Hootenanny!

It's so exciting when creameries you love make cheeses you love and then the world recognizes the greatness of both by bestowing a second place prize out of 2,024 other fantastic entrants!

This is exactly what happened with Goat Rodeo Farm & Dairy of Allison Park, Pennsylvania and their Hootenanny goat cheese at the last American Cheese Society conference! Second place! Out of 2,024! It's a pretty big deal.

But back to the cheese. Hootenanny is a goat Gouda style cheese. The texture is perfectly firm and toothsome but melts on the tongue in a super satisfying way. The folks at Goat Rodeo exclusively use spring and summer milk for Hootenanny and that shines through with in the sweet floral notes, light nuttiness and wonderful cream flavor.

For tasting, I gathered several friends and tried out a few pairings. I added a little balsamic to some fig preserves, then I made a strawberry mustard with whole grain mustard and strawberry preserves. I also brought out a fresh tomato and a little sweet piquant pepper.

First, everyone loooooved the cheese. Descriptions like "heaven," "amazing," and "OMG this is my new favorite everything" were tossed about freely. Then we dove into the pairings.

The sweet tart tangy notes of the balsamic and fig spread was the overall winner and gave that perfect pairing experience where 2 flavors create a fantastic and unexpected third flavor. "This is bananas" was a particularly apt description, (although it tasted nothing like bananas). The strawberry mustard was still great and had a number of fans, but wasn't a number one for as many tasters. I'm sorry to say the tomato didn't do much for the cheese and vice versa, but it wasn't bad. The piquant pepper was surprisingly good although a little of the pepper went a long way and balance was key to that pairing.

Overall, this cheese is phenomenal on its own, but also really versatile so pair away! Sweet flavors with a bit of vinegar tanginess and acidity are a great match, but don't be afraid to branch out. Crisp white wines would be a great addition as well!