Holy Goat Fromage Frais

Time to return to Holy Goat and visit another cheese from their range - this time a Fromage Frais.

Cheese: Holy Goat Fromage Frais
Location: Sutton Grange Organic Farm, Victoria

Fromage Frais means "fresh cheese" and in this case it refers to a soft goats milk curd. It's made in a similar manner to cheese but once the rennet is added the curds are not allowed to set, instead they are agitated to give a texture and appearance somewhat like yoghurt.

The first thing you'll notice, as is the case with goat cheese, is that it's very white. It has a look of being quite pure and clean.

Tastewise, it has a slight tang with those goat characteristics but it would equally at home in a savoury or sweet situation.

This cheese is also low in saturated fats.

It has good holding characteristics and is just perfect for slathering on bread - try it on a thick slice of toasted brioche with raspberry jam.

Other ideas: as part of the filling for Stuffed Zucchini Flowers; use it in dips; add to cheesecake filling; toss through cooked pasta to form part of the sauce. I'm sure you can come up many more ideas.

Originally published here

Timboon Farmhouse Gourmet Fetta

Staying in Victoria but moving to the south west of the State, it's home to one of our most famous natural attractions, the 12 Apostles. It's also home to Timboon Farmhouse Cheese.

Timboon Farmhouse Cheese was established in 1985 by Herman Schultz and uses bio-dynamic methods in the production of their cheese including the use of non-animal rennet. Though no longer owned by Schultz, the cheese is still made from the milk of his herd of Jersey and Friesian cows.

Cheese Maker: Timboon Farmhouse Cheese
Cheese Type: Gourmet Fetta
Location: 23 Ford and Fells Road, Timboon Victoria
Open: Daily 9.30am to 5pm for light lunches and tastings at "The Mousetrap"

Now, I am quite fond of marinated fetta to the extent that I make my own but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate commercially available varieties.

Inside each jar you'll find 3 discs of organic cows' milk fetta marinated in Canola oil and a mix of dried herbs and spices - there's bay leaf, peppercorns, chilli flakes, dried oregano to name a few.

Tastewise, it's fairly low in salt and very creamy which is directly attributable to the milk blend used and really quite easy to eat on it's own. Superficially, it looks very attractive on a cheese board.

It's also excellent in salads and don't forget to use some of it's oil for the dressing as it's full of flavour.

Originally published here

Island Pure Haloumi

For this next cheese, we take a visit to South Australia and in particular to one it's most well known islands, Kangaroo Island. Here we'll find Island Pure, started in 1992, it was South Australia's first sheep diary.

Cheese Maker: Island Pure
Cheese Type: Haloumi
Location: Gum Creek Road, Cygnet River
Open: Daily 1-5pm

Haloumi is a traditional sheeps' milk cheese of Cyprus. During its manufacture it's actually cooked in its own whey. This results in a cheese that won't melt when heated.

It's most usually served grilled or fried and when you bite into it, it squeaks against your teeth.

There's a bit of liquid in the package to keep the cheese moist so you'll need dry it off on paper towels before using it. The little green specks are just mint fragments.

Typically, you'll cut the cheese evenly into ½ to 1cm thick slices and if you were pan frying, dust the cheese lightly with a little flour to help get a wonderful crispy crust. If you were grilling, rub a little olive oil on the slices before placing them on the grill.

I found it to be mildly salted - haloumi can have a tendency to be a touch on the salty side, I found this to be quite pleasant and good enough to eat as is.

Originally published here

Yarra Valley Dairy Gemello

Another year, another cheese and I'm starting off in my home state and revisiting Yarra Valley Dairy - head to this post for further information on the Dairy.

Yarra Valley Dairy Gemello is a fresh cheese made in traditional farmhouse style. It's unusual in that it's a blend of Goat (30%) and Cows (70%) milk. The result is a extremely white cheese that is semi soft.

If you are careful you should be able to slice the cheese but it's more suited to being broken into odd sized chunks that are just great for salads. You could also use this as a spread.

Tastewise, the goat imparts a subtle sharpness, a perfect foil to the creamy characters of the cows milk. I would class this as a great cheese to give to those that are new to goat cheese or are just looking for something a little subtle and mellow.


Originally published here