Moist, Fluffy Laychee Melts Nicely On The Tongue

Warm weather always steers me toward light, fresh cheeses, the kind that complement the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers that I live on in summer. A soft, spreadable cheese with garden tomatoes, olives and fresh bread is my perfect lunch.

Currently I'm enamored with Laychee from Boonville's Pennyroyal Farm in Mendocino County, a new venture affiliated with Navarro Vineyards.

Laychee – meaning milk in Boontling, the all-but-extinct local tongue – resembles the rindless, creamy chevre that many American cheesemakers produce and pack in tubs. But Pennyroyal Farm has 26 sheep in addition to its 99 goats, so from early March to September, Laychee is a mixed-milk cheese. The rest of the year, the sheep are not lactating and Laychee is 100 percent goat's milk.

Sheep are stingy milk producers compared with cows or goats, but their milk is exceptionally rich. Even a small percentage of sheep's milk in the blend makes a difference, says cheese maker Erika Scharfen. It contributes a savory note, she finds. To me, the dominant flavor is lemon, which Scharfen says comes largely from the culture she uses.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: San Francisco Chronicle