Sept. 17, Monday — New moon. Good fishing days Sept. 17 to Oct. 2, when the moon is between new and full.
Sept. 18, Tuesday — Rosh Hashanah. Moon on equator. Actress Greta Garbo born on this day, 1905. (Died 1990.)
Sept. 20, Thursday — Jelly Roll Morton born, 1885. A south wind tomorrow means a warm autumn.
Sept. 21, Friday — Ember Day today tells the weather for November. The name “Minute Men” originated at Worcester, Mass., courthouse, 1774.
Sept. 23, Sunday — Neptune discovered, 1846. Lewis and Clark arrived home from their journey, 1806.
Ask The Old Farmers Almanac: I want to buy goat cheese from a local market, but Im curious about how long will it keep. — F.W., Norfolk, Va.
Answer: Goat cheeses, properly wrapped and refrigerated, should last for weeks, if not a couple of months. Like some cows milk cheeses, many goat cheeses are meant to be aged, so you cant go wrong. The good news is that if goat cheese does happen to go bad, its obvious.
A strong or sour smell or any bitter or unpleasant taste is a giveaway that the cheese is past its prime. If the cheese is kept in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and protected from the air, however, this is unlikely to happen unless the cheese has remained in your refrigerator for some months. Normal aging may produce a slightly stronger flavor, but not the bitterness that would tip you off to a cheese gone sour.
Goat cheeses, which are naturally lower in calories than cows milk cheeses, are becoming more popular. Many small farmers and rural dwellers are beginning to keep milk goats for fun or profit. Many a 4-H student has discovered the unequaled charms of goat keeping.
Gourmet cooks also take a shine to goats, for a different reason. The goat cheeses are light in taste because of the lower fat content, so many cooks prefer them for sauces and desserts.
Even the pizza parlors are discovering goat cheeses, which, with basil and olives, make a festive Mediterranean-style pizza. In dips, pasta or green salads, gratins and cheesecakes, goat cheeses offer a lighter fare for todays palates.
Ask The Old Farmers Almanac: I have a sideboard that was given to me by my aunt, who insisted it was made of cucumber wood. Is there such a thing? — V.Y., Anniston, Ala.
Answer: Not only is there cucumber wood, there are also wood varieties called tulip or tulip poplar, whitewood, popple, white poplar, yellow poplar and just plain poplar. The confusing thing is that they are all essentially the same thing — poplar.
To take the confusion one step further, there is also a tulipwood, which is distinct from tulip wood and tulip poplar. Tulipwood is similar to Brazilian rosewood and also comes from South America. Unlike the American tulip wood, its Brazilian cousin tulipwood is pinkish or tan with dark streaks.
Your cucumber sideboard comes from a kind of poplar that is related to the magnolia tree, probably Liriodendron tulipifera. Because the wood is medium hard, glues nicely and takes a stain well, cucumber wood or poplar was often chosen for furniture projects in which the finished product was meant to look like maple, cherry or mahogany.
Ask The Old Farmers Almanac: I was surprised to see parsnips at the farmers market last week. Is spring the best time to pick them? — F.E., Machias, Me.
Answer: Autumn and spring are both harvest times for the lowly parsnip, a biennial herb that is a member of the carrot family. Parsnips are often shunned by the unknowing, but theyre prized by those who have tried them in a good lamb stew.
The sweetest parsnips, its true, have gone through one hard frost, but perhaps by now youve had one in your part of Maine. If not, wait a bit longer. Many farmers overwinter their parsnips in the garden for spring harvest.
Some cooks say its best to keep them in moist sand in the root cellar so that their middles wont turn woody. It may be, as the old-timers say, “Kind words butter no parsnips,” but buttery parsnips will bring many a kind word to your table.
Likewise, “Plain cooking cannot be entrusted to plain cooks,” but the parsnip will never be called a plain Jane at even the most posh tables. Wait for that hard frost — then dont miss them!
Send your questions to: Ask the Almanac, The Old Farmers Almanac, Main St., Dublin, NH 03444
Theres good news for those of us who strive to incorporate cheese into every meal possible: Goat cheeses are not all the same. Since there are so many different flavor profiles, textures, and degrees of crumbliness in goat cheese (due to how and how long its aged), there are endless ways to use it. Here are the three main categories of goat cheese:
The variety were likely to choose for a cheese spread is soft-ripened, but there are so many types, trying to figure out which one to get at the farmers market or grocery can be tricky. Heres a little guide to help you out (pictured above, too):
Inspired by conversations on the Food52 Hotline, were sharing tips and tricks that make navigating all of our kitchens easier and more fun.
As for what to do with all these cheeses, we asked our Test Kitchen Manager Derek for some ideas on how to incorporate goat cheese into sweet, savory, and everything-in-between dishes. From chilaquiles to plum tart, here’s how to eat goat cheese for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.
Once you get home, goat cheese will keep in the fridge, tightly sealed, for 2 to 3 weeks. Store soft or semi-soft cheese in a resealable plastic container. For semi-hard cheeses, wrap in parchment or wax paper and then in foil or plastic wrap to prevent from drying out. Its best to store any cheese in the vegetable crisper, where the temperature is cold and stable. Always serve goat cheese at room temperature, so take it out of the fridge 30 minutes or so before serving.
Ask The Old Farmers Almanac: I have a sideboard that was given to me by my aunt, who insisted it was made of cucumber wood. Is there such a thing? — V.Y., Anniston, Ala.
Your cucumber sideboard comes from a kind of poplar that is related to the magnolia tree, probably Liriodendron tulipifera. Because the wood is medium hard, glues nicely and takes a stain well, cucumber wood or poplar was often chosen for furniture projects in which the finished product was meant to look like maple, cherry or mahogany.
Sept. 20, Thursday — Jelly Roll Morton born, 1885. A south wind tomorrow means a warm autumn.
Goat cheeses, which are naturally lower in calories than cows milk cheeses, are becoming more popular. Many small farmers and rural dwellers are beginning to keep milk goats for fun or profit. Many a 4-H student has discovered the unequaled charms of goat keeping.
Ask The Old Farmers Almanac: I want to buy goat cheese from a local market, but Im curious about how long will it keep. — F.W., Norfolk, Va.
Expert’s Guide to Goat Cheese
How long does goat cheese last?
Soft and fresh goat cheeses keep for a couple of weeks past their date and about a week of opening. They’re pretty similar to cream cheese in how you go about them. If yours says “spreadable” or looks like cream cheese, it definitely fits into this category. Soft-ripened goat cheeses look and “work” like Brie.
Does goat cheese have lactose and is it appropriate for people with high lactose intolerance?
Goat cheese does contain lactose. Like all other cheeses, they do contain lactose which is a form of sugar present in milk. When milk is heated at the beginning of the cheesemaking process, bacteria in the milk (that culture I mentioned earlier) begins to feast on lactose, turning it to lactic acid. People who are lactose intolerance, can still eat cheese, but they need to choose carefully. Hard, aged cheeses like Swiss, parmesan, and cheddars are lower in lactose.
How long can you keep goat cheese at room temperature?
Avoid leaving goat cheese at room temperature for more than two hours to prevent bacterial growth. Freeze goat cheese for long-term storage to maintain its taste for several months. For maximum freshness, always look for the expiration date on the goat cheese packaging.
Can you store open goat cheese?
If you have a cheese dome or a cheese bell, it can be an excellent option for storing opened goat cheese. The dome provides a controlled environment with just the right amount of air circulation, ensuring that the cheese stays fresh and maintains its optimal flavor.