As someone who really loves a little cheese with his wine, I appreciate the great change of pace that goat milk cheese offers. Marylanders are blessed with several goat cheese producers, including Fire Fly Farm and Cherry Glen. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino knows, every weekend at the local Waverly market we can pass by the stand of Charlottetown Farm Goat Milk Cheese. We were happy to welcome the owner, Pam Miller to our show. Here is her wesbsite address. www.charlottetownfarm.com
Goat milk has some critical differences from cow milk. First, it has no lactose so that is of interest to quite a few people. Secondly, that familiar tartness is always present to one extent or another in the cheese.
The most familiar kind of goat milk cheese is the simple Chevre, a direct imported idea from France. Pure white, slightly crumbly, light in texture and mild in flavor, it is a good starting place.
The small cylindrical Crottin is from Chavignol, right next to Sancerre in France. Its shape and the brownish color it takes on after aging reminded farmers of the little pasture presents goats would leave behind them... the French word crotte
being the inspiration for the name.
Feta is a very well known goat cheese, and it gets its character from being raised in a brine bath.
All of these different types of cheese depend on specific cultures (dry powdered bacteria) that are added to the milk during the cheese-making process. Virtually any kind of cow milk cheese can be made with goat milk... but it will have its own distinct flavor.
Whereas goat milk cheese doesn't melt per se, it does get very soft and spreadable when cooked. It appears in numerous recipes including cheese cake, fudge, pizzas, pasta sauce, and omelets.
Here are some ideas Pam sent along.
Roasted Feta With Honey
Ingredients
1 8 ounce Block Charlottetown Farm Feta
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Honey
Technique
Preheat Oven to 400 degrees
1. Place feta on aluminum foil in oven safe dish and blot feta dry and brush on olive oil.
2. Bake until soft, about 8 minutes
3. Preheat broiler, brush honey on top of feta and broil just until top is browned and starting to bubble.
4. Serve with Pita bread, beets, carrots or tomatoes
Goat Cheese Croutons
Ingredients
8 ounces Charlottetown Farm Soft Spreadable Goat Cheese
¾ Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil
¼ Cup Flour
1 Large Egg beaten
½-¾ Cup Panko Bread Crumbs
Technique
1. Form Goat Cheese into 1 oz disks and then freeze disks for about 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil in medium skillet. Place beaten egg, flour and panko in 3 separate dishes.
3. Coat each goat cheese disk with flour, then egg, then panko and sauté until golden on both sides- about 1 minute per side
Serve with your favorite salad
Charlottetown Cheese can be found at the 32nd Street Farmers Market in Waverly in Baltimore.
