Garrotxa makes its return to Ann Arbor after a multi-year absence
One of my longtime favorites, this marvelous semi-matured goat cheese from Spain has just come back to town after being gone for the last few years! Full-flavored, but not strong, sort of firm but still creamy on the tongue, Garrotxa (pronounced gah-row-tcha) is one of those cheeses that appeals to almost everyone! Cheese aficionados love it and newcomers who might be anxious about a naturally rinded cheese like this almost always embrace it as well!
A traditional cheese from Catalunya, Garrotxa is rarely seen outside its homeland so that makes me all the happier to have it here in Ann Arbor. In fact, it was pretty much extinct for many centuries up until the early 1980s when a few dedicated cheesemakers decided to revive it. The cheese we have on hand is made by the Formatgeria Sant Gil. Owned by Josep Martí since 1981, a year before we opened the Deli, the dairy is operated in the same house he grew up in! The upper floors of the house were converted into aging rooms. Josep learned how to make cheese from his mother, who still lives in the family home along with Josep’s sister.
Made from the milk of Murcian goats, Garrotxa is aged in natural caves to enhance mold development making for a gray dusty natural rind and some really great flavor. It’s got a firm texture, an ivory interior, and a deep-down, delicious earthy goat flavor. Great with a loaf of warm crusty country bread, a handful of toasted hazelnuts, and a ripe pear, or with Walnut Sage bread. In Catalunya, Garrotxa is commonly served topped with honey, nuts, and dried fruit of all sorts—try it with the sun-dried Kishmish raisins we get from the folks at Ziba in Afghanistan. If you see Concord grapes at the farmers market, their tart-sweet flavors marry beautifully with the milky goatiness of the cheese!
