Dog Cheese

As Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin put it, "A meal without cheese is like a beautiful woman who lacks an eye" and we'd add that a cheese without life, without flavor, without character like so much of the tasteless plastic wrapped crap to be found in our nation's supermarkets simply isn't worthy of the table.

As urban homesteaders we're particularly interested in finding sources of food in our dense concrete jungles, and we are not alone. The movement is full of solutions to small scale animal husbandry: from pigmy goats, to pot-bellied pigs, city dwellers are trying to do that farm thing in the city--but sometimes with limited success.

So we were thrilled to find out that one of the best solutions for the urban livestock problem might be just underfoot. Two weeks ago we hooked up with some true revolutionaries out in the San Porn-ando Valley who are breeding dogs specifically for their lactation abilities. For obvious reasons they wish to remain anonymous just now. They have three bitches currently lactating.

We went to pay them a visit, and after a few beers we gathered up the courage to milk the bitches. This ain't Bessy the Moo Cow we're talking about here--but no one ever said living in the city was easy. We came home with a bucket full of dog milk.

We've already proved that a decent Neufchâtel can be produced in a home kitchen with store bought cow's milk and bottle of rennet (which curdles the milk). Improvising on the same recipe we managed to turn that gallon or so of dog milk into a soft farmhouse-type round of what we believe to be a first . . . dog cheese.

The taste? It is full bodied, and a little musky at first whiff, but salting the cheese really brings out a nice, distinct Frito odor which makes it a natural pairing with beer and three bean dip. Kids like it too.