Binnorie Dairy 'Buche de Chevre'

Matured goat log
Goat's milk
Hunter Valley
150g logs
2-3 weeks maturation
www.binnorie.com.au

There are two seasons for goat's milk cheeses - Spring and Autumn. In Spring I prefer the light, fresh curds and lemony fresh chevres, the arrival of which heralds the start of the season for me. But in Autumn, I enjoy more mature styles with stronger flavours and firmer textures that can be lingered over.

Binnorie Dairy
'Buche de Chevre'

Binnorie's 'Buche de Chevre', roughly translated as "goat's log", is a perfect Autumn goat's milk cheese. Cheesemaker, and former microbiologist, Simon Gough sources the milk from a single herd near the cheesery at Pokolbin, in the heart of the Hunter Valley wine region.

The young cheeses are dusted with vine ash before being left to mature for a couple of weeks. During this time, they develop their bloomy white rinds around the outside. The black ash just under the rind makes for a lovely contrast against the stark white of the cheese, which has a firm, chalky centre, and rich, fudgey texture.

If you're lucky enough to get one that is firm right through, without a runny layer beneath the rind (difficult to achieve with matured goat's milk cheeses) slice it into rounds and melt it on top of field mushrooms that have been baked with a splash of red wine, a sprig of fresh thyme and a generous grind of pepper. The complex, nutty flavours of the cheese perfectly complement the earthiness of the mushrooms. Autumn on a plate.