Monday, October 22, 2012
Health Benefits of Goat Cheese
We all know a good cheese when we taste it. Unfortunately, some of our favorites are often not the healthiest of choices. However, the good news is you can't go wrong with goat cheese!
Lower in cholesterol, sodium, fat, and calories than cow's milk (per 1 oz, goat milk cheeses have 80 calories and 6g of fat versus cow milk cheeses' 100 calories and 10g fat) goat cheese is a great source of calcium and protein. Calcium grams in both the fresh and aged goat cheese is higher than their cow milk cheese counterparts. Calcium has also been shown to aid in the burning of fat, making goat cheese a good metabolism booster. There are 5 grams of protein in one ounce of cheese alone, providing 10% of the recommended daily value. Goat cheese is rich in other nutrients as well, such as phosphorus, vitamin A (nearly 50% more than cow's milk cheese!), Vitamins B-2, B-6, D, and K, niacin, thiamin and potassium among others.
For those that count themselves among the lactose intolerate, goat cheese might be the answer. Despite having similar lactose levels (though still less than cow's milk), the fat molecules in goat cheese are smaller, and therefore easier to digest. Goat cheese also contains some probiotics which are known for aiding in digestion and gastrointestional health.
No matter where you live, both fresh and aged local goat cheeses are always preferable, as they have fewer to no preservatives (Coach's goat cheese is in the "no preservatives" category!)
We know you didn't need any further excuses to enjoy goat cheese, but now you can enjoy it from a most educated standpoint!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Food Network's NYC Wine and Food Festival Recap
This weekend was action packed for us as we were able to step out off the office and off of the farm and immerse ourselves in the Big Apple! October 11th-14th marked the 5th Annual Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival and we participated in two events; "On the Chopping Block: A Roast of Anthony Bourdain" and the "Farm to Table Brunch" hosted by Chef Richard Blais.
"On the Chopping Block: A Roast of Anthony Bourdain" was a who's who of the celebrity chef world, bringing together, among others, Mario Batali, Guy Fieri, Rachael Ray, Eric Ripert, and Ted Allen (along with a handful of comedians assembled by Carolines on Broadway) to celebrate and roast Anthony Bourdain. We were honored to be part of the welcome reception, where guests mingled, chatted and sipped champagne while the sun set over the Hudson River on Pier 60. Below is a photo of our spread, offering two of our fresh goat cheeses (one rolled in pepper and the other in herbs) and our always yummy Triple Cream, which was a big hit with all the guests!
The "Farm to Table Brunch" was also a blast! Hosted by Chef Richard Blais and Whole Foods, we joined other New York businesses and farms to serve up a locavore brunch in the freshest way imaginable. We paired our new reduced fat yogurt with Ola! Granola, fresh berries and our Triple Cream at the yogurt bar, and the results were fantastic!
We can't wait to see what's in store for us next year at the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
The Breed Read: Our French Alpines
At any given time, we have roughly 750 goats living on the farm. They are all French Alpines (sometimes interchangeably referred to as Alpine Dairy Goats) and descend from a line of 22 goats brought into the United States in 1922.
The vast majority of our herd are does. We have 19 bucks for breeding purposes and we kid throughout the year, with an average of 20-50 kids a month depending on the time of year (summer is the slow season). It is not uncommon for twins or triplets to be born, so we frequently have our hands full! At birth, kids are able to walk and weigh on average 6-8lbs. We keep bucks now and then, but most are sold to other breeders and farms as they have sought-after genetics. Unlike other breeds, French Alpines are not bound by color specifications, and subsequently we have many different colored goats on the farm.
Our goats are fed a diet of alfalfa, soybeans, and grains, all of which is grown locally. We fortify their food with vitamins and minerals and have worked diligently to design a blend that is unique to us and is healthiest for our goats.
We milk our goats twice a day, once at 4AM and again at 3PM. Roughly half of our does are actively milked; the others are too young or not lactating. Each goat produces approximately a gallon of milk a day in a total of 10 minutes of active milking. Our system is set up to milk 28 does at a time for a total of 125 does an hour. It takes just over a gallon of milk (1.16 gallons to be precise) to produce one pound of cheese.
Despite such high numbers of goats on the farm, we do take the time to name each one. For the sake of computer records, each goat is also given a number which is displayed on a badged necklace. Our goats however are sometimes cheeky, and have been known to nibble the badges off of other goats.
There is one last thing to know about French Alpine goats. We might be biased, but we think they have the cutest kids! How about you?
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Putting the Extra in Extraordinary
Recently, we teamed up with two New York based food businesses and proved that our cheeses are just as delicious as an ingredient as they are on the cheese board.
Chop't is a salad chain with 19 locations in New York City and Washington DC. The concept is make-your-own, but it's no salad bar. Employees mix together ingredients of your choosing and upon completion, pass the salad along to be finely chopped and dressed.
For those of us that are indecisive with our leafy lunch, there is a preset menu as well as rotating seasonal offerings. This is where Coach Farm came in. The Local Farmstand Cobb salad offered in August and September of this year featured our fresh curd along with heirloom tomatoes, artisanal lettuce, and a sherry shallot vinaigrette.
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