Foods

6 Goat Cheese Benefits That Will Amaze You

People use goat cheese since ages in culinary preparations all over the world. However, its health benefits are not known to many of us. As it had begun to gain popularity that it had lost, one wonders, what is goat cheese? And what are the goat cheese benefits?

What is Goat Cheese?

Goat cheese is the name for a type of cheese made from the goat’s milk. Regarding the fat content, cow’s milk and goat’s milk are almost the same. However, goat’s milk has a higher content of caproic, caprylic and capric acids, which are medium-chain fatty acids.

Goat Cheese nutrition facts

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Goat cheese nutrition facts are just amazing. Here are some nutritional values for the goat cheese. The values are per ounce of goat cheese nutrition.

  • Goat cheese calories: 102
  • Protein-6 gm
  • Fat- 8 gm
  • Vitamin A- 8%
  • Riboflavin- 11%
  • Calcium- 8%
  • Phosphorous- 10%
  • Copper- 8%
  • Iron-3%

Goat cheese also has good amounts of magnesium, selenium and vitamin B3.

Top 6 Amazing Goat Cheese Benefits and Uses

Here are six fantastic goat cheese benefits-

1. Goat cheese provides healthy fats.

The fats in goat’s and cow’s milk are almost similar. However, goat’s milk has more of medium chain fatty acids compared to the cow’s milk. These acids support metabolism and get digested quite easily.

2. It is a good source of protein and calcium

Goat cheese is a dairy product, and like many other dairy products, it contains proper amounts of calcium, which is essential for bone health. Goat cheese benefits concerning calcium are amazing. You can also find protein in great quantity in goat’s cheese. It is an excellent accompaniment to a salad.

3. It benefits as a probiotic

Cheese is a result of a fermentation process carried out on milk. Because of this process, cheeses are often very high on probiotics. And goat’s cheese is no exception to this. Probiotics are essential for the health of the digestive system, immunity boosting and bring down the risk of allergies and inflammations.

4. It supplies the body with minerals and vitamins.

Goat cheese benefits also provide us with copper, phosphorous and vitamin B group. It also gives us some iron. These minerals are vital for bone and skeletal system health and absorption of certain nutrients.

5. It is more accessible to digest

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6. Goat cheese contains few calories

Goat cheese calories count compared to the cow’s cheese, is lesser. It may make it a healthier snack compared to cow’s cheese.

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How does the goat cheese taste?

Goat cheese taste is peculiarly tart or earthy because of the presence of caproic, caprylic and capric acids, that are the medium-chain fatty acids, in it.

How to make goat cheese?

Goat cheese gets prepared since ages in various parts of the world. You can regard it as one of the earliest-produced dairy products. There are several methods by which one can make goat cheese.

  • The most basic and simplest way is to allow goat’s milk to curdle naturally and then the curds are drained and pressed to obtain the cheese.
  • Another technique is to use an acidic substance like lemon juice or vinegar to curdle the milk and then drain the curdled milk and press the curds to obtain cheese.
  • One more technique to obtain goat’s cheese is to add rennet (rennet is a set of enzymes derived from ruminant mammals’ digestive system) to thicken the milk to form cheese.
  • Another method to obtain soft goat cheese is by hanging curds in cheesecloth for several days in warm kitchens to drain and cure.

What is vegan goat cheese?

There is no such thing as vegan goat cheese. Vegan is a term used for those products which do not contain any animal products. We can obtain goat cheese from goat’s milk. It, therefore, cannot be considered as a vegan. Vegan goat cheese does not exist.

Goat cheese recipes

Here are a few delicious goat cheese recipes which are sure to make your day. One can obtain goat cheese benefits from all of these recipes.

1. Fried goat cheese

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Ingredients

  • Goat cheese
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Flour and some eggs

Procedure

  • Keep goat cheese in the freezer for 15 min to firm it up. Slice it evenly and keep aside
  • In separate bowls take some breadcrumbs, some flour and some eggs mixed with little water
  • Dip a cheese slice first in flour and coat it properly
  • Next, dip it into the egg mixture and coat again
  • Lastly, dip in the breadcrumbs and coat very well
  • Heat enough oil in a frying pan
  • Lower the coated goat cheese slices one by one and fry till they are crisp and nicely golden
  • Serve with some ketchup or a dip of your choice

2. Baked goat cheese

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Ingredients

  • ½ cup sliced onion
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • One garlic clove
  • One tbsp. of chopped fresh thyme
  • One tbsp.of rosemary
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes and salt

Procedure

  • Keep the goat cheese in the freezer before slicing
  • Heat the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Mix all the ingredients
  • Spread half of this mixture evenly onto the baking dish
  • Cut goat cheese into even slices and layer evenly on top of the mixture
  • Layer the remaining mixture over the slices
  • Bake for 15-20 min or until the cheese is adequately heated and aroma starts coming.
  • Serve with bread

3. Whipped goat cheese

Ingredients

  • Eleven ounces of goat cheese
  • Three tbsp. whipped cream cheese
  • Two garlic cloves
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes
  • Lemon zest
  • One tsp fresh thyme leaves

Procedure

  • In a blender, mix all the ingredients
  • Whip all these together until smooth
  • Add pepper and salt to taste
  • Serve with bread

Precautions and side effects

Most people safely tolerate goat cheese. However, some things have to be kept in mind.

  • Goat cheese is lower in calories when compared with cow cheese. But otherwise, the calorie content is high when compared to other foods. Weight-watchers must keep this in mind
  • Goat cheese is a bit higher in saturated fats. Though saturated fats are not as bad as the notoriety they get, they are still best consumed responsibly

Goat cheese(1) benefits are incredibly healthy and full of nutrients. It is a good substitute for cow’s cheese as it has additional nutrients as compared to the later one. Also, it seems to be more well-tolerated in many people, compared to the cow cheese. It can be included easily in the daily recipes to make them tasty as well as healthy.

FAQs

1. Is goat cheese better than cow cheese?

Goat cheese has better nutritional values when compared to cow cheese. However, cow cheese is quite beneficial too. Goat cheese is indeed a healthier option than cow cheese.

2. Is goat cheese good for health?

Goat cheese has numerous health benefits when consumed responsibly. It is suitable for overall health.

3. Can vegans have goat cheese?

Vegan is a term necessarily used for those who do not use or consume animal products. We get goat cheese from goat’s milk, and it is indeed an animal product. Hence, vegans cannot have goat cheese.