First and foremost let us rejoice! Today is the first Saturday of the cheese-a-day marathon, meaning I'm arbitrarily starting a tradition of posting goat cheeses every Saturday! I understand starting new traditions is textbook power-going-to-head behavior, but I love goat cheese, I've got more goat cheeses on file than anything else, and these reviews aren't going to post themselves. Submit your ideas of what goat cheese Saturdays should be called in the comment section and I'll choose whichever one strikes my fancy. Maybe there's a prize involved. Like a video-singing-telegram. From me.
Murcia must have some of the tastiest meadows around because this plucky region of Spain just keeps the cheese hits coming. Cabra Romero is an aged but very moist goat cheese created by a one Lorenzo, who ages this treat for 2-4 months, uses microbial rennet and, oh yeah, covers the rind in lard and then presses each wheel in Rosemary before shipping.
Origin: Murcia, Spain
Milk: Goat, pasteurized
Rennet: Microbial (vegetarian)
Affinage: 2-4 months
Notes: One of the more sickly satisfying jobs at the Cheese Importers was brushing (prying really) the lard and rosemary mixture off of the rind before giving it out as samples or on cheese platters. You know no one's compromising on flavor when lard is employed.
Thoughts: This fruity and herbal goat cheese has as intriguing and complex a flavor as only a cheese rubbed in lard could. I mean that in the best possible way. The grassy, fruity essence of the rosemary comes across strong at first but the goat's milk flavor quickly builds into a perfectly sweet and creamy delight. The rich savoriness of the lard is clearly present and carries throughout the taste but does not overcome the complex flavors that develop over it. This cheese is one of the few aged, semi-hard cheeses that I prefer to eat on slices of baguette, as it seriously is so buttery in flavor that you'll want to try to spread it. A bold flavor backed up by an equally bold texture and a near-reckless devotion to gastronomic indulgence earns this cheese a spot in my top 5.
Caution
If no one submits name suggestions then everyone gets singing video telegrams.
Murcia must have some of the tastiest meadows around because this plucky region of Spain just keeps the cheese hits coming. Cabra Romero is an aged but very moist goat cheese created by a one Lorenzo, who ages this treat for 2-4 months, uses microbial rennet and, oh yeah, covers the rind in lard and then presses each wheel in Rosemary before shipping.
Milk: Goat, pasteurized
Rennet: Microbial (vegetarian)
Affinage: 2-4 months
Notes: One of the more sickly satisfying jobs at the Cheese Importers was brushing (prying really) the lard and rosemary mixture off of the rind before giving it out as samples or on cheese platters. You know no one's compromising on flavor when lard is employed.
Thoughts: This fruity and herbal goat cheese has as intriguing and complex a flavor as only a cheese rubbed in lard could. I mean that in the best possible way. The grassy, fruity essence of the rosemary comes across strong at first but the goat's milk flavor quickly builds into a perfectly sweet and creamy delight. The rich savoriness of the lard is clearly present and carries throughout the taste but does not overcome the complex flavors that develop over it. This cheese is one of the few aged, semi-hard cheeses that I prefer to eat on slices of baguette, as it seriously is so buttery in flavor that you'll want to try to spread it. A bold flavor backed up by an equally bold texture and a near-reckless devotion to gastronomic indulgence earns this cheese a spot in my top 5.
Caution
If no one submits name suggestions then everyone gets singing video telegrams.
Trolls Eat Goats.
ReplyDeleteIn light of the caution notice, I hereby refuse to submit any titles I think of, no matter how clever it might be.
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