# Is there only one kind of goat cheese? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-only-one-kind-of-goat-cheese/555175 "2010-09-27T02:54:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-only-one-kind-of-goat-cheese/555175/1 "2010-09-27T02:54:10Z")
My wife just ordered some goat cheese pizza. It got me to thinking, there’s a ton of different ‘cow’ cheeses - chedder, gouda, swiss, etc, etc. Isn’t goat milk and cow milk pretty much the same stuff? Why isn’t there a ton of different goat cheeses? We don’t just order cow cheese pizza. How come there’s just (supposedly) one kind of goat cheese? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-only-one-kind-of-goat-cheese/555175/2 "2010-09-27T03:05:38Z")
I’ve always wondered that myself. It drive me nuts. I mean, at work, when someone asks me for “goat cheese” I just hand them a log of [Chevrie](http://www.igourmet.com/reviews/pwr/product-reviews/Cheese/Canada/p/139-Canadian-Chevre-by-Silver-Goat.html) and they happily take it. But we also carry Monterrey Jack made with goat’s milk and a few others. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-only-one-kind-of-goat-cheese/555175/3 "2010-09-27T03:12:03Z")
I’ve had [goat brie](http://cheese.about.com/b/2008/11/21/cheese-of-the-week-goat-brie.htm), and IMHO it’s very tasty. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-only-one-kind-of-goat-cheese/555175/4 "2010-09-27T03:13:35Z")
There are a lot of different kinds of goat cheeses, ranging from feta through cheeses like Chevrie and even into firm cheeses. I think, when people refer to “goat cheese” they generally are thinking about a soft, white Chevrie-style cheese, and that’s what is usually offered on menus. I think it’s a combination of poor marketing from other goat cheese varieties, ignorance of the existence of other products by consumers and accepted shorthand. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-only-one-kind-of-goat-cheese/555175/5 "2010-09-27T03:27:44Z")
Moving to Cafe Society from GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-only-one-kind-of-goat-cheese/555175/6 "2010-09-27T03:32:22Z")
[nitpick]It’s chèvre.[/nitpick] Yes, there are many different kinds of goat milk cheese, ranging from fresh cheeses like chevre to blue cheese to hard, ripened and aged cheese (you can find goat cheddar if you look for it.) When somebody generically looks for “goat cheese,” I presume them to mean a soft, fresh cheese like chevre. There doesn’t seem to be as much variety in the goat cheeses generally available as there are ewe and cow cheeses. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-only-one-kind-of-goat-cheese/555175/7 "2010-09-27T03:45:43Z")
WAG-goats don’t produce anywhere near as much milk as cows and there is less demand in general for goat milk. Therefore the volume of milk available to produce cheese is less. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-only-one-kind-of-goat-cheese/555175/8 "2010-09-27T10:14:26Z")
Goat milk also has a much different PH and inherent taste than cow’s milk. It’s more acidic and “gamey”. ---
**Author:** ![Short\_Guy\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9adbd/32.png) [@Short\_Guy\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short_Guy_1)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-only-one-kind-of-goat-cheese/555175/9 "2010-09-27T10:41:43Z")
I have to ask: was it _reindeer_ goat cheese pizza?