Goat, Over $20/lb, Semi-Soft, United States 3 comments

Dee Creek Farm Goat Feta

By on November 13th, 2010

Dee Creek Farm Goat fetaIt’s funny. I have a cheese that’s always in my fridge because it’s so good. Meanwhile, here I am running a cheese blog and forgetting to tell anyone else about how great this cheese is!

Dee Creek Farm Goat Feta is that cheese. Simply put, this is the best feta cheese I’ve ever tasted (so far in this life of mine). The texture is nicely compact and smooth but still crumbles nicely if you want it to. I normally buy the blocks because I like to slice it over a salad. The flavor is just sublime.  You get some punchy saltiness right up front, followed by a lemony tang and then a smooth flavor of goat milk. It’s a perfect blend. None of the flavors are overpowering. Just delicious.

If I’m not slicing this over a salad, I love this by itself with perhaps a few fresh green olives, or with a hunk of very hearty bread. I have to admit that I find this cheese to be so good, that I’m reluctant to melt it into a large dish because I really want to taste it!

This cheese is made in Woodland, Washington in an ecologically sound, pesticide-free, sustainable environment. You can read more about the philosophy of Dee Creek Farms here. They sell at several Portland Farmer’s markets, which are listed on their website.

Quick Facts:

Pasteurized goat’s milk

$5 for 4ozs

Might be vegetarian..checking on this

Firm, Goat, Over $20/lb, United States No comments yet

Pondhopper

By on November 1st, 2010

Pondhopper cheese by Tumalo FarmsWhat a great name huh? I hoped for an image of a frog for their logo, but there isn’t one.  This cheese is made by Tumalo Farms in Central Oregon. The flesh was pale yellow with an orange rind. The rind is not edible.

This is a firm, cooked goat cheese that is also flavored with local micro-brew beer. How very Oregon!

It was very salty with a mild tang and a gooey, moist texture.  Personally, I couldn’t detect any beer or hops flavor but most likely, that is because my palate is not refined enough. It reminded one of the tasters of cheesy scrambled eggs and popcorn.

This cheese has taken 1st place honors at the American Cheese Society and deservedly so. A great, every day snacking cheese, or one for the cheese board.

Quick Facts:

$24.99

Pasteurized goat’s milk

Aged 2-3 months

Cooked, pressed cheese

Traditional rennet

Firm, Over $14 /lb, Spain No comments yet

El Trigal Manchego, 6 months

By on October 26th, 2010

El Trigal Manchego cheese, aged 6 monthsWell, I may have come across another cheese to add to my favorites list. Not only is this cheese lovely to look at because of the pattern in the rind, it has a deep buttery flavor and dry, flaky texture. The color of the cheese was pale yellow.

The overwhelming flavor that came to mind when I sampled this cheese was of ghee – a toasty buttery flavor that was nicely balanced with a dash of salt. This is not a strong cheese so do take care to eat this cheese slowly, allowing the flavors to develop on your tongue.

Did I say how pretty this little Spanish cheese is? The brown rind (inedible) has a beautiful zig-zag pattern pressed into it. Traditionally the round cheeses were pressed into plaited grass baskets, but today the same effect is achieved with a mould that has an embossed pattern similar to that of woven grass. The top and bottom surfaces of the full, uncut cheeses have a wheat ear design pressed into them.

Quick Facts:

$16.99 lb

Pasteurized sheep milk

Traditional rennet

Goat, Over $20/lb, United States No comments yet

River’s Edge Chevre – Up In Smoke Goat Cheese

By on October 23rd, 2010

River's Edge Chevre - Up In Smoke goat cheeseIn the quest to find new and interesting goat cheeses, I stumbled across this one recently at a local deli.  From River’s Edge Chevre in Oregon, this smoked goat cheese has won several awards, placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the ACS Annual Cheese Competition.

The fresh goat cheese is smoked, and then wrapped in smoked maple leaves, which sounded intriguing. Normally, I would not have purchased this cheese as it was rather expensive  (about $10 for 5 ozs), but we had a gift card and so decided to branch out a bit.

I have to say, I was rather disappointed. I suppose I wanted ‘spectacular’ but got ‘ok to good’. I thought the cheese by itself was a little bland, but it was improved greatly when spread on some fresh, rustic bread with a glass of merlot.

The cheese is very creamy and the flavor reminded me of sitting around a campfire, smoky wood with perhaps a lemony undertone. Overall though, the cheese didn’t grab my taste buds… in fact, I kept ignoring it until it got very moldy and I had to throw it out. So much for  my $10.

Quick Facts:

Pasteurized goat cheese

Approx. $10 for 5oz