Gourmet taste and allergic reactions fuel booming sales of goat's cheese

Once, its pungent smell and coarse texture appealed to only a select and rather sparse breed of gastronome, but now restaurants overflow with its varieties. And the growing demand for goat's cheese, in all its aromatic glory, appears to have prompted a transformation of the agricultural landscape of Britain.

Once, its pungent smell and coarse texture appealed to only a select and rather sparse breed of gastronome, but now restaurants overflow with its varieties. And the growing demand for goat's cheese, in all its aromatic glory, appears to have prompted a transformation of the agricultural landscape of Britain.

Yesterday, it emerged that goat farming, worth an estimated £13.7m, is booming, with record levels of the animals being farmed in Britain. The number of goats on farms has risen to an estimated 88,000 compared with 75,000 three years ago, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

As well as proving popular in restaurants and domestic dishes, the growing number of lactose-intolerant consumers is also thought to have contributed to the growth of the goat-farming market.

"There is definitely a clear increase in the number of goat farmers," said Emma Rutter, dairy adviser at the National Farmers' Union. "It's creating a new market rather than taking away from other markets and it's a trend that appears set to stay. It's another example of British farmers looking at what consumers really seem to want and setting about providing it."

From small artisan cheese shops to larger supermarkets, the surge in demand for a growing number of goat's cheese products has been felt across the spectrum. For Owen Baily, cheesemonger at Neal's Yard Dairy in London, the rise of the discerning food lover had resulted in a clear rise in interest in specialist cheeses.

"It's a very healthy economic climate at the moment for cheese sales and goat's cheese in particular," he said. "Goat's cheeses are generally made by small producers which involves more care and tends to be a bit more expensive because of that. Part of the reason may be because there has been a general increase in awareness and interest in fine food in general."

At the other end of the scale, Tesco supermarket reported yesterday that goat's cheese sales had increased by 52 per cent over the past three years, prompting the planned launch of several new products.

"British tastes have been changing and stronger flavours are becoming very popular," said Mike Seymour, cheese spokesman for the supermarket. "Back in the 1990s only absolute gourmets wanted to know about goat's cheese but over the past five years, UK goat-farming methods have improved, which has led to better quality milk and cheese." Among the goat farmers in Britain who have been reaping the benefits of an apparent refinement of the nation's tastebuds are Tom Wallis and his wife Tricia. It was the discovery of lactose intolerance in the family that prompted Mr Wallis, 56, to set up his goat farm in Raywell, East Yorkshire, eight years ago with little more than six goats. Today, it is home to 41 adult goats and 20 kids, and supplies an array of goat-related products to restaurants, hotels and farmers markets across the country.

Its award-winning products include Rowley Round, a soft fresh cheese, as well as the hard cheese Wadby, which won a bronze award at Olympia's World Cheese Awards. Its success has also prompted Mr Wallis and his wife to branch out into making ice-creams - including apricot-brandy flavour - as well as an array of cheeses, milk and yoghurts.

"We can't keep up with the demand," said Mr Wallis. "In the early days, I was making about 30 litres a week and now we're up to between 400 and 600 litres a week. The reason it's become so popular is because, obviously, it tastes very nice. But there's also a tremendous amount of people who cannot have cow's milk, which could also account for its popularity."

Other industry insiders attributed the growth in the market to another modern-day phenomenon - celebrity endorsement. Christina Basker-ville, of Lubborn Creamery in Somerset, which has been experiencing annual growth of 20 per cent, said: "Goat's cheese has been made very popular by celebrity chefs such as Delia Smith and Lesley Waters because it's so versatile. It is also on the menus of top restaurants and used a lot in recipes in food magazines which has made it very fashionable."

A spokeswoman for Defra also suggested that improvements in monitoring the goat population may also be a factor in the rise. "There may well be more goats in the figures," she said, "but this could be due to the means of tracking and tagging goats having improved."

FOOD OF THE GODS

* Pharaoh Tutankhamun, the ancient Egyptian ruler, reportedly ordered 22 containers of his favourite goat cheese to be placed in his burial chamber - some was for him while he waited to go to heaven, the rest was a gift for the gods.

* A goat can produce nine litres of milk every day and its fat globules are smaller than those in cow's milk, making it easier to digest.

* Up to 30 per cent of cheese in Spain contains varying amounts of goat's milk.

* The first recorded she-goat was Amalthea, who according to Greek mythology, was rewarded with her own constellation for suckling Zeus.

* The difference in flavour of goat's cheese is due to the diet of the individual herds - hence the same recipe for the product in Canada, Britain and Spain will taste differently in all three countries.

* Canadian goat cheeses are creamy in texture and less pungent than their French-made counterparts, which are more deeply flavoured.

* Goats most commonly have twins rather than single kids and both the males and females of the species can have beards.