# Substitute fo Goat Cheese



## scottintexas

I have a recipe for shredded chicken stuffed pablano peppers that calls for goat cheese. I can't stand goat cheese. It tastes like the smell of goat sweat. What cheese could be a substitute without overpowering the other tastes involved?  Thanks again everyone.


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## gidsmama

Hi,I have come across some good suggestions to replace goat cheese (with you on it, can't stand it!!)  I've heard you can't replace the "flavor" of goat cheese, but you can at least get texture and similar bite.  A good french Feta that has been soaked in either water or milk to remove the salt works well, dry curd cottage cheese, ricotta, farmer's cheese and this next bit I copied and pasted as I heard it works very very well as a substitute for goat cheese

For fresh goat cheese, drained plain yogurt ("yogurt cheese") crumbles nicely into unheated applications.

My method, which yields a fairly firm texture, is:
1. Line a fine-mesh strainer with a paper towel. Place over measuring cup.
2. Mix yogurt with a tiny bit of salt, herbs, etc. Dump into strainer- don't fill all the "whey" to the top. (oh dear- that was a terrible pun, wasn't it? 
3. Fold paper towel over the yogurt to cover completely.
4. Weight down with a clean can if desired (a tomato paste can is my usual go-to) Leave in fridge for at least 24 hours, up to 3 days.

It actually unmolds into a pretty little half-dome. I've only used low-fat yogurt in this application- suspect it would work fine with full-fat yogurt, but am unsure if non-fat yogurt would work.

I've used this swap lots of time for people who are averse to that "goat-y tang" . Hope this helps!

Good luck!


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## catt

How about pepperjack cheese or Mexican Cotija or Queso Fresco.


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## gunnar

GidsMama said:


> Hi,I have come across some good suggestions to replace goat cheese (with you on it, can't stand it!!) I've heard you can't replace the "flavor" of goat cheese, but you can at least get texture and similar bite. A good french Feta that has been soaked in either water or milk to remove the salt works well, dry curd cottage cheese, ricotta, farmer's cheese and this next bit I copied and pasted as I heard it works very very well as a substitute for goat cheese
> 
> For fresh goat cheese, drained plain yogurt ("yogurt cheese") crumbles nicely into unheated applications.
> 
> My method, which yields a fairly firm texture, is:
> 1. Line a fine-mesh strainer with a paper towel. Place over measuring cup.
> 2. Mix yogurt with a tiny bit of salt, herbs, etc. Dump into strainer- don't fill all the "whey" to the top. (oh dear- that was a terrible pun, wasn't it?
> 3. Fold paper towel over the yogurt to cover completely.
> 4. Weight down with a clean can if desired (a tomato paste can is my usual go-to) Leave in fridge for at least 24 hours, up to 3 days.
> 
> It actually unmolds into a pretty little half-dome. I've only used low-fat yogurt in this application- suspect it would work fine with full-fat yogurt, but am unsure if non-fat yogurt would work.
> 
> I've used this swap lots of time for people who are averse to that "goat-y tang" . Hope this helps!
> 
> Good luck!


IIRC this is the basic Labna or Israeli Yogurt cheese


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## gidsmama

thanks! I wasn't sure the actual term for it, I had a friend send it to me from another site and heard it makes a good substitute but have never tried, have you?


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## koukouvagia

I substitute goat cheese all the time because I'm not a huge fan of it either.  I use either ricotta, cream cheese, or even mascarpone.  Cottage cheese would probably work well too but I don't like it.


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## gunnar

have a batch in my frig' right now. Course we like goat cheese (we raise dairy goats) and this was a goat milk yogurt. The fun thing is you can change the texture depending on how long you strain it. The longer it's hung, the drier it gets and the more individual the curds look. Cause my wife spreads it on rice crackers I didn't strain this one more then over night so it has a more cream cheese texture, very smooth and sticky. Almost any plain yogurt should work.


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## chrisbelgium

Scott, if your dish has to go in the oven, just replace the cheese by grated Gruyère, Emmenthaler, Parmezan etc.

Pecorino and manchego are out.

You can send all your goatcheeses to me, no problema!

@Gunnar & Gidsmama; you can also put some sugar in hung yoghurt and use it in desserts!


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## scottintexas

Thanks all of you for your input. I like the idea of using pepper jack because it will maintain the Southwest genre. I think that's what I'll try first. I can't send you my goat cheese because I sold my goats!


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## villainesse

For a Mexican style recipe, pepper jack would work OK, or even better, one of the soft cheeses you can buy at mexican food stores in my Californian town, and I'm sure anywhere in Texas should work better. Maybe add a little lime juice to make it more interesting?

As someone who raised goats for years and still hates goat cheese, (actually the milk too, though icecream hid the objectionable flavor) GidsMama's yogurt cheese seems like a great idea that I will soon try for other cuisines.

As far as the fat content, 2% is probably best, as that is around what is usually in whole goat's milk in the first place. It would make the closest substitute.

BTW, the does do not smell at all like their milk, or more intensely, their cheese tastes, and the young meat is very tasty, so I don't think the questioner knows goat's sweat so well. The intact bucks though, are some of the stinkiest in the animal kingdom from the scent glands near their horns, not their sweat. The does go a bit crazy when they smell them, or if you don't have bucks, a rag rubbed on his head and sealed very tightly in a jar and only brought out to discover if your doe is truly in heat before you load her up for a conjugal visit. You'd better have a few acres if you want to keep any breeders without smelling them. But luckily bucks have little to do with milk production once they've had their 'fling'.


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