Grow Local: The Reynolds Barn Goat Cheese

There have been cute goats at pretty farms in Rhode Island for years, but we food lovers haven't benefitted at all from this. Until now.

The Reynolds Barn, tucked away right where Route 1 meets the beginning of Route 4 in North Kingstown, has recently been granted permission by RI to sell dairy products. Lucky for us, the Reynolds family, who've raised goats at their home for almost 20 years, are now making and selling goat cheese. It's the first local goat cheese in Rhode Island.

A Family Affair

Like many local farms, this is a family business.  All the Reynolds: parents Melody and Don and children Miriah, Holden and Hudson, participates in raising the goats and making the cheeses.

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I met with Melody at the farm last week where she walked me around the paddock and introduced me to their Alpine and Saanen goats, including a new little fellow that was only two days old. The goats spend their day out in the very expansive and yummy shrubbery-filled paddock. They’re milked twice a day, completely by hand, and combined produce about 22 gallons of milk each day.  Most of that is turned into cheese, though the Reynolds also produce some quality Goat Milk Soaps.

Delicious, Fresh Cheese

The Reynolds Barn goat cheeses are sold in small plastic containers and are very light and moist, best used as a spread. Along with their Plain Goat Cheese they sell four other cheeses with additional flavors mixed in: Garlic, Horseradish, Sun Dried Tomato and Blazin’ Pepper. The best way to get some Reynolds Barn Goat Cheese is to find them at a farmers market, and if you visit them at the Coastal Growers Market this year, at Casey Farm during the summer and then the Lafayette Mill during the winter, you’ll get to watch two of their newest goats grow up. The pair are currently three months old and will be at Coastal Growers through their first year to show people the progression from kid to milk producer.

In addition to farmers markets, you can find Reynolds Barn Goat Cheeses at Dave’s Marketplace, Whole Foods, East Side Marketplace in Providence, The Green Grocer in Portsmouth and Sandy’s Fine Food Emporium in Westerly. I put together a sandwich with the Horseradish Goat Cheese that was just perfect. If you have a chance to make your own roast beef from a local beef producer, you could put together a local sandwich with Reynolds Barn Goat Cheese, Seven Stars sourdough, Arcadian Fields arugula and Maine sea salt. Local and delicious!

Horseradish Goat Cheese Roast Beef Sandwich

Ingredients

Two slices sourdough bread

Reynolds Barn Horseradish Goat Cheese

¼ lb. thin sliced medium-rare roast beef

Handful arugula

Salt 

Procedure

Spread onto one or both pieces (depending on your tastes) of the Horseradish Goat Cheese on one side of your sourdough bread. Salt the roast beef to taste and pile the beef and arugula between the two slices of bread. 

The Reynolds Barn, 294-6972, www.reynoldsbarn.webs.com. To order soaps and other products, go here.

Photos David Dadekian