Exposure to air causes cheese to dry out. If your apartment is not equipped with a pantry or cellar, the best place to store chèvre is in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator. Keep pieces wrapped in plastic wrap or wax paper, or place in a sealable bag and squeeze out the air. Fresh cheese can be enjoyed straight out of the refrigerator. Soft-ripened and aged cheeses should come to room temperature for an hour for optimal flavor.
Some
Chèvre Tips
CHÈVRE TIPS
WHERE’S THE BEST PLACE TO STORE GOAT CHEESE?
HOW DO I BUILD A FRENCH CHÈVRE CHEESE BOARD?
A well-arranged board should be tasted from the mildest to the strongest. Accompaniments can include fresh baguette, crackers, jams, honey, fruit and nuts.
THINK CHÈVRE FOR VARIOUS OCCASIONS!
For a dinner with friends, instead of dessert:
Pair with a crisp white wine or a light-bodied red.
For a romantic dinner:
Pair with Champagne.
For appetizers during the Holidays:
Pair with an aromatic white wine and a light-bodied red that you will serve with the turkey as well, or a gin cocktail.
HOW DO YOU CUT FRENCH CHÈVRE?
A well-cut cheese looks better and keeps longer. Make firm, clean slices to avoid squashing the cheese.
To experience the cheese properly, each slice should have an equal amount of rind, where the flavor is strongest.
Remember these golden rules of cheese-cutting:
A round cheese should be quartered.
A log should be sliced into discs.
A pyramid or Camembert-shaped goat’s cheese should be cut in slices, like a pie.
Cooking Tips
1
Cut cubes of chèvre to toss into salad for easy serving and a chic look.
2
Whip chèvre with a little cream to make it easily spreadable for toast.
3
Thicken and enrich soups with softened chèvre.
4
Warm chèvre slices or crottins in the oven for an elegant touch to salads.
5
For a sauce, risotto or soup it’s best to add the cheese at the end of a recipe.
6
Aged cheeses have more concentrated flavor than fresh, so when you use them your dish may require less seasoning.
7
You can grate soft chèvre, if you freeze it for 10 minutes beforehand.
8
Use chèvre instead of cream cheese or ricotta in dessert recipes for a tangy, complex flavor infusion.
9
Whisk plain yogurt with white wine vinegar, then fold in crumbled chèvre for a classic salad dressing.
10
Blend softened chèvre with buttermilk, minced chives and cream to make an easy Nordic-style salad dressing.
11
Chèvre melts quickly and evenly for a delicious grilled cheese sandwich.
Wine
WITH FRENCH CHÈVRE
White wines tend to be the best pairing for goat cheese, but light, fruity reds work just as well.
Some of the best wine pairings include:
Sauvignon Blanc’s bright acidity, particularly that of Sancerre from the Loire Valley, goes best with mild and creamy chèvre. The mineral and grassy notes of these wines balance the creaminess of the cheese, bringing out a distinct minerality in both.
Gewurztraminer and Torrontes pair well with very potent, pungent chèvre. Both wines are fruit-forward with a touch of sweetness that would overpower a milder cheese, but work with ripe and strong cheese.
The mineral-driven, aromatic Riesling, with its backbone of crisp acidity, matches the mild and herbaceous nature of mild chèvre.
Unoaked Oregon Chardonnay works very well with chèvre that are fresh but still very creamy as the citrus notes and vibrant fruit balance the slight nuttiness and richness of the cheese.
A light-bodied Beaujolais can match a mild and very soft chèvre. The delicate fruity notes of the wine compliments the fresh and mildly creamy notes of the cheese.
Pair a Northern Italian red such as Barbera d’Asti or Dolcetto di Dogliani with aged chèvre as the bright acidity of these wines coupled with their fresh berry fruit will complement the cheeses’ richer and nuttier character.
And you can never go wrong with Champagne, which goes with everything!
Cocktails
WITH FRENCH CHÈVRE
Gin and sparkling wine-based cocktails go particularly well with French goat cheese. Gin and chèvre both have complementing herbal qualities. Bubbly goes well with the lushly soft texture of the chèvre. Try these:
Negroni
Gin, Campari, sweet vermouth, orange zest
French 75
Gin, Champagne, lemon juice
Ramos Gin Fizz
Gin, lime juice, cream, orange flower water
Southside Fizz
Gin, mint, lemon juice, club soda