This month we offer an array of serving suggestions, tips, and facts for and about chevre that you may find interesting and tasty as well.

Serving Suggestions

Wine:  Sauvignon Blanc—either a fruity or grassy version will complement chevre's acidic finish and make the cheese even more creamy. Young red wines and crisp white wines offset the tangy flavor of chevre nicely.  Beer:   I love a hearty ale with chevre.

Soak seasonal fruits in a balsamic vinegar and serve with chevre, or drizzle a raspberry or blueberry balsamic reduction over the chevre. Your favorite chutney will pair nicely with chevre as well.

For a simple but hearty salad, pat out a cake of cold La Cuesta Farm chevre and cover all sides with chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts are good but I love lightly toasted pine nuts this way) and warm in an oven until nuts are golden. Mix seasonal greens with a good quality extra virgin olive oil and sea salt and top with the warmed chevre-nut cakes.

Serve room temperature La Cuesta Farm Flame Roasted Green Chili and Garlic goat cheese with blue corn tortilla chips and a plate of thinly sliced jicama drizzled with fresh lime juice, paprika and a pinch of salt.  Feta will pair nicely with the jicama as well.

Top your home made pizza with fresh chevre, chopped tomato and fresh basil for  a delightfully fresh alternative.

Mix your favorite herbs with chevre and stuff chicken breasts with it. Skip the mayo and mustard on your picnic sandwiches and substitute herbed chevre.  La Cuesta Farm Flame Roasted Green Chili 'n Garlic is FANTASTIC on your grilled hamburger.

Chevre is always good with a crusty baguette

Health Facts

Naturally homogenized goat's milk is a safer product than cow's milk (and therefore cheeses as well) because there is very little absorption of the enzyme xanthine oxidase.  The mechanical process of homogenization of cow's milk releases the enzyme into the blood stream and has been shown to create scar damage to the heart and arteries, thus stimulating the body to release cholesterol to lay fatty ;material on scars, causing arteriosclerosis.  Medium chain fatty acids found in goat's milk have been shown additionally to actually prevent cholesterol buildup and dissolve cholesterol deposits already there.

Goat milk is non-allergenic, has more acid buffering capacity than cow's milk and and non- prescription antacid drugs.

Goat milk has more vitamins A, B, Riboflavin, calcium, potassium, magnesium, thiamin, niacin, iron and phosphorus than cow milk. It is whiter than cow milk because the goat converts all carotene to vitamin A.

Goat cheese (chevre) is easier to digest than cow's milk due to the smaller structure of the component fats.  Their size makes them easier to break down and digest.