Cabra La Mancha -- or "goat from La Mancha" -- is a Spanish-inspired washed rind tome. Its surface is washed regularly with brevibacterium linens (b. linens), a traditional ripening agent which gives its rind the recognizable orange hue. 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. It is a higher-moisture cheese with a firm but not hard texture that make it perfect for slicing on a cheese board or melting as part of finer cuisines. This cheese is gorgeous in taste and appearance.

World Cheese Awards
2009 Silver Medalist
2008 Gold Medalist

American Dairy Goat Association Cheese Competition
2009 Third-Place Finisher
2008 Third-Place Finisher
2007 First-Place Finisher
2006 Third-Place Finisher

Southern Foodways Alliance
2005 Pick: Top 10 Goat's Milk Cheeses

Months 1-3
Cabra La Mancha is a larger format, long ripening cheese. It is made in 4-5 pound wheels that enter our ripening room as stark-white wheels of curd. Within 2 weeks, these wheels have developed their orange hue as the regular washings inoculate the b. linens mold on the cheese surface. To meet our customer demand and manage the limited space in ripening room, we cut and wrap the Cabra La Mancha wheels at 3 months old; however, the cheeses continue to ripen positively for nearly a year.

Months 4-6
The few wheels of Cabra that we have been able to keep in the ripening room this long are simply spectacular. The b. linens mold continues its work and the cheese becomes softer -- in texture reminiscent of a an Italian taleggio. We look forward to to completion of our expanded creamery which will triple our ripening room space and allow us to mature Cabra La Mancha more fully before it leaves us.

Once the wheels are cut, ripening does not stop but it does slow. Your wrapped wedge of Cabra La Mancha will continue ripening in your fridge, but its character will not change dramatically. The taste will ripen and mature most noticeably near the rind.

Months 7-12
Unchartered territory we look forward to exploring!

Cabra La Mancha is FireFly Farms ubiquitous "table cheese" -- good at all times of the day and with all 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 where it melts beautifully. When heated, Cabra La Mancha releases a wonderful aroma that perfectly complements its texture and taste.

Brevibacterium linens is not as oxygen sensitive as other ripening molds we use. Once you have removed its original wrapping, you can re-wrap in cheese paper, parchment paper or wax paper. Or, you can store the partially consumed cheese in a plastic container. If wrapped for a long period, the cheese may develop a thin layer of white mold on its rind and cut surfaces. This can be eaten safely, or scraped off the cheese surface with a knife blade.

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