Cheese Profile: Green Peppercorn Goat Capricho

-Capricho is one of the cheeses that's all the sudden becoming hip and cool. You want to be cool, right?-

"Ooh, I'm going to pick this one! It kinda matches the colors of the walls in the living room."

BF looked at me, smiled and shrugged, "Guess it's as good a reason as any."

Yes, I chose this cheese because of its grassy, pea green color. And it does match my lemongrass painted walls. It might be one of the sillier reasons to select a cheese. Heck, I didn't even try it first, it was totally impulsive, but lucky for me this Scovillesque cheese is delightful, both as a snack or on any cheese plate. It was a reason that ended up being appropriate enough to acquire a winning cheese.

-Yes, do serve it with pistachios and a dry white wine. You'll thank me later.-

Capricho usually refers to a type of Spanish cheese, most often made from goat milk, that's been cured into snow white logs of silky cheese that's only slightly more solid than chevre. This particular one, imported by the European fine produce company, Mitica, is growing in popularity and has become one of the more fashionable cheeses due to its cool pistachio color and wide appealing palatability.

While most Capricho is plain this one's verdant hue is attributed to crushed green peppercorns. Green peppercorns are immature berries of black pepper that have been picked early and cured so they can retain their flavor and color. Often used for fish and poultry green peppercorns give this cheese a piquant, almost arugula-like aroma that swirls in with the faint, goaty musk creating an overall bright and green scent. It's astonishingly addictive and you may easily find yourself sniffing thus cheese for a good ten minutes as I did.

-Crushed green peppercorn crust.-

Green pepper is a bit hotter than black pepper so the cheese takes on a peppery fresh taste. The milk itself during its curing and acidification has become slightly salty, quite fatty (resulting in a dreamy mouthfeel), and soft in texture. I find it best to take a knife and blend and swirl the rind and body together in a bowl creating an appearance that reminds me of grass covered cliffs running through snowy peaks. This way when you spread it over bread or crackers you get the full taste of the cheese and peppercorns together for a burst of effervescent flavor. Wine wise, it works well with anything dry, though I find whites to be better over reds in this case.

If anything, it's a cheese that teaches you that impulse can be a good thing when it comes to food. It makes eating adventurous and you may well find yourself pleasantly surprised.

-I also pick my wines to match my throw pillows.-