Why does my goat cheese taste
... so 'goat - y'?
A basic cheese 101
Cheese Is Milk. Milk varies in composition between the commonly known milking animals we know in America; cow, goat, and sheep.
Specifically, cheese is made from the milk fats and proteins, and in particular, the fatty acids (acids that are present in the fat globules) are those that give milk its flavor and aroma potential.
Tasting Thoughts - Goat milk cheeses often finish tart, sheep milk cheeses with a creamy perhaps nutty quality, and cow's milk with an underlying buttery, but deep 'meatier' flavor.
Both goat and sheep milk have smaller fat globules than those of cow milk, and those globules contain more short-chain fatty acids. While this scenario can aid in digestion if you are somewhat intolerant, it can also add to the flavors of pronounced sharper, peppery or 'lemony' (sometimes a hint of lanolin in sheep cheese) tastes and aromas. In addition, those small fat globules are even more fragile in our smaller ruminant friends, and the milk can exhibit all of those 'animal - y' tendencies when it is not handled carefully at the milking time.
Goats tend to be browsers (like deer - they like the crunchier and often more bitter tasting vegetation), and the buck (male ) gives off very noticeable scent (also like deer). Male goats are kept in separate housing in many larger goat farms, but by their nature, goats will keep eating a varied diet when let out on pasture. When I had my own herd of dairy goats, I often observed them leaving the lovely leaves of prime alfalfa for the stems!
All cheeses made from one season to the next in many artisan or farmstead operations will have a change in flavor profile, so your favorite cheese this summer season may not remain your favorite by Christmas.
Additionally:
1. Milk is a highly fragile commodity.
2. Milk is specific to the animal it came from, and flavors can be very seasonal, so large dairies (and in large part, the American industrial cheesemaking industry) focus on providing consistent feeds year round.
3. The animals metabolize foods differently. Again, large dairies depend on the blending of a number of animals' milk (as well as testing of milk) to maintain a consistent flavor (and therefore the finished product - a cheese that doesn't vary off a particular flavor profile).
4. Artisan and farmstead cheesemakers use the differences in each milk's physical makeup to play up certain flavors with aging. A young gruyere with its grassy characteristic will develop the more 'burnished' nuttiness of wheatberries as it heads to a 2 year age.
So, as you look at my cheese case, think of your mood for the day, and pick a cheese to compliment. Feeling a bit SASSY? Go for a goat milk cheese and celebrate the very nature of this capricious animal!
Laura
