I have been reading a lot of recipe blogs that put goat cheese in their salads. What the heck is goat cheese? And does it taste like goats?

I always thought goats milk tastes like a barnyard smells.

I think goat cheese tastes like barnyard smells!!! I do not like it at all!

I love goat and sheep milk cheeses, but just like cows' milk cheeses the flavor varies according to the cheese variety. Some (usually the young, cream cheese types, as well as some of the hard and semi-hard cheeses) are very mild and taste like just like cows' milk or butter, and others are aged and taste like, well like the unique cheeses they are. Some are sharp, to varying degrees, like cheddar and swiss. The "moldy" ones (like blue, roquefort and gorgonzola) are slightly bitter. The very aged ones have a funky, "foot" smell and a complex flavor (smelly cheeses always taste better than they smell - at least to people who love them). There are some that are nutty like the grating cheeses (romano, parmesan, asiago) and the carbon dioxide producing ones (the "holey" cheeses like swiss).

The only way to tell if you like any cheese is to taste it. Which can be intimidating with the prices of some cheeses. Anywhere they sell cheese by the pound,cut to order, you can often ask to sample a cheese before buying.

And if you ever get a chance to visit a shop that makes their own cheeses, it's a fantastic experience. In Wisconsin, there are tons of small and medium sized cheesemakers that are so fun to visit. You can see the cheeses being made and sample the cheeses. Often you can get cheesecurds warm and freshly salted (I thought my husband was a little crazy, with his love of cheese curds, until I tasted them still warm from the vat - they taste buttery and "squeak" between your teeth).

i love love love goat cheese. i love it so much i have to stay away from it. But in moderation it is great couse it has a lower fat content the cow cheese.

The taste might be different a first. but trust me it is so creamy and delisous i use it insted of cream cheese on a bagel, in salads and crackers and my favorite snack is goat cheese on a raw red pepper!

remember thier are all different type of goat cheese so if one is too stong ask the person at the cheese shop or counter to sugest a milder goat cheese

Just yesterday I made a pasta dish with goat cheese and spinach. It was good, but I made sure to choose a mild tasting goat cheese. The stronger goat cheeses have too much of that barnyard smell.

What like Goat Cheese Crumbles? Isn't that just Feta? (I'm a huge fan of feta...and put it in my salads all the time.)

I think feta is mostly sheep's milk with some goat's milk in it. And in the U.S. apparently it is sometimes made with cow's milk. I love feta too, though, so I don't care what animal it comes from.

I love goat cheese, especially in spinach salads with like some avocado, tomato, onion and oil & vinegar.

Edit: Feta and goat cheese arent the same thing... goat cheese is milder, I think. Though I love feta too.

I've used both goat cheese and feta cheese crumbles in salad. Delish!

Goat cheese is smooth and creamy with a little bit of tanginess.

Southbeach has a marvelous recipe for Spinach and Goat Cheese stufffed chicken. Oh my, Oh my! It is absolutely delicious!

I love goat cheese and spinach together. Rhonda, could you post the recipe? Sounds like others here might like it too.

On the Food Network (I think it was the show "Food Finds") they featured a lady who raises goats and makes gourmet cheeses and icecream from goats milk. One of the icecream flavors is goat cheese, and apparently is rather cheesecake-like in flavor. Everyone tasting it, even the kids (um, maybe in this case, I should clarify - children) seemed to like it.

Thanks for all the info. So I think I would be more likely to enjoy a very mild, non-goat flavored goat cheese. Probably the soft variety. Can anyone suggest a certain type or brand to try that is mild and creamy?

I like goat cheese. I slice it into disks and lightly pan fry on each side. Yum! It's good on salads, but I also like to spread it onto crackers as well.

I just love cheese in general.

I can't say that I've ever had a cheese that smelled or tasted like the animal (or the barnyard, for that matter).

Although Andrew Zimmern (the Bizarre Foods Guy) says he can taste, in the cheese (or in the meat, for that matter) what the critter ate.