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The Lidsdale – an aged semi-hard goat cheese

Our Lidsdale: Aged Goat Cheese from Jannei Goat Dairies

At Jannei Goat Dairies, we’ve been making goat cheese in Australia for over three decades. One of our most distinctive creations is the Lidsdale — a semi-hard aged goat cheese that has quietly become a favourite among those who appreciate cheese with depth and character.

Cheddar Chèvre - Jannei goat cheese

The Craft Behind the Lidsdale

Our cheesemaker, Neil Watson, has been developing and refining the Lidsdale for more than 30 years. Each wheel is made by hand, then matured for six to twelve months to bring out its natural sweetness and a lingering finish. As it ages, the flavour becomes more robust and complex — not unlike a well-aged red wine.

We don’t use fillers or preservatives in any of our cheeses. The flavour comes entirely from the milk, the culture, and time. Each wheel, typically two to three kilograms, is wrapped in muslin as it matures, then vacuum sealed to protect its subtle, evolving aroma.

A Cheesemaker’s Story

Neil’s dedication to the craft has been recognised within Australia’s cheesemaking community. At the Melbourne Specialty Cheesemakers Show in 2012, he received Champion Goat’s Cheese for his Buche Noir. The Lidsdale — previously known as Cheddar Chèvre (Goat) until 2016 — carries that same spirit of care and precision.

Serving Suggestions

We enjoy the Lidsdale best with fresh fruit, homemade jam, or simply on its own. It also pairs beautifully with a medium-bodied red wine or can be used to add richness to savoury dishes.

An Australian Goat Cheese with Character

For us, the Lidsdale represents the heart of what we do — slow, careful cheesemaking that lets natural flavours speak for themselves. It’s a reflection of the land, the milk, and the patience that goes into every wheel we make.

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Take your cheese board to the next level!

Winter at Jannei Goat Dairies: A Season for Aged and Marinated Goat Cheese

As winter settles in, our goats take things a little slower — but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on delicious cheese. At Jannei Goat Dairies, we’ve prepared plenty of cheese made during the warmer months, ready for you to enjoy through winter and into spring.

Seasonal Cheese Selection

Our Lidsdale aged goat cheese and marinated feta are two of our favourites for the cooler months. The Lidsdale, a semi-hard artisan cheese, offers a rich, layered flavour that pairs beautifully with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or even a drizzle of honey. The marinated feta, made from our own goat’s milk, brings a creamy, tangy note to salads, grazing boards, and warm winter dishes.

You’ll also find fresh curd and pressed curd available year-round — perfect for those who enjoy lighter, more delicate cheeses.

Buying Local and Supporting the Herd

When you order directly from our online shop, you’ll receive cheese with long best-before dates and the best delivery value. It’s an easy way to keep your fridge stocked with Australian goat cheese for any occasion, while helping to support our goats through the quieter winter months.

Each purchase goes directly toward feeding and caring for our herd as they raise their kids — ready to provide fresh, creamy milk again in spring and summer.

Delivery and Local Stockists

We deliver refrigerated orders to homes in Sydney’s CBD for a flat freight rate of $25, and we’re working on expanding affordable delivery to other areas.

If you’re in the Blue Mountains, you can find our cheeses locally at:

  • Springwood IGA – LLOYD’S
  • Katoomba Co-Op

You can also visit us directly on the Castlereagh Highway, where our farm factory and cellar door are open for purchases.

Fresh Milk and Kefir

Supplies of fresh milk and kefir are limited during winter, so we recommend placing your orders early. Your ongoing support helps us continue our work as local farmers and cheesemakers — keeping traditional, small-scale goat dairying alive in regional New South Wales.


Enjoy the warmth of winter with a touch of Jannei flavour.
Discover our range of Australian goat cheese online, and bring a taste of the farm to your next gathering.

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Marinated Goat’s Cheese now avaliable through our website!

Jannei Creamy Fetta, spelt with two t’s, is a beautiful summer cheese. Handmade and packed on farm- these marinated jars of fetta goat milk cheese, are a Farmers Market favourite.

We make our goat milk feta in summer. Our marinated goat milk cheese, aims to capture the same charm as finding us at a market. Each jar is carefully filled to the brim with handmade labels — perfect for gifting at any time of year.

These days, Jannei is at three markets, but we’re proud to remember our beginnings. We were at Eveleigh Markets in its first year — winter 2010 — and that year it won Best Market in Sydney. Before that, we were at Pyrmont Farmers Market from 1998 until 2007. In 2007, we won seven awards at the Royal Easter Show, and soon after, Neil had open-heart surgery. Amazingly, he’s still here, making outstanding cheese every day.

Over the years, getting to markets has become more challenging. Between the setup, travel, market fees, and petrol, you have to sell a lot just to cover costs.

At Jannei, we’re a small farm making small batches of all our products. Everything we make starts with our farm-harvested raw goat milk, and our marinated cheeses are no exception. Our focus is on high-quality food in every package or jar — no shortcuts, no preservatives, no stale products, and no cheap fillers. You can taste the care in every bite.

The Product

Marinated Goats Cheese Fetta-
Is a semi hard goats milk cheese with a creamy lingering back palette flavour  . These fresh subtle favours entice you back for more .  Made on farm during  summer months . Fetta is stored in a 10% salt brine and packed from these bulk containers, into smaller units.
It is a A GM free Product.
Ingredients: Pasteurised Goats Fetta cheese, Sunflower oil, Locally grown Extra Virgin Olive Oil,   Roasted Garlic, herbs and seasonings-non animal rennet and cultures.
 
Store at 5 degrees-CELCIUS
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
SERVING SIZE 60gm   SERVINGS PER PACK 5
AVERAGE                                   PER 10GM                                      PER100GM
ENERGY                                      104kj                                                1038kj
PROTEIN                                    1-GM                                                  10.3GM
FAT TOTAL                                  1.9GM                                               19GM
-saturated                                    1.3GM                                              13.3GM
CARBOHYDRATE
TOTAL                                            0.9GM                                                9.4GM
SUGARS                                         0.2GM                                                1.9GM
SODIUM                                         11MG                                                 111MG: Marinated Goat’s Cheese now avaliable through our website!

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Goat cheese and beetroot tart.

Wow its a beautiful day here in sunny Lithgow! That’s me being ultra positive HA! Well it’s great to get out on the farm when it’s warm so bring on the sun Lord!
I did a great tart a month or so ago.

Practicing for summer, with our goat curd either the fresh pressed or the spreadable will work. So here it is to celebrate summer on the way.

A ladies Touch…

Filling

4 small beetroot, cook, slice and dry on paper towel
150gm Jannei Buche Blanc or 200gm of Jannei Fresh Curd
Seasoning-Rock salt and ground pepper.
6 sprigs of lemon Thyme

Glaze

1 large tbl.sp of Honey 1 tsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp. Olive oil

Pastry

200gm plain flour
1/2 tsp. caraway seed
60gm butter
c.8 tbl.sp ice cold water

METHOD

Pre heat oven to 170C and grease a tart dish with butter.

Pastry.

Into a large bowl place flour and chop butter in. Rub together through finger tips till bread crumb like. Be careful to add just enough water to combine to non sticky dough consistency. Place in glad wrap in fridge – the longer the better.

Beetroot.
Cook your beetroot by simmering, covered with water in a pan till cooked 20 min skewer and if it goes in easily it’s done.

Glaze.
Make a glaze by putting ingredients in microwave and heating 1 minute.

Pastry.
Roll out pastry to fit dish. Place oven bake paper on top with some coins. Place in oven and cook 10 minutes.
Take paper off and coin cook another 10 minutes.

Beetroot.

Peel outer skin off beetroot. Slice beetroot and place in paper towel to dry.

When pastry cooked. Place one layer of Beetroot, then spread or spoon the 200gms of Jannei goat cheese curd on top then layer on top the rest of beetroot.
Sprinkle over the sprinkle Thyme then the glaze and let it seep through.

Put back in oven at 180C .
bake -15 to 20 minutes till golden

A great light meal served with tossed rocket and spinach salad with baby tomatos. Serve with wedges of lemon to squeeze over salad and tart

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Curd it first here… Goats curd and it’s uses

Goats curd is a taste versatile product which can be used in across a range of dishes.

Curd it first here… is the title of a post Sophie Hansen wrote after a visit to our farm.

In her blog post you see some amazing photos of the food she has created using our cheese. She includes two great recipes that you could use in your cooking at home. Especially the cheese fritters for cold winter weekend days!

Check out the article on Sophies great blog ‘local-lovely’

We would love to hear how you use or have used our cheese!

If you’re a chef looking for goats curd made with fresh award winning milk we would love to chat so please get in touch.

Jannei creates fresh cheese from its sole herd of Saanen milking goats. Fed with fresh fodder and rolled grains sourced from local growers. We provide a unique hand crafted food experience.

 

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Making goat cheese

Quote from website:
“SkillsOne catches up with a couple who have turned their passion for life on the land into an award-winning gourmet goat cheese business.

Neil and Janette Watson decided to follow their dream of owning a farm in the country and opened a goat farm in 1995.

Neil then used the knowledge he learned through a rural science degree to teach himself how to make cheese and dairy products from the goats’ milk. They now have a lucrative gourmet business.”

Check out the video here