After decades of effort by U.S. creameries, “American cheese” is no longer a laugh line. Consumers know that our country produces many exceptional cheeses that rival those from Europe. But these days it’s not always clear what “American cheese” means. If a fresh goat cheese is made in California with frozen curd from Spain, is it still American? Is it even, to be perfectly literal, fresh cheese?
A domestic shortage of goat’s milk is sending more creameries abroad for frozen goat curd—the tofu-like solids that coalesce in cultured milk. But some observers are questioning whether the cheese made with it is truly American.
“If you import curd from Denmark, it’s no longer an American cheese,” says Judy Schad, founder of Capriole Goat Cheese in Indiana. “All you’re doing is repackaging it. It’s like stores that say, ‘We make our own mozzarella.’ No, they don’t. They get Polly-O curd in a bucket, heat it and stretch it.”
Using frozen curd is not a new practice and certainly not limited to the U.S. French cheesemakers have long done so, says Harry Kahn, general manager of Vermont Creamery. Freezing curd helps balance dairy goats’ dramatically fluctuating output. Most breeds produce a flood of milk in spring and summer but much less so in fall when creameries are ramping up for holiday sales. “It’s understandable why some cheesemakers would freeze curd,” says Kahn, “but it’s not ideal for quality.”
American manufacturers have imported frozen goat curd in the past—Schad says she remembers one producer doing so decades ago—but observers say the practice is growing and, ironically, exacerbating the milk shortage.
Vermont Creamery’s “Everything” goat cheese
For the most part, frozen curd isn’t destined to become aged cheese like goat Gouda or Cheddar. Its potential is pretty much limited to rindless chèvre, perhaps flavored with honey, herbes de Provence or truffle to enhance its appeal. Large domestic goat cheese producers like Laura Chenel, Montchèvre and Vermont Creamery have ramped up their selection of flavored goat logs in recent years and, possibly, the development of this niche has sent some producers scrambling for curd.
USDA data on goat curd imports is hard to come by, but industry players acknowledge its use. Christy Kattab, sales and marketing director for California’s Cypress Grove Cheese, says the company supplements its own milk with imported curd “to meet the year-round demand for our beloved products.” Kahn says Vermont Creamery uses frozen curd from Europe “sparingly” in its flavored logs. “When it comes to the plain chèvre, we try to use our fresh milk,” says Kahn.
Goat cheese lags far behind cow’s milk cheese on American tables but demand is climbing, spurred in part by claims that it’s more healthful and easier to digest. Still, the growing appetite for goat cheese is only one contributor to the milk shortage. Small-scale goat dairying is a barely sustainable enterprise, says Schad, who spelled out the grim reality in a recent blog post on“The Real Cost of Goat Cheese.” The high costs and small margins would likely discourage many from entering the business.
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Pet food companies and skin-care manufacturers are also snatching up a lot of goat’s milk, says Mike Koch, co-owner of Firefly Farms in Maryland, an award-winning goat cheese producer. Koch said some of his longtime milk suppliers told him last fall that they were getting better offers from a pet food manufacturer. Heading into the fourth quarter, his creamery’s biggest season, he struggled to replace the lost milk.
Yet another phenomenon soaking up goat’s milk: energy drinks. Sales of protein powder from goat whey are spiking, says one industry consultant who declined to be named.
Even before the current goat milk shortage, some creameries were importing curd and angering dairy farmers, who viewed the practice as a cost-cutting measure. “The problem with frozen curd is that it depresses the price of goat’s milk,” says Veronica Pedraza, cheesemaker at Wisconsin’s Blakesville Creamery. “Producers know they can buy frozen curd cheaper so there’s no incentive to milk goats.”
Importing frozen curd can help U.S. creameries meet demand and build the domestic audience for goat cheese, argues Kahn. “But it’s not the forever solution,” he admits. Vermont Creamery, which buys most of the goat’s milk produced in the state, is working with its suppliers to improve their herds and boost low-season milk supply, says Kahn.
In the meantime, cheese professionals are grappling with how to categorize these hybrid cheeses. Are they American? Do they belong in American cheese competitions? “I think it’s disingenuous to say you’re making American cheese when the main ingredient doesn’t even come from here,” says Pedraza, the Wisconsin cheesemaker.
The annual American Cheese Society judging, the nation’s most prestigious cheese contest, requires that entries be made with milk from the Americas. A goat cheese made with frozen curd from Europe would be ineligible. “We take cheesemakers at their word,” says immediate past judging chair Rachel Perez. But with use of imported curd purportedly on the rise, Perez says that next year’s entry form will require entrants to affirm that their cheese complies.
If a restaurant made orange juice from frozen Chinese concentrate and sold it as fresh, many diners would consider that deceptive. Perhaps it’s time for manufacturers who use imported frozen curd to disclose that fact on the label.
Labeling won’t solve the milk shortage, but it may help shoppers understand why Capriole’s goat log is two to three times the price of a similar-sized item at Walmart. “Behind every American cheesemaker should be an American farmer,” says Koch, a vision that may no longer fully reflect the facts.