Years ago, while I was in France on an exchange, my hostess Sylvette served me a steak. She waited until I'd eaten every bite, then triumphantly declared that I had just eaten horsemeat. I was furious at her food trickery - and especially at her delight. Yet I must admit that sneakily getting goat cheese naysayers to eat (and like) goat cheese makes me equally gleeful.
Created 12 years ago by Fritz Kaiser, Le Tomme Haut Richelieu was an invention of necessity. The fromagerie had received more goat's milk than it needed to make its soft cheese Chevrochon. Wanting to preserve the milk by making a cheese that would have a longer shelf life, they made a goat's milk version of their semi-soft cow's milk cheese Noyan.
The result was Le Tomme Haut-Richelieu, which has a thin, smooth washed rind in shades of pale orange, covered in a thin white mould. The paste starts off with soft beige tones at the edge of the wheel and becomes creamy white through the middle. The aroma has an earthy dampness that is sweet and clean, like a fresh field.
The rind has a mineral quality - imagine sucking on a pebble when you were a kid - which is mild and pleasant. The paste is mellow but flavourful, with subtle tangy goat character, a slight barny quality and a rounded, rich finish.
The texture is as addictive as the taste - melt-in-the mouth. This smoothness is a quality of goat's milk, which has smaller fat molecules than cow's milk. These tiny molecules cannot be detected on the tongue and thus create a silky texture.
"Goat milk is very fragile," says Mr. Kaiser. "You must treat it like a baby."
Mr. Kaiser has been making cheese in Quebec since 1981. He now makes almost 20 and his recipes are almost foolproof. Much of the labour is still done by hand and the cheeses are aged on wooden planks. With 30 years' experience, creating a new cheese has become easier, he says, but adds that "if a cheese maker ever says they've finished learning they shouldn't exist."
For Mr. Kaiser, cheese making is like college: four years studying and a lifetime of learning.
The goat's milk sneak attack is easily devised if you employ an arsenal of Mr. Kaiser's cheeses. Your soon-to-be-converts will let their guard down by first enjoying the cow's milk Noyan. Then, set them up with the "gateway goat" La Tomme de Monsieur Séguin, a cheese based on the Noyan recipe but actually a mixture of cow's and goat's milk. They'll be putty in your hands by the time you hit them with the Tomme Haut-Richelieu.
So be brave, caprine-ophobes, it's time to give in and get your goat.
On the block
Cheese: Le Tomme Haut-Richelieu
Origin: Noyan, Que.
Producer: Fromagerie Fritz Kaiser
Cheese maker: Fritz Kaiser
Milk: pasteurized goat
Type: semi-soft, exterior ripened, washed rind
Shape: 2.2-kilogram wheel
Distributor : Fromages CDA, Provincial Fine Foods, Glen Echo Fine Foods, Disley Food Services
Availability:
Quebec: Metro, Fromagerie Hamel, Fromagerie des Nations
Ontario:
Toronto: Cheese Boutique, A Taste of Quebec, Pusateri's
Vancouver: Les Amis du Fromage
Victoria: Ottavio
Manitoba:
Winnipeg: De Luca Specialty Food
Sue Riedl studied at the Cordon Bleu in London.
Sue Riedl