Salt Spring Island Cheese and Lamb: Farm Food

Salt Spring Island cheese is the island's best-known food export, made from goat's and sheep's milk, rolled in herbs, ash or flowers. Taste it slowly, at room temperature. Take the ferry to Fulford Harbour, which is close to a farm, buy cheese and bread and picnic, then look for local lamb at the Saturday market.

Bread from an island bakery, honey from a local hive, apples or pears from an orchard and a spread of preserves complete a plate. Name the cheese, the pairing and the day in your note.

Small farms raise sheep on the island's pastures. Look for a sign, an honesty box or a shop at a farm gate, and keep cheese cold, wrapped and out of the sun on the way home.

What is Salt Spring Island cheese?

Soft, fresh and aged cheeses made from goat's milk and sheep's milk, rolled in herbs, ash or flowers. The best known are chèvre, feta and Camembert styles. The farm's products reach shops across British Columbia, and travellers buy them on the island. The cheese is clean and tangy, with a soft texture that spreads well.

How do you taste goat cheese Salt Spring style?

Slowly, at room temperature. Start with the freshest and mildest, move to the herbed and finish with the aged. Pair it with bread, honey, fruit and a glass of island cider or wine. A cheese plate on a picnic blanket is the best setting. Notice the tang, the creaminess and the finish.

Where is the cheese made?

On a farm on the south of the island, near Fulford Harbour, according to travel guides, though listings differ on the exact road. The farm has a shop and offers tastings. The company's early goat herd supplied its milk, but it has since sourced milk elsewhere, as one island magazine reported. Check the shop's hours before you drive.

What about Salt Spring lamb?

Small farms raise sheep on the island's pastures, and travel writers say lamb is sold at the Saturday market and served in city restaurants. The sources are thin, so ask the market's sellers which farms sell lamb this season. Lamb is a spring and summer treat, tender and mild. Cook it simply, with garlic, rosemary and salt.

What is Salt Spring Island farm food like?

Small-scale and seasonal. Farms sell eggs, honey, vegetables, fruit, preserves and cut flowers, and several offer tours. The island's reputation for farm food rests on its many small producers rather than any large one. The island food guide lists more of them.

How does a Salt Spring farm gate visit work?

Look for a sign, an honesty box or a shop. Many farms sell at the gate on certain days, and others only through the market. Never enter a field without permission, and pay in cash. Ask what is fresh and what is a speciality. A farm gate stop is the best way to meet a grower.

How do you plan a cheese day?

Take the ferry to Fulford Harbour, which is close to the farm, buy cheese and bread, and picnic at a beach. Go on to Ganges for the Saturday market if the day is right. The Ganges guide lists places to eat. Pack a cooler, because cheese and a warm car do not mix.

How do you rate a cheese plate?

Name the cheese, the pairing and the day. "Herbed chèvre with sourdough and honey, a sunny Saturday, tangy, creamy and generous" is a rating that helps. Add Farm Producer or Market Stall when it fits. Be honest about the texture and the price band without stating a number.

How can you keep your farm notes?

Rate each stop in the Mosey app, then collect the best of them in a list called Salt Spring farm gate. Invite friends through a link, and tag the people you tasted with so they can add their ratings. Places new to Mosey are added, and we'll check their details.

How do you bring cheese home safely?

Keep it cold, wrapped and out of the sun. A small cooler bag with an ice pack is enough for a ferry ride and a drive. Cheese cut fresh keeps for days in a fridge, and many keep longer in wax paper. Leave it out of the fridge an hour before eating, to bring the flavour back. Share it with the friend who watered your plants.

What else goes on a Salt Spring plate?

Bread from an island bakery, honey from a local hive, apples or pears from an orchard, and a spoonful of preserves. A salad of island greens and a glass of cider complete it. Buy each part at a different stop and assemble them on a beach. That is the island's food in a single plate, and a photograph will remind you.

Is the cheese suitable for lactose intolerance? Some people tolerate goat cheese better, but ask a doctor.

Can I ship it? Ask the shop. We cannot say.

For the province, start at the Food in British Columbia page, and see the Canadian food guides for other regions.

After a cheese plate on the island, get the Mosey app, rate the one you would buy again and share your farm list with the friend who loves goat cheese.