Flavoring Chèvre
When one thinks of dairy goats, they inevitably think of goat cheese. The cheese that most folks start making for themselves is chèvre. Chèvre is what most people think of as "goat cheese" - it's soft, delicious, and great to add to tons of things.Once people get the hang of making chèvre, they get stuck trying to think of creative flavorings for their cheese. Flavoring chèvre can be really fun and easy if you get creative. Here are my best ideas for flavoring chèvre as your starting off point.
Savory
Garlic and Italian herb - this is a classic "go to". Add fresh garlic, either pressed or diced super fine, and either fresh or dried basil, parsley, oregano and marjoram
Garlic and chive
Horseradish - A little dab will do. make sure to add horseradish slowly, tasting along the way so it's not too overwhelming
Indian - a little dash of curry powder, a touch of Garam Masala, and you're in business
Bacon and chive - fry bacon up nice and crispy, allow to cool and chop up fine. Add in with some fresh chopped chive.
Herbs de Province - this French herb blend has gone hand in hand with goat cheese for centuries. Mix them in or roll a log of chèvre in them
Veggie - carrot, onion, radish, peppers, and celery chopped fine in the food processor make a delicious veggie chèvre
Ranch, Onion, or Spinach powdered dip - mixing a little bit of powdered dip mix into your chèvre is an easy way to get great flavor fast. Just be sure to add it in slowly and taste as you go.
Mexican - cumin, oregano, cilantro, crushed red pepper and perhaps some diced pickled jalapeños.
Olives and sun dried tomato
Basil Pesto
Dill
Olive oil and fresh pepper
Wasabi sesame - a little washabi powder, a touch of sesame oil, and some toasted seasame seeds make for a great Asian inspired spread with a little kick
Hot pepper jelly - a dollop of hot pepper jelly on plain chèvre is a delicious combination
Sweet
Lavender - a sprinkle of dried lavender buds give a unique flavor
Vanilla - nothing beats getting vanilla beans and scraping the insides to add to a sweet chèvre
Honey
Orange zest
Lemon zest
Nuts - toasted, finely chopped, candied, any way you like them
Fruit jams - Adding a few dollops of fruit jam to the top of your chèvre before serving, or blending it into your chèvre, is an easy way to give it great fruit flavor
For all savory chèvre, I always suggest a touch of salt to taste, as it really enhances the flavor. Fresh ground black pepper is a great enhancer as well. In order to achieve a really nice, creamy consistency, we mix our chèvre and desired flavorings in our Kitchen Aid mixer until it's really smooth. If your going for more of "dip" consistency, add a tiny bit of fresh milk to loosen it up a bit for easier dipping.