CHEESE MAP

THE GUILD

Cheese. Sunset Acres Farm, Brookesville, Maine

Appleton Creamery Chèvre wrapped in a brandied grape leaf (2004 American Cheese Society winner)

Called Fromage de Chèvre by the French, this is goats' milk cheese. A soft fresh cheese, chèvre may be found plain or flavored and in a variety of shapes, sizes and packaging. Goats' milk cheese may also be aged to develop a stronger flavor.

Artisanal Chèvre made in Maine comes marinated in olive oil with herbs and garlic, rolled in cracked peppercorns or herbs, wrapped in grape leaves, plain or mixed with herbs and other seasonings and even as a torte. It may be in tubs, vacuum sealed in plastic, wrapped in cellophane, or in glass jars. Shapes include rounds, logs, truncated pyramids, pressed shapes, buttons and layered tortes.

Chèvre is a versatile cheese. Delicious served fresh with hearty whole grain bread, crackers or pita, it makes a great appetizer, after dinner cheese or basis for a meal. Plain chèvre could be used in place of cream cheese in any recipe. Some suggestions from Appleton Creamery:

• Crumble over pizza or foccacia
• Crumble over salads and toss with a fruit vinaigrette
• Use instead of ricotta in your favorite Italian pasta dish
• Swirl into cream soups for an extra special flavor boost

Goat cheese is lower in calories and easier to digest than many other cheeses. The high digestibility of goat cheese results from the unusual structure of its component fats, which are generally small molecules made up of short-chain fatty acids. Their small size makes them easier to break down and digest than the larger-chain fats of cow milk and cheese. Goat milk and cow milk are similar in calcium and phosphorus mineral contents. Goat milk, however, has greater quantities of potassium, vitamin A, thiamin, and niacin. Chèvre lacks folacin (folic acid) and vitamin B-12.

Guild member Barbara Brooks of Seal Cove Farm in Lamoine, Maine milks a herd of 125 goats, and produces chèvre which is sold throughout the northeast. Seal Cove has launched a new web site at www.mainegoatcheese.com. Check for details about Seal Cove, Sunset Acres, Appleton Creamery, and other goats' milk cheesemakers on our interactive Maine Cheese Map.

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Little Miss Muffett sat on her tuffet
eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider
and sat down beside her
and scared Miss Muffett away!

Here's the question: Is there any place in Maine where you can purchase fresh curds?
Click for answer.

Curdling is the first transformation that happens to milk in the cheesemaking process.

Curds are the solids that precipitate or coagulate in milk when it is subjected to a curdling agent such as animal or vegetable rennet, or naturally from fermentation. The liquid resulting from curd formation is called whey. (More about whey next month.)

The character of a finished cheese depends on milk source, butterfat content, how curd formation is initiated and how cheese is drained and molded to separate the curds from the whey, and whether it is fresh or fermented, aged or inoculated with mould. Milk from cows, goats and sheep and other mammals can be used whole or skimmed. Additional butterfat may be added. Cheese may be made from milk that is either pasteurized or raw. Whether a cheese is hard or soft depends on the process used. Chèvre, a soft cheese made from goat milk is usually eaten fresh, but it may also be ripened by ageing. Fermented cheeses are either soft such as Brie and Camembert types or hard such as Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Cantal types. Scalded curd cheese types include Gruyère, Emmenthal, Parmesan, Port-Salut. Munster is a semi-hard, fermented, whole-milk cheese.

Many cheese names originated from the areas where they were first produced, but have come to be used to describe types of cheese made elsewhere. In fact, many cheese variety names such as those listed above belong only to cheeses produced by specific cheesemakers in clearly defined geographical regions of the world. There is currently movement toward international protection for the naming of such regional cheeses. (More about cheese names in another article.)

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HISTORICAL CHEESEMAKING ARTIFACTS
MATTHEWS MUSEUM

Old Cheese Press on display at the 1st Annual Cheese Festival

The Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage is an agricultural museum located on the Union Fairgrounds in Union, Maine. The museum contains nearly 10,000 artifacts, including many antique cheesemaking tools from around Maine. The museum has graciously allowed the Maine Cheese Guild to use some of these articles in a historic display at the Annual Maine Cheese Festival. Along with tools, the museum has a collection of old photographs depicting aspects of cheesemaking in days past.

Visit the official Matthews Museum site at www.matthewsmuseum.org/

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Photos of Guild Member's Cheese
courtesy of:
Russell French Studio
46 Romasco Lane
Portland, Maine 04101
207-874-0011
© 2004 Russell French