Cavatina is a log-shaped ash-covered goat’s milk cheese from Andante Dairy by Soyoung Scanlon - dairy scientist, music lover, and biochemist.
Inspired by the French Goat's Milk Cheese Saint Maure de Touraine, Cavatina is light and fluffy with a wrinkly rind and a light ash dusting.
It has the shape of a small log of goat cheese that has been covered in vegetable ashes, both in its shape and in the formation of the rind with all the appearance of the classic French goat cheese.
Cavatina is a soft, matured cheese made from pasteurized goat's milk. It has a soft, milky and clean flavor, reminiscent of butter with a slightly acidic and salty finish.
The rind is grey, covered with edible charcoal and slightly wrinkled, beneath which lies a creamy white paste with a silky texture, slightly flaky in younger ones.
When the cheese is aged, the rind starts showing wrinkles as the inside gets softer. I love to watch the cheese being aged. The taste gains pungency and depth as any well-made fermented food ages.
Delicious with fruit, dry or fresh - pears, walnuts, plums, figs.
It can also be served on a mixed board or with crusty bread and tomatoes.
In soups and sauces it brings a new and interesting flavor.
Surprisingly, when the cheese is heated, its goat flavor tends to be reduced.
The cheese can be kept for one to three weeks depending on the age. If it is cold or dry, keep it cold. If it needs to be aged, place it under a glass cover at room temperature.
The Cavatina is another creation of Soyoung Scanlan, cheesemaker and owner of Andante Dairy, located in Petaluma, California.
Cavatina is a log-shaped ash-covered goat’s milk cheese originally made for Chef Corey Lee when he was a chef de cuisine at the French Laundry.
Most cheeses were round and flat, and Soyoung wanted to offer him something he could cut geometrically. The log shape has an oval cut surface, and could give him the freedom to work on the shape.
Soyoung asked him to find the name since it was made for him so, at the meeting after the service, he asked a few young chefs the suggestions, and one chef came up with “Cavatina”. It’s a lyrical song in music, and the most famous piece is the guitar music used for the movie ‘deer hunter’.
Very gentle and a narrative song was suitable for what the cheese reflects.
Milk | Goat |
---|---|
Texture | Semi-Soft |
Country | United States |
Fat | 45% |