
Guatemala Goat Cheese LÁCTEOS DE CABRA PACHIOJ

A dear friend sent me this information about their small farm, which offers tours, food, and amazing Goat Cheese. Lácteos Pachioj is a small family-owned dairy farm located in the highlands of Chimaltenango.
The conservation of milk was an important issue for many cultures. Thanks to grazing animals, many people produced food, and milk, in otherwise non-arable lands, such as mountains and steppes. But in order to not consume it immediately, multiple techniques arose to preserve it.
One of those was cheese making, which concentrates the solids of milk in a curd. However, what began as a product needed to preserve food turned into an expression of cultures, animals, and their regions.
More than just aged curdled milk, it encapsulates the taste of the region and the work with the animals. It represents an achievement in flavor, technique, and knowledge.
However, cheese production was standardized by the industry more than 100 years ago in order to produce larger, ever cheaper, volumes of cheese for an industrializing world.
This had severe consequences: it reduced the unique qualities of local cheeses for a more sellable product, reduced the diversity of cheese, and concentrated production in fewer and bigger facilities, almost wiping out traditional small dairy farms.
As a result, the vast majority of people have not had an opportunity to taste artisanal cheese, with its aromas and flavors, the way produced for millennia.=
The business began with the vision of her founder Isabel, who wanted to make artisanal cheese utilizing local resources, from the animals to the final product. Currently, the farm has a herd of 30 milking goats and produces aged goat cheeses of goats and cows.
At Pachioj, we strive to make cheeses traditionally. We believe that cheese is more than just a product: it is a sensory experience. We combine techniques and knowledge both local and international as well as modern and traditional technologies to achieve a cheese that is both delicious and local.

Guatemala Goat Cheese, also known as chèvre, is a type of cheese made from goat’s milk. It has a tangy, earthy flavor and a soft, crumbly texture. It can be used in various dishes, such as salads, pasta, and sandwiches, and is a popular ingredient in many types of cuisine.
