Goat cheese


Goat cheese, goat's cheese or chèvre is cheese made from goat's milk. Goats were among the first animals to be domesticated for producing food. Goat cheese is made around the world with a variety of recipes, giving many different styles of cheeses, from fresh and soft to aged and hard.

Properties

History

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. Because goats have hardy digestive systems, they tend to eat many bitter plants that more delicate animals such as cows and horses will not. Goats were one of the earliest animals domesticated to suit human needs—more specifically milk production—going back to 8,000 BC, 10,000 years ago. Goat cheese has been made at least as far back as 5,000 BC; the first documented proof of humans making cheese of any kind dates to 7,500 years ago in Poland.

Nutritional value

Goat milk has higher proportions of medium-chain fatty acids, such as caproic and caprylic, which contribute to the characteristic tart/"goat" flavor of the cheese. They also make goat milk and cheeses more easily digestible.
Goat milk, and therefore goat cheeses, contain anti-inflammatory enzymes, probiotics, antioxidants, proteins, and lipids and help maintain a healthy metabolism. These fatty acids take their name from the Latin for 'goat', capra. They are also high in calcium, vitamins A and K, phosphorus, thiamin, and niacin. Overall, the consumption of per day of cheese, within the context of a balanced hypocaloric diet and recommendations for physical activity, was effective for the reduction of body weight, body mass index and waist circumference.

Process

Goat cheese is made like other cheeses. The milk is filtered to remove unwanted impurities or deposits. A curdling starter agent is added, which can be rennet, or one or more starter bacteria that affect the curds' size and eventually the cheese's consistency. Some examples of starters are Lactococcus lactis lactis, L. l. cremoris, and Streptococcus thermophilus. Next, the cheese is molded and separated from the whey. The curds are then molded, dried, flavored, and cured. Any variations in this process—the type of starter, the time or pressure of the draining, the temperature and duration of the curing process—can change the texture and the flavor.

Regional varieties

Asia

China

  • is a fresh goat cheese from Yunnan Province, resembling the Indian paneer, a cow's cheese.
  • Shosha is a pungent cheese and staple food in Tibetan cuisine of the Tibet Autonomous Region that is often made from animals suited to the climate, such as goat and yak.

    Japan

  • cheese is a goat cheese made in Japan. is the Japanese word for goat.

    Philippines

  • Kesong puti is a Filipino soft, unaged, white cheese made from unskimmed carabao milk and salt curdled with vinegar, citrus juices, or sometimes rennet. It can also be made with goat or cow milk. It has a mild salty and tart flavor. When an acidifying agent is used, it resembles queso blanco or paneer. When rennet is used, it resembles buffalo mozzarella. The name, also spelled quesong puti, is Tagalog for "white cheese") and is its name in the provinces of Laguna and Bulacan. In Cavite, it is known as kesilyo ; while in northern Cebu, it is known as queseo or kiseyo.

    Western Asia

  • Yeghegnadzor goat cheese from Armenia.
  • Akkawi cheese is a white brine cheese named after the city of Akka.
  • Darfyieh is a flavorful cheese that comes specifically from baladi goats and is treated as a delicacy in Dargyieh.
  • Djamid or Jameed is an unripened, hard cheese with a salt encrusted rind popular in Jordan and Syria.
  • Jibneh Arabieh is a soft white cheese found all over the Middle East. It is particularly popular in the Persian Gulf region. The cheese has a mild taste similar to feta but less salty. The heritage of the product started with Bedouins using goat or sheep milk; however, current practice is to use cow's milk to make the cheese. Jibneh Arabieh is used for cooking, or simply as a table cheese.
  • Labneh is consumed in many parts of the world. It is primarily produced in Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan but also throughout much of the Middle-east. It can be served with olive-oil, or seasoned with mint, eaten with salad or as dessert.
  • Nabulsi cheese Nabulsi or naboulsi is one of a number of Palestinian white brined cheeses made in the Middle East and Palestine. Its name refers to its place of origin, Nablus and it is well known throughout the West Bank and surrounding regions. Nabulsi, along with Akkawi cheese, is one of the principal cheeses consumed in Jordan. It is produced primarily from sheep milk; alternatively, goat's milk may be used.
  • Circassian cheese and molded into a wooden basket.
  • Circassian smoked cheese is a smoked low-fat Circassian cheese, especially produced in the eastern Marmara region of Turkey. It is light yellow or cream-colored with a thick crust. After curdling and straining, the bottom and top of the cheese are salted and it is smoked with pinewood or thick pitch pine in smoking rooms. This process makes the cheese both more flavorful and more long-lasting.

    Europe

Balkans

  • Sirene cheese also known as "white brine sirene" is a type of brined cheese made in the Balkans, especially popular in Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Romania, Albania, Greece and also in Israel and Lebanon. It is made of the milk of goats, sheep, or cows, or a mixture of these.

    Cyprus

  • Anari is a fresh mild whey cheese produced in Cyprus. Although much less known than other Cypriot cheeses, it gained popularity following publicity.
  • Halloumi or haloumi is a traditional Cypriot cheese made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk, and sometimes also cow's milk.

    Denmark

  • Rosa mundo.
  • * Fenna mundo, Flora mundo, Geta mundo, Vita mundo.
  • Cumulu blue.
There are many different goat cheeses made in Denmark.

Finland

  • Leipäjuusto or juustoleipä, also known in the United States as Finnish squeaky cheese, is a Finnish fresh cheese traditionally made from cow's beestings, rich milk from a cow that has recently calved. Reindeer or even goat milk can also be used. Commercially available versions are typically made from cow's milk, and they lack some of the colour and flavour because of this. The cheese originally comes from Southern Ostrobothnia, Northern Finland, and Kainuu.

    France

France produces a great number of goat milk cheeses, especially in the Loire Valley and Poitou.