SPAIN, GOAT’S MILK
PERSONALITY: The “Snow White” of goat cheese—porcelain skin meets black coiffeur.
This unique goat cheese from Avila looks like an inverted Humboldt Fog (page 74). The paste is bright white, like densely packed snow, while the surface is stippled with a thin layer of edible black ash and Penicillium roqueforti, the same mold that’s used in blue cheese. The smell of Monte Enebro calls to mind river stones; the taste is bright and flinty with a finish of white pepper. It’s gorgeous, both in appearance and in flavor. It’s a fairytale, a real princess.
Monte Enebro only has one source, the Spanish cheesemaker Rafael Baez and his daughter Paloma. Baez developed this cheese in 1983, and he makes it by hand, forms it into logs, and ships it to the States after several weeks of ageing. As it ripens, a creamline forms under its surface, and the flavors intensify. This is a gorgeous cheese for entertaining. No one will forget it.
Good matches: Enjoy this with honey and baguette, alongside almonds or fresh berries. This looks stellar on a cheese plate, especially among other Spanish wedges.
Wine/beer: Try a Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, or a light Spanish sherry. Or, reach for a Belgian-style saison.
UNITED STATES, RAW GOAT’S MILK
PERSONALITY: A good selection for the Kentucky Derby, sunshiny and not quite tame.
Tomme-style cheeses are always rustic, and this special round from southern Indiana is no different. Judy Schad raises her own goats and makes cheese from their unpasteurized milk, which means that the flavor profile in a tomme like this yields complex undertones. Here, you’ll find sweet cream mixed with wet leaves and mushrooms, followed by a gentle bite on the finish. The flavors build gradually rather than assaulting the tongue—this is a walk in the forest rather than an airdrop. Very pleasant, very sumptuous. The texture is smooth, Brie-like with a rind that is dappled beige or gray.
Schad began making cheese back in the eighties, before raising goats was fashionable. Today, she’s viewed as a pioneer of the artisanal cheese movement in the United States. Her farm is home to a happy herd of about 500 goats, including Alpine, Nubian, and Saanen breeds. If you like this cheese, check out her Wabash Cannonball (page 83).
Good matches: Schad recommends serving this cheese with grilled apples and onions; they bring out the sweetness and the bite. On a cheese plate, Old Kentucky Tomme is especially nice with tomato jam or chutney and toasted walnuts.
Wine/beer: This is a versatile cheese, especially with whites; try a Chenin Blanc, a Chardonnay, or Sauternes. Wheat beers work well. The cheesemaker recommends Goose Island Oktoberfest.
UNITED STATES, GOAT’S MILK
PERSONALITY: Alice in Wonderland meets a goat’s milk tuffet.
If Humboldt Fog (page 74) were a cupcake, it would look like Sea Smoke, a cheese developed by Debbie Mikulak to honor her favorite seaside haunt, the Maine Coast. Today, Debbie is retired from cheesemaking, and Sea Smoke is under the care of an enterprising couple, Will and Lynne Reid, who left the Philadelphia suburbs to take over Debbie’s farm in Chester County. They still make this muffin-sized goat cheese as Debbie did, with a streak of ash and a delicate sweet taste that smacks of spring rain and slightly peppery watercress.
One detail worth mentioning: the rind enrobing this cheese is veil thin, a highly revered achievement among the cheese intellegentsia. If you’ve ever eaten a mochi ball at a Japanese restaurant, you will be able to imagine the texture of this sheer girdle. It’s tasteless but gummy, in a good way. When people first see Sea Smoke, they often take a step back: it looks more like something you’d find in an old forest than in a cheese case. The Reids also make a beautiful, subtle goat log, called Baby Bloomer, which is worth seeking out.
Good matches: Halve Sea Smoke and set it atop a spring salad of tender greens, fiddleheads, and strawberries. Petals would not be out of place. On a cheese plate, keep it simple with fresh berries and baguette rounds.
Wine/beer: A wheat beer, like Philadelphia Brewing Company’s Walt Wit, pairs well, and so does a flute of Prosecco.
When my wife and I were trying to decide where to go on our honeymoon, I had only one stipulation: we had to go near cheese. Ultimately, we settled on the Loire Valley, and their celebrated chèvres were the staple ingredient of my every meal.
Our pictures of magnificent chateaux and medieval cathedrals are an excellent way to reminisce, but never have I so vividly remembered my time in France as the first time I tasted Sea Smoke. Its lemony tang was balanced perfectly by a barnyardy, damp hay earthiness that perfectly reflected the Loire terroir. The texture was cloud-like.
There are plenty of fantastic American goat cheeses, so my implication that this is the “most French” is not intended to imply that it is the best. But it’s knack for teleportation will keep Sea Smoke in the heart of this Francophile forever.
–CHEESEMONGER HUNTER FIKE
FRANCE, GOAT’S MILK
PERSONALITY: The Catherine Deneuve of goat cheese, fresh and flawless.
If goat cheese makes you nervous, let Selles-sur-Cher (sell-sur-SHARE) be your gateway drug. This quintessential cheese from the Loire Valley—picture lush meadows and happy goats nibbling wildflowers—is the gold standard for glorious chèvre. It’s rolled in ash, which neutralizes the acidity in the milk to create a beautifully balanced cheese. You won’t taste any “goaty tang,” just a delicate, clean taste. Think spring dew.
Selles-sur-Cher can be eaten at any stage. Young, this small wheel has a snow-packed look when cut. Aged, it gains a butter-colored veil around the rind and becomes molten within. Both stages are desirable. The latter is more flavorful.
Good matches: Nothing is better for breakfast than fresh raspberries and Selles-sur-Cher. The combination looks stunning, too—black, white, and red. If you don’t have raspberries, substitute raspberry jam. For an appetizer, serve this cheese with blanched spring vegetables, like baby carrots and peapods. It can also be crumbled over mixed greens studded with strawberries.
Wine/beer: Fresh goat cheese is incredibly flexible. For something refreshing, serve it with a wheat beer on the patio. Otherwise, Sauvignon Blanc or Sancerre are perfect.
UNITED STATES, GOAT’S MILK
PERSONALITY: Sparky, edgy, a longhaired type with attitude.
In Philadelphia, Pete Demchur is a legend. He’s the area’s first goat cheesemaker and a real DIY guy. He builds all his own equipment, welding it by hand, to produce some of the area’s most interesting goat cheese. Shellbark Sharp II, an aged chèvre that benefits from an extra-long spell in the ageing cave, is his hallmark. It’s crumbly, like a feta, but not as salty. And it’s far zestier than most soft goat cheeses, though you couldn’t exactly call it spicy. Let’s just say it has depth. Think herbs-and-citrus maximus.
Pete Demchur lives in Chester County, where he maintains a herd of about seventy Nubians and produces a variety of goat’s milk products, from kefir to a wildly peppery crottin that’s a menu staple at Philadelphia’s own Southwark Restaurant. Demchur and his sister, Donna, are also fixtures at local farmers’ markets. If you like this cheese, look for their custardy Maysiola, a loose interpretation of Robiola (page 107), named after their favorite nanny goat.
Good matches: The Demchurs often sample Shellbark Sharp II with buckwheat honey and slices of Asian pear—outstanding compliments. For an appetizer, try Fig and Goat Cheese Crostini (page 81).
Wine/beer: Pour a glass of Vouvray or a heady lager. This is one goat cheese that can even stand up to a smoked beer, if you want to explore contrasts.