Gaga over goat cheese

Glinda Wolverton, of Columbia cuddles with Sugar Bear, one of her milking goats. (Maggie Beck/Union Democrat)

If you are Glinda Wolverton, of Columbia, the answer is a resounding, yes.

Fromage, cheddar, ricotta, chevre and mozzarella are some of the goat cheese blends Wolverton, along with her husband, Brian, and daughter, Tessa, make, using milk provided by the goats who live on the family farm.

“There is a certain satisfaction that comes from being part of the process,” said Brian Wolverton. “It is an unexpected pleasure.”

Tessa, 16, who grew up drinking goat milk and eating goat cheese, agrees with her father.

    “I prefer it. It tastes better and I know where it comes from,” she said. “Our goats are fed really well.”

    “All my kids are healthy and strong,” added Glinda Wolverton.

    The Wolvertons, in addition to Tessa, have two other children, Dylan and Eli, who are grown and living on their own.

    Raising goats for their milk and their meat is just part of the family’s contribution to sustainability by being environmentally conscious and eating healthy.

 “We drink goat’s milk raw because you get the natural enzymes that way,” said Glinda Wolverton, a registered nurse in the cardiac rehab department at Sonora Regional Medical Center. “Making good cheese, you have to keep it clean. I use all stainless steel pans and jugs.”

    She said there are many misconceptions about the way goat’s milk and cheese taste.

    “If it’s goaty tasting, your milk is dirty and your goats are eating weeds,” she said. “Our goats eat mostly alfalfa.”

    Goat cheese has about half the fat of milk from cows, said Wolverton, who tries to keep the family’s diet as organic as possible.

    “We grow a lot of our own food. I can tomatoes. We have two gardens. I get grass-fed beef from my brother,” she explained. “It’s important to us to know where our food comes from.”

    The Wolvertons have raised goats since the 1980s, but the cheese making didn’t come about until five years ago.

    Using a book, “Cheese Making Made Easy,” by Ricki and Robert Carroll, Glinda Wolverton taught herself to make goat cheese and buys the products she needs out of catalogs.

    “It’s a lot more economical to make goat cheese than it is to buy it,” she said.

    In addition to being less expensive, making homemade goat cheese is something she feels good about.

    “To me it’s creating something, it’s back to the land,” she explained. “Not only that. It’s really fun, and if I can make goat cheese anyone can.”
   
    Contact Rebecca Howes at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 588-4540