In certain ways the zodiac is a little unhinged. Aquarius is an air sign, not a water one, despite being the water-bearer. Filled with personality, 11 out of 12 signs are animate, and then there’s Libra, the scales. But even Libra is at least a real thing, among the other actual animals and human characters, whereas Capricorn is a mythical sea goat, which is also, by the way, an earth sign; the most grounded, despite being a fictional sea creature. Where’s the sense in any of it? But then again, who said interpreting the stars was any kind of science?
Despite its random acts of randomness, the zodiac does have one major gift where celestial cheese interpretation is concerned: a full quarter of the signs represent the three primary animals from which most cheese is made. Sea goat or land goat, if you think this Capricorn round-up will consist of mostly goat cheeses and the like…you are correct. Because you shouldn’t look a gift goat in the mouth, and Capricorn, of all the signs, understands that best. (Prepare thy self now for Aries and Taurus season. Sadly, lion’s milk cheese is not a thing…yet?)
Capricorns, whose season spans December 22 through January 19, are steady, practical, mature, ambitious, and intuitive. Much like cheeses, Capricorns are best enjoyed when they are left alone to warm up a bit first. With that, I present 5 goat-cheeses and goat-cheese-themed gifts for celebrating the mythical sea goats in your life this season.
Chèvre
Capricorns are among the least attention-seeking signs, and a simple chèvre represents that perfectly. It’s not a stinker, nor a stunner, but still a valuable addition to any cheese plate. For that matter, there’s more than meets the eye where chèvre is concerned: as a young, unmanipulated cheese, chèvres have a certain intuition, much like Capricorns, and can express subtlety through flavors of seasonal milk. Westfield Farm Capri excellent example of a chèvre made with Capricornian care: produced frequently, and in small batches, to preserve the fresh character and seasonality of each batch.
Seascape
So long as we’re talking about mythical sea goats here, it seems apropos to include a goat cheese from a coastal creamery. The closest we can get to a cheese from an actual sea goat may very well be one made from coastal California goats luxuriating in the salty sea air.
The appropriately named Seascape is a semi-hard cheese that combines goat and cow’s milk—a nod to fellow sympathetic earth sign Taurus—for an aged cheese redolent of a crumbly salted caramel.
Coupole
Vermont creamery’s Coupole is a curious cheese. It’s a fresh goat cheese with more maturity than is usual for other fresh goat cheeses, kind of like a young Capricorn who has nonetheless been a grownup since childhood.
It is named for a snow-capped mountain, but its wrinkly geotrichum rind very much resembles a brain, something that should certainly appeal to perfectionist Capricorns whose ambitious grey matter never takes a moment off. Aged for 2 weeks, it’s milder on the inside than on the rind on the outside.
The New Rules of Cheese by Anne Saxelby
The keyword here is “rules.” Capricorns are consummate rule-followers, often rule-makers, who are most comfortable when there’s a defined structure to follow. Late cheesemonger Anne Saxelby’s book is especially good for Capricorns then, because while she sets up the idea of having rules, she also establishes through the subtitle, “a Freewheeling and Informative Guide,” that those rules can be more fluid than rigid.
Vintage Cheese Plates
Capricorns have a taste for vintage, especially when it demonstrates the kind of quality and craftsmanship that can stand the test of time. These gilded, earthenware cheese plates from Etsy seller My French Idee D’Antique hail from the 1950s and are perfect for showing your favorite Capricorn that you understand what moves them: quality, practicality, gilded goats.
For more Zodiac and Cheese content, check out 5 Gifts for Your Cheese Loving Scorpio Friends, and 5 Gifts for Your Cheese Loving Sagittarius Friends.