This Portuguese whey cheese is made from either sheep or goat milk whey left over from the cheesemaking operations in the Beira Baixa historical region, now Castelo Branco. The delicate, unfermented travia has a grainy but spreadable texture, and a pleasant, sweet lactic flavor.
In Portugal, travia is one of the breakfast favorites, and it is usually enjoyed fresh, spread over toasted sourdough bread, sprinkled with sugar and ground cinnamon.
Bijou is an American cheese hailing from Vermont. The cheese is made from pasteurized goat's milk and it's left to age for 30 days. During the maturation period, Bijou (jewel in French) forms a wrinkly mold-ripened rind with a sweet and yeasty aroma.
Underneath it, the texture is smooth and creamy. The flavors are tangy, sharp, yeasty, clean, milky, and sweet, with hints of hazelnuts and flowers. It's recommended to serve this small hand-shaped button of cheese with pickled cherries, pancetta, fig jam, and roasted hazelnuts.
Tyrozouli is a Greek cheese produced in the mountains of western Crete. It is made from sheep’s or goat’s milk which is curdled with fig sap. The cheese is typically consumed fresh, when its texture is very soft, but it can also be matured in olive oil, when its texture becomes hard.
Motal is an ancient cheese that's produced from goat’s milk (or sometimes sheep's milk) throughout the Caucasus. Right after the goats have been milked by hand, calf rennet is combined with the warm milk, and the combination is then left to cool.
The curd gets broken and drained in a cloth, while the remaining mixture is broken into smaller pieces and left in brine-filled molds for at least 40 days. After that period, the curd is crumbled, seasoned with a variety of mountain herbs, and placed in goat or sheep sacks to mature from 3 to 6 months.
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Herbes de Provence Chevre is an American semi-soft cheese hailing from Colorado, where it's produced by Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy. The cheese is made from pasteurized goat's milk and it's shaped into logs that are coated in Herbes de Provence, a traditional French spice blend originating from Provence.
The texture of this rindless cheese is creamy and crumbly. The aromas are fresh and clean, while the flavors are mild and herbaceous. It's recommended to serve the cheese with crusty bread and Kalamata olives. Pair it with a glass of fruity wine such as Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc.
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Mató is a sweet, unsalted, unfermented, fresh cheese produced in the Spanish region of Catalonia. It is traditionally served as a dessert with honey or jam, known as mel i mató. In Catalonia, the cheese is regularly sold when only a day or two old, when it is turned out of the shallow baskets in which it has been drained.
Visually, mató is reminiscent of ricotta, curd cheese, or cottage cheese. In the past, the cheese was made with goat's milk because no one could afford to buy a cow, but today it is made with cow's milk as well. Mató was extremely popular during the Middle Ages, when it was either made plain or flavored with orange flowers.
Coeur de Touraine (lit. the heart of Touraine) is a heart-shaped French cheese made with raw goat's milk. Apart from being distinguishable by its shape, it can also be easily recognized by its aromatic ash-covered edible rind. The cheese matures for a minimum of 3 weeks.
The texture of Coeur de Touraine is thick and creamy, while the flavors are goaty, milky, and tangy, with a slightly salty aftertaste. It is recommended to serve the cheese with raisin bread or nut bread and a glass of white wine.
Chevrotin is a mold-pressed cheese made from goat's milk in the region of Haute-Savoie in France. It has a fine white rind and is packaged with a thin sheet of spruce boards on its base that can be removed. The boards allow the cheese to drain during the maturation period and also help with regulating the humidity in the package.
Its flavor is slightly sweet, yoghurt-like, and unusual, with the aroma of goats, nuts, and flowers from the mountainous region. The texture is smooth and fine, slightly crumbly, perfect for pasta dishes or roasted vegetables. Pair Chevrotin with light dry wines.
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Goat Gouda is an American semi-hard cheese produced in California. This Gouda-style cheese is made from pasteurized goat's milk and cream. The rind is natural, and the texture is dense, firm, and smooth, sometimes slightly grainy. The aroma is sweet and the flavors are caramel-like, milky, and nutty.
Goat Gouda ages for about 5 months before it's ready for consumption. It's recommended to pair it with a glass of Chardonnay and serve it with sour cherry preserve.
Banon is a soft cheese made in a traditional way from raw, full-fat goat's milk in the French region of Les Alpes de Haute Provence. On the exterior, the cheese is visually striking, with a wrapping of chestnut leaves held together with natural raffia, imparting it with notes of barnyard.
Banon must mature for at least 2 weeks and as it ages, blue and gray mold forms under the wrapping, giving the cheese strong woody aromas. Its flavor is nutty, soft, and creamy with hints of wine and fresh vegetables. Traditionally, local farmers eat Banon by scooping it up with a spoon.
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