Goat, Sheep & Buffalo Cheeses

The greatest range of cheese is made with cow’s milk, but several other animal milks provide some of our most famous cheeses. The zesty tart flavor of goat cheese (Fr. chèvre) is instantly recognizable. It ranges from fresh and soft to dry and crumbly, depending on age. In fact, unlike almost any other cheese, the same goat cheese may be eaten at four or five stages of ripeness. Soft enough to spread when young, it matures to become almost chalky, never showing the creamy, melting consistency of some cow’s milk cheeses. Goat cheeses tend to be produced on a small scale, and are often distributed locally, so well-known names such as Chabichou and Crottin de Chavignol are few. Long a Norwegian, French and Mediterranean monopoly, goat cheese is now being produced in Britain, North America and Australia.