Merry Goat Round is a surface-ripened goat’s milk round. It is our homage to brie or camembert and shares the same surface ripening mold as these traditional cheeses. It ripens from its rind inwards, growing progressively softer and creamier. The rind is completely edible at any stage of the cheese’s ripening. In fact, the cheese’s fullest flavor is concentrated in its rind.

World Cheese Awards
2008 Silver Medalist
2007 Bronze Medalist
2004 Silver Medalist

American Dairy Goat Association Cheese Competition
2007 Third-Place Finisher
2006 First-Place Finisher

American Cheese Society, Cheese Judging
2002 Third-Place Finisher

Weeks 1-3
Merry Goat Round is considered a soft-ripened cheese. It develops its white-bloomed rind within a week’s time in our aging room. We wrap the young Merry Goat Rounds at 2-3 weeks old to ensure that they have the maximum shelf life possible. At this stage, Merry Goat Round’s are firm to the touch and have a clean, uncomplicated taste that is slightly sharp. These young Merry Goat Rounds can be used in cooking, and will melt nicely.

Weeks 4-6
We think of this period as “adolescence” for Merry Goat Round. The rind is beginning to do its work, and when the cheese is cut you can see the ripening cheese body just below the rind. At room temperature, this ripened portion of the cheese body will be soft (and in the Spring quite creamy). The taste of the cheese is developing rapidly during this period; and the clean sharpness of the young cheese becomes increasingly complex and mushroomy.

Weeks 7-12
During this period, the “adult” Merry Goat Round reaches its fullest and most complex flavor profile. The rind has now ripened the cheese body ¼ to ½ inch toward its center. The cheese will feel soft to the touch, particularly at room temperature. Secondary molds and other “imperfections” may appear on the surface. The white-bloomed rind of youth begins to deepen to lovely orange hues. When unwrapped at this age, the captured ammonia (an exhalation by-product of the rind as it ripens the cheese body) may need to dissipate – allowing these older Merry Goat Rounds the time to “breathe” as they warm before serving is time well spent.

Merry Goat Round is a lovely addition to your meals. It can be served alone as an appetizer, cut for a cheese board, served with crackers and a savory tapenade, or used in finer cuisines. Younger cheeses are definitely better for cooking, as they will withstand the heat of melting better; more mature cheeses shine as “solo-acts” on cheese boards, or served with complimentary stand out ingredients: a beautifully ripened pear, cured olives, sautéed mushrooms, or seasoned pecans.

Once you have removed its original wrapping, take care not to re-wrap too tightly in plastic wrap. This will suffocate the cheese. We store a partially consumed Merry Goat Round in a plastic container or a dessert plate covered in plastic wrap. Both methods allow for a bit of air around the cheese and continued breathing.

Pasteurized goat milk
Vegetable rennet
Bacterials starter cultures (gluten-free)
Salt
Enzymes