Provence Day Two: Goat Cheese Farm Lunch

Goat Farm

After walking through Buoux, we were treated to a picnic lunch at a goat farm, courtesy of our tour manager Penny Macnamara. We had salads, meats, chicken, bread, and a large selection of cheeses.

We sat outside in the middle of the goat farmyard. The picture above shows the watering troughs for 250 goats. After lunch, we got to enjoy a tour of the farm. The 250 goats were all out in the field with their shepherd when we visited the farm. But every morning and every evening, all them must be milked. There is a special area where the goats are shepherd onto a platform where they are then milked with mechanical milkers.

Goat Cheese

The goat milk is transferred immediately from the milking area to refrigerators in the production area (both areas are in the same building). The goat cheese is put through a series of strainers to remove water. Water from each of the rows is allowed to flow through holes to the bottom of the entire tray system. The final stage is shown in the picture above, but the process only takes only two days. The result is a creamy and rich goat cheese. To produce a firmer goat cheese, it must be aged for a longer time.