Episode 61: Raw Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese Ball

Cocktail hour - what’s on our minds

Asparagus transplanting.

First time Becca saw asparagus growing in the wild of a cultivated garden

Goat Cheese

However, the higher proportion of medium-chain fatty acids such as caproic and caprylic in goat's milk contributes to the characteristic tart flavor of goat's milk cheese
lower lactose content than cow's milk.

goat cheese has only A2 beta casein. The difference means that goat cheese and goat milk are easier on the digestion.
The cheese we’re using today is a “fresh” cheese. But goat cheese is made into pretty much any style of cheese you can think of.
Same fat content as Cows milk
Generally made by either letting the milk curdle naturally or adding acids to encourage the curdling. Does not seem to use rennet for the most part.

Goat Cheese Background

Goats were one of the first animals to be kept by humans over 9,000 years ago, before any other livestock species had been tamed. Villagers in what is now Iran made an informal deal with wild goats; they would herd, feed and protect them in exchange for meat, milk, hides, etc. In fact, goats were even incorporated into religious deities and rituals and served as a form of currency; with dowries paid and wealth measured in goats.

Long referred to as “the poor man’s cow” because they are foragers, not grazers; goats can thrive on rough land that couldn’t support the hardiest cow. Because of this and the ease of making it; goat cheese has long been considered peasant’s fare.

In the 8th century A.D the Moors brought goats to the Loire Valley where French goat cheeses, or chèvres were first made, Chèvre in French simply means goat, and that’s where our story begins. Farmers who used fresh goat’s milk to make cheese have referred to it as chèvre for centuries, and the use of the word spread with the cheese’s popularity. Today goat’s milk is used to make cheese all across the globe from small artisanal farms to mass production.