Goat Cheese Day Date in the current year: June 25, 2024

Most cheeses sold at grocery stores and supermarkets are made from cow’s milk, but milk from other animals (buffalo, goats, sheep, yaks, llamas, camels, and even moose) can be used to make cheese as well. As goats were among the first animals to be domesticated by man, goat cheese has been known in different parts of the world for millennia.

Goat milk contains more medium-chain fatty acids than cow’s milk. Because of this, goat milk and cheeses have a characteristic sour, tangy flavor and are easier to digest than cow’s milk and cheeses. Goat cheeses are also high in anti-inflammatory enzymes, antioxidants, probiotics, and important micronutrients (vitamins A and K, B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus).

Goat cheese is made just like other cheeses, but it doesn’t melt in the same manner as cow’s milk does when heated. It comes in many different styles depending on the recipe, ranging from fresh and soft to aged and hard. Regional varieties of goat cheese exist in many countries around the globe.

France is especially famous for its goat cheeses, which are usually soft, creamy, and covered in a light colored skin or rind. French goat cheese is often referred to as chèvre (short for fromage de chèvre, French for “goat cheese”). Well-known French goat cheeses include Banon, Bûcheron, Cabécou, Cathare, Chabis, Chavroux, Chabichou, Chevrotin, Clochette, Couronne lochoise, Crottin de Chavignol, Pélardon, Picodon, Pouligny-Saint-Pierre, Rigotte de Condrieu, Sainte-Maure de Touraine, Selles-sur-Cher, and Valençay.

Goat cheese can be enjoyed on its own with a glass of wine or used in various dishes. A popular French dish made with goat cheese is chèvre chaud (“hot goat cheese”); it consists of broiled goat cheese on baguette served with a green salad. The tangy flavor of goat cheese also works well in a variety of dishes, including fresh salads, vegetable tarts and quiches, creamy soups, risottos, pasta dishes, pizza, dips and spreads, and more.

The origins of Goat Cheese Day are unclear. Some sources claim it was launched in 1998 by the French dairy company Bongrain (now Savencia Fromage & Dairy) and the American Cheese Society, while others credit The Green Barn - Isle of Wight Dairy Goat, a family run goat dairy that produces are range of artisan goat’s milk produce, with creating the holiday.

Regardless of who and when created Goat Cheese Day, the main goal of the holiday is crystal clear: it serves to raise awareness of the multitude of goat cheeses produced around the world, their culinary uses and health benefits. You can celebrate this amazing holiday by sampling a variety of goat’s cheeses, cooking with goat cheese, attending a cheese tasting, visiting a local dairy farm to see how goat cheese is made, and spreading the word about the holiday with the hashtags #GoatCheeseDay and #GoatsCheeseDay.