Celebrate Cheese: Two Goat's Milk Varieties

Coach Farm Triple Cream Wheel is a special, elegant goat's milk cheese from New York.

Raw Goat's Milk Cheddar from Ozark Hill Farm is a cheese that will please a wide audience.

Loulou, an ex-pat blogger in southern France, invited her readers to celebrate cheese for the eighth annual Journée Nationale du Fromage, the National Day of Cheese, on March 28.  I had an idea to try a soft-ripened, French goat's milk cheese; after all, it was a French holiday.  However, the cheese that beckoned from the assortment at Whole Foods was a tall, snow-white wheel from Coach Farm in New York.  The Triple Cream Wheel is mold-ripened, with a two-toned paste that offers subtle differences in texture and flavor.  I was also struck by its price tag: at $36.99/lb, it's on the upper-end of the bulk cheese market.  I attribute this to the extra goat's milk that must be used to enhance the butterfat content of the cheese.  A sample  assured me that it was a good investment.

Triple Cream Wheel has a silky mouthfeel, with mellow herbal notes and lingering minerality.  I thought that it had just the right amount of salt: if over-salted, triple-cream cheese just tastes like butter to me.  The distinctive tanginess of goat's milk is balanced by the creaminess of this award-winning cheese.  It's perfect for serving to company after a springtime lunch or after dinner.  To accompany it, I would choose a white wine with good minerality and medium acidity, like a dry Chenin Blanc. It would also be fun to pair a fruit wine or fruit-based cocktail (e.g. kir royale) with this cheese.  I suggest eating Triple Cream Wheel with a fork and knife, but if you must have crackers, choose a wheat or oat biscuit with a hint of sweetness.

To give the fête its proper respect, I also picked up a raw goat's milk Cheddar at the Brattleboro Co-op's cheese counter.  It's a flavorful, versatile cheese that I would offer to goat's milk skeptics.  The satisfying texture of Cheddar and a lingering sweetness make this an approachable cheese.  Enjoy it with a light red wine, cider, or brown ale.  This Cheddar is produced by Ozark Hill Farm in Missouri; if you cannot find it in your area, then look for Fromagerie Tournevent's version, Le Chevre Noir.

Both of these cheeses are tasty and mild, and offer delicious alternatives to the usual cow's milk varieties.  Try something new, and celebrate your own cheese discoveries!

Little Buggies, Good and Bad

It got me again.

The flu, that is, some New England strain that my Southern immune system is powerless to resist.  I spent the weekend in various reclining positions, in my bed and on the couch, watching such classic films as "The Princess Bride," "The Big Chill," and "Joe Vs. The Volcano."  Wonderful Husband Charles assures me that "A Few Good Men" is the ultimate get-well-soon movie, so maybe I'll give that one a try this evening.

Before I lost the use of my nose, I jotted down some notes about something tasty, and today I feel well enough to write about it.  The wonderful stuff in question is maple-vanilla yogurt from Hawthorne Valley Farm, a biodynamic and organic operation in the Hudson River Valley of New York.

The farm comprises a market garden and community-supported agriculture program; a dairy with a closed, sixty-cow herd; a bakery; a processing facility for lacto-fermenting vegetables; and a farm store, the highlight of which is a comprehensive organic dairy section, including the farm's own raw milk.  Did I mention that their products are organic*?  Everything grown on the farm, including dairy and meat products, are also biodynamic.  Biodynamic farming is a holistic approach to agriculture that focuses on improving the health of the soil.  There are specific practices involved in biodynamic farming, such as using homeopathic fertilizers and planting by celestial signs, that may cause skepticism amongst consumers.  However, I figure that farmers are busy folks, and that they wouldn't invest time and energy a methodology unless it produced desirable results.  Besides, given a choice between eating food that's been sprinkled with compost tea, or that's been sprayed with pesticides, I choose the former.

The fabulous yogurt produced by Hawthorne Valley Farm also suggests that they're doing something right.  Because the unhomogenized whole milk is used to make it, you might scoop up a few globules of cream in your serving.  The yogurt contains no stabilizers, so it has a loose texture, like lightly-whipped cream.  Unfortunately, this makes it all the more tempting to take a second helping, and a third... my appetite grows by feeding on this yogurt!

It has a delicate, well-balanced flavor: neither the tanginess nor the sweetness comes across as aggressive.  Sometimes, I find the flavor of maple syrup to be overwhelming, but this flavor proves that, in moderation, it can be a very mellow sweetener.  The yogurt itself must be mild, as one cup is sweetened with only 24 grams of sugar.  Further investigation: I was surprised that other organic yogurts contained 29 grams of sugar per cup in lowfat and 33 grams in nonfat versions.  I expected them to contain drastically more sugar than HVF whole-milk yogurt; the explanation for HVF's superior flavor must not be that simple!

HVF products are sold at two NYC Green Markets, at the farm store, and through the CSA.  Plain and maple-vanilla yogurts can be found at Whole Foods and various grocery co-ops in New England.  Some products, such as cheese and lacto-fermented vegetables, can be ordered through the website.

*Due to high demand, HVF purchases some ingredients for its lacto-fermented vegetables from neighboring farms.  Though all of the vegetables are grown organically, some may not be certified organic.

Pairing Cheese and Cider

It is appropriate that the opening posting on my first weblog should be an account of a new experience: tasting and appreciating small-production ciders. A newcomer to New England, I had previously considered cider to be a sparkling, characterless alternative to beer (if I considered it at all). Yesterday, I learned that cider is a surprising, versatile beverage that can complement cheese beautifully.

During Cider Day, a weekend-long festival held annually in Franklin County, Massachusetts, I attended a workshop on pairing New England cheeses and ciders. I will describe the six cheeses in detail, and will note particularly good cider pairings for each.

Triple, a soft-ripened, triple-cream cow's milk from Champlain Valley Creamery in Vermont, smells like sweet, fresh butter. Its rind has an "al dente" texture, and its neutral flavor does not detract from the citric note of the perfectly-aged paste. When buying this cheese, smell its rind to ensure that there is no trace of ammonia scent, which would destroy the cheese's sweet, delicate flavor. Tideview Vintage Ciders Vintage Dry enhances Triple by developing its subtle flavor of mushrooms. The gently-sparkling cider has a light scent of Bourbon, had a citrusy texture and acidity. In the mouth, this combination produces satisfying richness that whispers, "fall is here." Sweeter ciders did not pair well with this cheese, overwhelming it or producing bitter flavors.

Westfield Farm's (MA) Classic Blue Log is a delightful, aged goat's milk log with a thin rind of blue mold. The piece that I tried had the consistent, dense texture of a younger chevre log, but I imagine that it ripens like the Spanish Monte Enebro. Classic Blue Log has a pleasantly musty aroma, with traditional lemon zest flavor and chalky minerality. This cheese was an acceptable partner to the full, nutty West County Cider Roxbury Russet, resulting in a smooth, creamy mouthfeel.

Pierce Hill, a semi-firm sheep's milk cheese produced by Hope Farm (VT), emulates Basque shepherd's cheese, but retains more moisture in its three-month aging. Its mild, musty scent and full, fruity taste is flattered by ciders with residual sugar. It gained earthiness from Farnum Hill Ciders Semi-Dry, and was transformed into pure comfort food by Domaine Pinnacle's Ice Cider.

Hillman Farm (MA) produces several fantastic goat's milk cheese, including the aged Hilltown Wheel. Its flavor is rich and caramelized, with a hint of characteristic tang. Eve's Cidery Essence, a honeyed, floral ice wine with a vegetal note on the palate, brings a note of cocoa out of the cheese. Hilltown Wheel also paired nicely with Wescott Bay Orchards Traditional Dry's Bourbon-like aroma and lively acidity and Tideview Vintage Dry.

The much-acclaimed Cabot Creamery Clothbound Cheddar, aged by Jasper Hill Farm(VT), is a beautiful, bandaged-wrapped specimen bursting with luxurious, sweet caramel, a little bite to keep your attention, and an unctuous mouthfeel punctuated by fine grana. The classic union of cheddar and apples was demonstrated by this cheese harmonizing well with each cider, particularly with the intense ice ciders. Pair this cheddar with Eve's Cidery Essence for a simple but stunning dessert, or serve it beside Domaine Pinnacle's Ice Cider (read: apple pie in a glass). Keep your port and Stilton, this is how I want to end a winter dinner party!

Great Hill Blue (MA) is a rich blue cheese made from raw, unhomogenized cow's milk. This specific piece of the farmstead blue seemed a little saltier and less balanced than when I've tasted it in the past. (This is not unusual in my experience with blue cheeses; I recommend tasting blue cheese before each purchase to ensure its ripeness and saltiness please you.) Even so, the Great Hill paired well with Tideview Vintage Dry, accentuating the cider's apple flavor, and was complemented by both ice ciders.

My tips for pairing cheese and cider:

• Tideview Vintage Cider Vintage Dry seemed to be the most versatile cider for pairing with cheese. Its neutral flavor and minerality reminded me of sparkling white wine, and it had a similar palate-cleansing effect. Its dryness complemented a variety of cheese styles. Ciders with stronger apple flavor had fewer successful matches.
• The affinity between apples and cheddar absolutely extends to cider. This is a great place to start with cheese and cider pairing. Experiment with a couple of each, and your experience will guide you in future pairings.
• Flavor intensity is important to consider when pairing cheese with any beverage. Avoid lopsided choices (such as mild cheese with full-bodied wine or acidic cheese with sweet cider) that will result in one overwhelming its partner.

The cheeses for this workshop were provided by Rubiner's cheese shop in Great Barrington, MA, and were presented by Rubiner's manager, Laura Simon. Some of the cheeses will be difficult to find and can be ordered from Rubiner's.

Cider Day organizer, Ben Watson, presented the ciders at this and other events throughout the weekend festival. Attendees included cider novices and connoisseurs, home brewers, and vendors from across the US, Canada, and even Australia.

Resources:

Rubiner's Cheesemongers and Grocers

264 Main St, Great Barrington, MA, 01230

413.528.0488

http://www.ciderday.org/

http://www.buylocalfood.com