Goat cheese, which refers to any cheese made from goat's milk, is popular in the culinary world. A wide range of types and styles fill dairy cases in gourmet markets and cheese shops, and at least one goat cheese sample is expected on any respectable cheese platter.
To learn why goat cheese has become such a staple in the cheese world, we tapped expert cheesemakers to help explain why it deserves its growing popularity, how goat cheese compares to more familiar types of cheese, and how it fits into the growing farm-to-table lifestyle.
- Lauren Brokish and her husband, Jeffery are co-owners of Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery, a goat dairy creamery in Champaign, Illinois. Their award-winning artisanal goat cheese has been served at the White House.
- Mike Koch is the co-founder and president of FireFly Farms in Accident, Maryland, and chairs the American Cheese Society's Board of Directors. His cheese has earned a handful of super-gold accolades at the World Cheese Awards.
Goat Cheese vs. Cow Cheese
For the most part, cheese is cheese, and it can be made with any kind of animal milk: cow, goat, and sheep being the most common. Each type of milk can be used in much the same way to create a myriad of cheese types and varieties and can be stored similarly. Yet there are a few inherent differences that distinguish goat cheese from cow cheese.
Taste
Goat cheese has a naturally tangier, fresher taste than cow milk. "The primary contributors to taste are the breakdown of protein and fat," says goat cheesemaker Mike Koch. "And since the fat in goat's milk is different than a cow's, their cheese flavors differ."
"Taste is also connected to genetics and how your tongue receives it," Koch continues. "It's like cilantro. Some people are genetically predisposed to love it (but I'm not one of them). On the other hand, I love the earthy, barnyard taste of goat cheese, but it's not for everyone."
Fat Composition and Lactose Content
"Compositionally, goat and cow milk have about the same percentage of fat," says Koch, but the fats in goat and cow milk differ. "Fats in cow's milk are long-chain fatty acids, which result in its cream separating and rising to the top," says Koch. "Goat milk fats are short-chain fatty acids, which result in a more hom*ogenized or evenly dispersed mixture."
Goat milk's fat structure may be better for those with digestive woes. "Since goat milk fats are smaller, lighter, and don't separate as easily, it's not as susceptible to lactic allergies," Koch explains. "There are a lot of folks who have a reaction to cow's milk, but many of them can eat goat cheese without a problem."
Goat's milk also creates a lower-lactose cheese compared to cow cheese, so for those who are lactose-intolerant, it may be easier to digest. Lower lactose levels in goat cheese translate to lower carbohydrate levels compared to cow cheese, too. Goat cheese is also higherin vitamin A, and it's a good source ofanimal protein, phosphorus, and calcium.
Availability
Unlike cows, which are milked year-round, goats are seasonal lactators. They produce milk for only 9 to 10 months per year and stop lactating from late December through February. This is an inevitable downside for attaining fresh goat cheese over winter. "Because of the seasonality of fresh goat cheese, at Christmas, you might want to select an aged goat cheese, like blue," Koch says,
Goat’s milk can be made into almost any kind of cheese (and butter!). Fresh goat cheese—the most popular type sold in the U.S.—is often called chevre (pronounced SHEV-ruh), which is the French term for "goat." The term can also refer to any type of cheese made from goat milk, including aged cheese.
Fresh vs. Aged Goat Cheese
As unappetizing as it sounds, processing goat milk into fresh or aged cheese all comes down to how the cheesemaker deals with bacteria. "There are two ways to take care of bacteria: temperature and time," explains goat cheesemaker Lauren Brokish. Let's take a closer look.
Fresh Goat Cheese
When we think of fresh goat cheese, most of us think of a soft, spreadable log. "Fresh cheese has high moisture compared to aged cheese, meaning it has a higher level of bacteria," says Brokish, "so we have to keep it refrigerated."
Crumbled is another popular type of goat cheese that comes under the "fresh" umbrella. "Goat cheese crumble is chevre with a bit less moisture," explains Brokish. "It's mostly been drained more but is still considered fresh."
Fresh goat cheese has the texture of cream cheese, "but the fat is different, so you don't get that viscosity on the tongue you get from fresh cow cheese like ricotta, burrata, or cream cheese," says Koch. A herby goat cheese spread is a great way to highlight its smooth, creamy texture.
One of Koch's favorite ways of using fresh goat cheese is to "cut a sliver from the log, dredge it in panko, and then quick-fry it." This creates a crispy coating and a rich, creamy inside that tastes great atop a salad.
"Crumbled on top of a salad is great, too," Koch added. Another favorite is fresh goat cheese spread on a baguette topped with fresh fig jam and drizzled with balsamic-dressed arugula.
Aged Goat Cheese
Aged goat cheese is pressed hard for a minimum of 10 days. "As the moisture dries, the cheese gets harder, and moisture and bacteria dissipate," Brokish explains. Gouda, cheddar, and manchego are just a few examples of aged cheeses that can be made from goat milk as well as cow milk.
Not all aged goat cheese types are hard. Often an aged goat cheese is covered in an edible ash to prevent it from drying out and to keep its surface clean, but inside it may have a fluffy middle and gooey exterior.
Types of Aged Goat Cheese
There are as many styles of aged goat cheese as there are goat cheese makers, all of which are great additions to any charcuterie board.
- Blue goat cheese is made by mixing blue mold into the curds. As the cheese ages, the flavor changes, making it sharper, earthier, and more pungent than its cow counterpart.
- Brie goat cheese is more subtle and refreshing than cow milk brie.
- Cheddar goat cheese has everything you want from this beloved variety: It's sharp and fruity but with a distinctive goaty tang.
- Goat Gouda, produced exclusively in Holland, is sweet and delicious, with caramel overtones. Balarina is a widely available variety.
- Tomme goat cheese is a variety made only in France, but U.S. cheesemakers are creating tomme-style goat cheese. "It's spreadable, washed, rinsed, aged, and uses raw milk," says Brokish.
Raw vs. Pasteurized Goat Cheese
Goat cheese made from raw milk has been rising in popularity, but rules about raw milk and its use in cheesemaking vary from state to state. "When we started, raw milk cheeses were not permitted," says Koch, who advocates for overturning his state's raw milk ban.
Koch would prefer to make raw cheese because of the biodiversity of microflora present in raw milk. He cited researchers that found "over 900 different sub-strains of surface molds and yeasts [in raw milk]. After pasteurization, you're getting one or two strains," says Koch. "That rich biodiversity, which varies by location, is diminished when you kill all that microflora through pasteurization."
"For making cheese from pasteurized milk, you have to add 6 or 8 cultures instead of 2 or 3 [for making cheese from raw milk]," Koch says. "Since we buy milk from local farmers in Maryland [a state that prohibits the sale of raw milk], we're not permitted to make raw cheese."
Farmstead vs. Factory Goat Cheese
Like many food manufacturers, goat cheesemakers run the gamut from small to large operations. While larger operations can produce goat cheese year-round using frozen curd, this can compromise quality. Here's why.
From the Farmstead
"We sell farmstead cheese, which means we milk our own goats and make artisan-style goat milk products," says Brokish. "Our flavors change with the season based on what our goats are eating. Our products have no salt, chemicals, or preservatives, so they must be eaten within 6 weeks."
From the Factory
The biggest goat cheese manufacturers market their products nationwide and internationally, and these are often the brands you find in chain supermarkets. These manufacturers often use packaging, stabilizers, and preservatives to extend the shelf life of their goat cheese products.
"To make goat cheese in December, [big manufacturers] often purchase frozen curd, which we don't think is good for the industry," says Koch. "We never manufacture cheese from frozen curd, only fresh. It's difficult to get a goat to milk in the middle of winter, but we try to coordinate the breeding of our milk producers' herds to keep milk coming in year-round."
Frequently Asked Questions
Is goat cheese dairy?
Because goat cheese is made from goat milk, it is considered a dairy product. Many people associate dairy as being derived from cow's milk, but dairy includes milk from other animals, like goats and sheep. "Goats are the single-most popular dairy animal outside the U.S," says Koch.
Does goat cheese have lactose?
Goat cheese has lactose, but it has less lactose than cow cheese. Many who have sensitivity to cow's milk find goat's milk easier to digest. Whether the amount of lactose is low enough to make goat cheese easier to digest for people with lactose intolerance depends on the person.
Is feta the same as goat cheese?
While goat cheese and feta have the same tangy taste and crumbly texture, feta and goat cheese are not the same. Traditional Greek feta is made exclusively from sheep's milk, which is not widely available in the U.S. Instead, many American cheesemakers make feta from a mix of sheep, goat, and cow milk.
