Are you a fan of goat cheese?

Or is it the thing you’ll leave until last on the cheese board every time?

Someone close to us has been known to cruelly state that goats cheese smells and tastes like wet goat. Harsh, right? But there’s actually a lot to love about goat milk cheese, with a wide range of flavours and textures. And there’s also health reasons to enjoy goat cheeses too. Did you know that cheese made from goats’ milk is lower in fat, lower in salt, has less lactose and more vitamins and minerals than cheese made from cows’ milk? Goats’ cheese is bright white in colour compared to the yellow of most cow cheeses. This is because goats can process beta carotene and convert it to colourless vitamin A whereas cows cannot.

Also called chèvre (French for goat) goats’ cheese can be eaten fresh and unripened or it can be left to age. Like many other cheeses originating in France, different regions produce different styles. Goat cheese can be pungent and ripe with a chalky firm texture or come presented in a pyramid shape, covered in an ash rind. Rinds can be nutty. The texture of a goat cheese can be creamy and show a pure expression of the milk, or dense and firm which shows the complexities of the aging process. All cheeses age from the outside in and their rinds are always considered to be a part of the finished product, so make sure you taste it to appreciate the full effect of the ripened cheese.

What to cook with goats’ cheese

Chevre is not just something you find on a cheese platter, surrounded by almonds and dried apricots and overshadowed, until last, by the brie. It can be used to create some amazing meals which will truly impress those who dine at your table. Use the cheese as the hero ingredient and make fried goat cheese balls with honey and black pepper, or use it to stuff roast peppers or tomatoes. Have a go at Stephanie Alexander’s goats’ cheese souffles or check out this recipe for goats’ cheese biscuits with cumin and rosemary and serve topped with smoked salmon slices. For a refreshing summer salad, you can’t go past a watermelon salad with goats’ cheese and mint.

Goat cheese recipes that will blow your mind

• Ever thought about using cheese to make ice cream? This goat cheese ice cream with honey and fig jam is incredible!
• How about combining it with lemon and stuffing it into a ravioli?
• For something sweet and savoury, a blueberry, basil and goat cheese pie is just the ticket.
• Want an easy dip that will zing and pop when you put it in your mouth? This delicious goat cheese dip is certain to delight.

Where to find goats’ cheese in Chatswood

Woolworths Metro at Chatswood Interchange has dozens of goats’ cheeses to satisfy every taste, with Greek, Danish, Persian and Australian varieties in abundance.