Catapano Dairy Farm Fresh Chevre
One of the things I look forward to the most during the in spring
and sum
of fresh chevre that is available. The
bright and creamy texture coupled with basil, heirloom tomatoes, and a grind of
fresh black pepper… it doesn’t get much better than that in my book.
Conversely, there is a part of
fall and winter, the goats move into the barn, and that fantastic cheese is
taken away for another year.
Goats
generally mate during the September and October months, and give birth to kids
through April. Although the first few
months of milk go to the kids, mothers can usually continue producing milk for
the next six months, resulting in a so
during which chevre and other goat’s milk cheese to be made.
Fresh chevre is essentially the ultimate
expression for seasonality in the cheese world. One of the finest examples of this is right on
Island
Located on the North Fork of Long Island, Catapano Dairy
Farm has been making headlines since 2005 ever since their cheese won 1st
place for chevre from the A
Cheese Society, considered
the most prestigious cheese competition in the country.
I was first introduced to the cheese a few years ago when my
wife and I first started coming down to visit Lenn and Nena on
was a revelation then, and continues to be the benchmark that I strive for
every ti
he
cheese has an incredibly moist and creamy texture with a slight scent of grass
and flowers that you im
associate with freshness and quality. What I like about this chevre is that it isn’t overwhelmingly "goaty." What I
by that is so
can be so acidic and tangy on the backend that it can overwhelm so
made with goat’s milk. The Catapano is
incredibly mild and smooth with just a hint of the brightness on the end, and
has converted several goat cheese haters into Catapano lovers.
Put it on a cracker, put it in a salad, put
it on a spoon…it’s that good…
As I sit and write this on a cool day near the end of sum
sum
available for a little longer. Take
advantage of it while you can. Catapano
is a good place to start.
Aaron: Thanks for the post. You know that I really enjoy this cheese — especially in the stuffed squash blossoms Nena has made a few times this summer.
Also great with local sauvignon blanc — think Shinn, Raphael, Channing Daughters and Paumanok….really really well done.
As the current owner of their former property, I have a personal attachment to that cheese and adore it. And I can vouch for the skyrocketing popularity of it since the 2005 award. We bought the property from them that year - they moved in order to have more land and more goats so they could make more cheese. TO THIS DAY people still knock on our door asking where they can find the goats!