk is naturally at its richest. "Milk given in the first weeks after kidding is richer than milk given in the heat of the summer," says Anderson. "This will certainly help the cheesemaker's yield per pound of milk, but the ratio of components also tends towards fat, making a more flavorful cheese."

So, what does this mean for goat's milk cheeses, like Monocacy Ash, that are available in the dead of winter? If goats give birth in the spring, how can they produce milk in the winter? "They can be bred at different times of the year to stagger this cycle, giving a year-round supply of milk," says Anderson.

Do these year-round goat cheeses taste any better in the spring? According to Anderson, the answer is yes. "A staggered herd will give a more consistent, less 'seasonal' milk throughout the course of the year, but the changes in feed (pasture versus hay) and weather will definitely show up in the milk and cheese produced in different seasons," says Anderson.

Now that we know why spring is the season to savor as many different goat cheeses as possible, it's time to check out Anderson and Hernandez's top five goat cheeses to taste over the next few months.

According to Anderson, be sure to try Kunik, Manchester, Tomme de la Chataigneraie, Zigorome and Cayuga Blue. Zigorome is a unique raw washed-rind goat's milk cheese from Allgäu, Germany that has an intense must-try animal taste. It'll be available at Murray's towards the end of May.

Hernandez recommends Petite Tomme from Lazy Lady Farm, Twig Farm Washed Rind Wheel (available in the next couple of weeks), Haystack Mountain Snowdrop, Ardith Mae Fresh Chèvre and Ticklemore.

Filed Under: Cheese Course
Tags: cheese, CheeseCourse, chevre, goat cheese, GoatCheese

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-27-2010 @5:47PM The House Mouse said... Chevre is popping up all over here in Ohio. We have some amazing farms and dairies cranking out some pretty impressive stuff. Mackenzie Creamery in Hiram, Ohio has a fantastic chevre infused with black raspberries and Habanero peppers. Sounds crazy, but it works. Check it out at www.housemouseoncheese.com.
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