Posted on

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.

Posted on

Taste the Difference – Marinated Goat Cheese You’ll Love!

Feta Crafted for Perfect Flavour

Stored in a 10% salt brine, our marinated feta develops a deep and balanced flavour. Each jar combines tangy, creamy, and savoury notes with the sun-kissed sweetness of sun-dried tomatoes.

Every bite offers a burst of smooth, velvety texture and a light tangy finish. The umami-rich tomatoes elevate the taste, making this feta ideal for salads, pastas, or gourmet platters.

Because it’s crafted from raw goat’s milk harvested from our own herd, you can expect exceptional purity and a vibrant, natural taste.

You can’t taste this online, but we guarantee you’ll love our marinated jars of pure goat cheese – just like our customers at Tarana Farmers Market and Mudgee Makers Market do.

Perfect for:

  • A grazing plate that’s always a hit
  • Fresh salads lifted to new heights
  • A quiche that’s truly a treat

On sale now until our summer stock runs out – each jar is packed tight for great value.

Flavours available in our online shop:

❤️ You’ll love it – and your support means the world to us!

Posted on

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.

Posted on

From farm to table, each bite of our award-winning goat cheese tells a story of dedication, craftsmanship, and love for our herd. 🐐✨ Explore the rich flavors of our semi-hard aged cheese and discover why we’ve won over 50 awards, including a National Champion title! 🧀🍷 Order online now to experience artisanal excellence, delivered to your door.

Although its winter Jannei has some special treats in store for ordering. Our marinated cheese range of mixed herb, chili and sundried tomato jarred cheese. All are a winter treat in warm salads and topping pastries and pizza- so order now before they run out. We have a special price on our mixed herb -Mountain Valley . Another cheese to look into is the Lidsdale – our heritage cheese . This cheese is now 7 – 9 months old . A semi -hard cheese this cheese is entirely unique to Jannei goat dairy. Developed flavors , a 100% goat milk cheese. It goes with sweet or savory dishes. it is a stand out on a cheese platter with the wine of choice. Enjoy a cozy winter warming fire with a Jannei cheese or tow. -Spoil yourself and guests with Jannei cheese as a high end attraction to spoil their guests.

Posted on

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!

Posted on

NEW LABEL AT THE BACK OF THE GLASS – RAW GOAT MILK AND RAW KEFIR -BOTTLES!

GLASS MILK BOTTLES- JANNEI RAW GOAT MILK UPGRADE

Hi everyone❤❤👍(❁´◡`❁)

– just posting this and practising up loading pictures- and all the other elements in wordpress.

Glass Bottles

Raw milk in glass has been popular and the bottles are great -but it seems by LAW we have to say on the label if the bottle will NOT freeze. Because this is a new offer, we got the best generic bottles that suit our raw milk labels- But they do not distinguish this packaging requirement – so until we add the notes to the label, we will use a sticker on the back.

We were going to throw our hands up and take the glass off the web site – no thanks to one trying customer – I ask do you freeze anything in glass?  But we rose above it with a prayer and an injection of positivity. Luckily, I was a graphic designer in a past life – even though I would like a life and not spend Friday doing labels – BUT good always come s from any trial if one looks for it and stays positive. God is in Control!🙌

Thanks to our supportive customers-

We wouldn’t operate without our customers support and as said to not so great customer, we can only please our customers as best we can within limits. We can only do what we can do as a small farm produce business. BUT- Why shoot ourselves in the foot because of this so supply will resume!! 👍😊👏✨

Deliveries

Raw milk and other Jannei products are packed and sent down to Sydney every Tuesday to be freighted to customers. All year!  NOW with freight, petrol and wages all adding on costs- the freight has jumped through the roof in some areas- Sorry to Central and South coats AND interstate!

Upside – we can send bulk in summer.

Customers getting together –

We are trying to get customers to link up with a shop or a health practitioner and split the freight. Five boxes to one location for the same price – $95 to $155.00 it can now cost to freight further afield. We may need to go back to the old systems of creating mini- co-op communities. Getting together to get healthy farm produce and sharing the freight together. Five people could receive there box for the same cost. It has to be one location.

Thanks again for your support we would love your feedback on any of the above things and ideas. Jan and Neil JANNEI GOAT DAIRY👌

Posted on

Farm Science with a Splash of Common Sense 🥛❄️

We often get two questions from customers – and since we started selling milk in glass bottles this year, the first one has been popping up a lot.


1. Why does liquid expand when frozen?

When you freeze a liquid, the molecules spread out and take up more space. That’s why we tell customers to always decant a little milk before freezing it in plastic bottles – plastic can stretch a bit to cope with the pressure.

Glass bottles are another story. They can’t flex. So, when the milk expands, there’s only one outcome: the lid can pop off, or the glass can crack or shatter completely. The laws of nature win every time!

If you’ve ever had beer bottles burst during fermentation, or left wine in the freezer to “quickly chill” before guests arrive (and then remembered it at midnight…), you’ll know exactly what we mean.


2. Does freezing destroy the nutrition?

No – not even close! Freezing preserves nutrients. If milk or cheese is frozen while fresh, it stays fresh. That’s the whole point of freezing.

Our white mould cheeses still taste amazing after freezing, and the fluffy curd stays just as fluffy. Science wins again – not all technology is voodoo, some of it is simply clever and proven.


Bottom line:

  • Liquids expand when frozen – so give them space, especially in glass bottles.
  • Freezing won’t strip your milk or cheese of its goodness or flavour.

A little science, a little care, and you can enjoy our products fresh now or later.

Thank you for your continued support .

Just doing the best we can –

Jannei team

Posted on

Variation in packaging for Jannei Raw Goat’s Milk

Exciting news, we have added raw goat’s milk packed in 1 litre glass bottles to our product list this week. Customers can order 3 to 6 units packed in glass. Due to the logistics of picking up glass packaging however- the glass bottles may run out from time to time. We pick up glass packaging every two months. This is also a trial run option to see if we can handle the extra work this entails. Glass is heavier and breakable. Sadly if it proves unviable we will have to remove the option.

Bad news is this week was the first trial run, and it seems everyone liked it as we sold out of our glass bottles. Ho Hum refer to above! But good news is it won’t be 2 months before we replenish our supply- maybe a few weeks.

Remember, on balance the plastic bottles are recyclable and can be recycled to create other products.
We love to please our customers and that is why we provide a very unique product. There is lots to navigate around in a small farm business. Our biggest aim is to give you natural healthy products with no preservatives and plenty of healthy probiotics that work in the gut immediately. We call it real food.

Thank you everyone for your support. We will try to keep some supply of glass available. PS -6 raw milk is the maximum we can pack in our current boxes- we have limited each day to 6 available as people have ordered more. Check each day to get your order in. Thank you.
Janette and Neil- Jannei

Posted on

Savour the Delightful World of Goat Cheese: A Culinary Journey with Jannei Goat Dairy, Sydney

Embark on a culinary adventure and treat your palate to the exquisite flavours of goat cheese, also known as chèvre. Celebrated for its distinct taste and creamy texture, this artisanal cheese, crafted from the finest goat’s milk, has found a special place in the hearts of Sydney’s culinary enthusiasts. Join us in this blog post as we explore the wonders of goat cheese, revel in its health benefits, and share delectable recipes—all while shining a spotlight on Jannei Goat Dairy located near Sydney.

Jannei Goat Cheese Platter

The Art of Making Goat Cheese: Immerse yourself in the heritage of goat cheese—a product of age-old craftsmanship with a rich history dating back centuries. The process involves the careful curdling of goat’s milk, draining whey, and often aging the cheese to perfection. Artisanal producers, including the esteemed Jannei Goat Dairy near Sydney, take pride in creating goat cheese varieties that showcase the terroir and the characteristics of the goats’ milk.

Health Benefits of Goat Cheese:

Beyond its irresistible taste, goat cheese offers a bounty of health benefits. Rich in essential nutrients such as calcium, protein, and vitamins, it’s a choice that’s often easier to digest than cow’s milk cheese, catering to individuals with lactose sensitivity. Jannei Goat Dairy exemplifies a commitment to producing quality goat cheese with health-conscious consumers in mind.

Pairing Chèvre with Flavours:

Experience the versatility of goat cheese as it shines when paired with a variety of flavours. Its mild, tangy taste complements both sweet and savory dishes. Explore pairing options with honey, fresh fruits, nuts, or herbs, and discover the symphony of flavours right here in Sydney, with Jannei Goat Dairy’s exceptional offerings.

Popular Types of Goat Cheese:

From creamy chèvre logs to aged varieties with a crumbly texture, goat cheese comes in diverse forms. Dive into the world of Fresh Chevre, The Aged Lidsdale, or Bentback Chèvre, each offering a unique tasting experience.

Chèvre in Cooking:

A kitchen muse, goat cheese enhances the flavor profile of various dishes. Whether crumbled over salads, melted into pasta, or spread on artisanal bread, its creamy consistency adds a luxurious touch. Get inspired by recipes featuring Jannei Goat Dairy’s premium goat cheese, elevating dishes like stuffed chicken breasts, roasted vegetable tarts, or simple herb omelets to new heights.

The Rise of Goat Cheese in Modern Cuisine:

With the growing interest in artisanal and locally-sourced foods, goat cheese has experienced a renaissance in modern Sydney cuisine. Chefs and home cooks alike are incorporating this delightful cheese into contemporary dishes, contributing to its popularity and continued evolution. We’ve played a pivotal role in this culinary movement.

Celebrate the rich history and diverse varieties of goat cheese—a testament to the artistry of cheese-making. Whether you’re a seasoned foodie or a culinary novice in Sydney, exploring the world of goat cheese promises a flavourful and enriching experience. Embrace the tangy goodness of chèvre, and let your taste buds embark on a delightful journey through the diverse and delicious possibilities of goat cheese, with a special nod to the exceptional offerings from Jannei Goat Dairy near Sydney.

Ready to experience the finest goat cheese from Jannei Goat Dairy? Explore our selection and indulge your senses. Visit our online shop here and bring home the culinary magic today.

Posted on

Healthy Goat’s Milk Kefir

In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in probiotics and their positive impact on gut health. One such superfood that has gained popularity for its exceptional probiotic properties is goat’s milk kefir. This fermented beverage is not only a delight to the taste buds but also packs a powerful punch of health benefits. In this blog post, we’ll explore the myriad advantages of incorporating goat’s milk kefir into your daily diet.

Probiotic Powerhouse:

Goat’s milk kefir is renowned for its rich probiotic content. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that promote a healthy gut microbiome, essential for overall well-being. The fermentation process involved in making kefir enhances the concentration of these friendly bacteria, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, which contribute to improved digestion and nutrient absorption.

Lactose-Friendly:

For individuals who are lactose intolerant or have difficulty digesting cow’s milk, goat’s milk kefir can be a game-changer. Goat’s milk contains less lactose than cow’s milk, and the fermentation process further reduces lactose content. This makes goat’s milk kefir a more digestible option for those with lactose sensitivity.

Rich in Nutrients:

Goat’s milk is a nutrient-dense alternative to cow’s milk, and when fermented into kefir, its nutritional profile is further enhanced. Goat’s milk is an excellent source of essential nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, vitamin B12, and riboflavin. These nutrients play crucial roles in bone health, energy metabolism, and overall vitality.

Boosts Immune System:

A robust immune system is essential for warding off illnesses and maintaining optimal health. The probiotics found in goat’s milk kefir support the immune system by promoting a healthy balance of gut bacteria. A well-balanced gut microbiome is linked to improved immune function, helping the body defend against infections and diseases.

Supports Digestive Health:

Digestive issues such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) can be challenging to manage. Goat’s milk kefir’s probiotic content can alleviate symptoms associated with these conditions by promoting a healthy gut environment. It helps to regulate bowel movements, reduce inflammation, and enhance nutrient absorption.

Incorporating goat’s milk kefir into your daily routine can be a delicious and nutritious way to support your overall health. From promoting a thriving gut microbiome to offering a lactose-friendly alternative, the benefits of goat’s milk kefir are numerous. Consider adding this probiotic-rich beverage to your diet and embark on a journey to better digestive health and overall well-being.

Jannei’s Kefir Cultured Goat’s Milk is full of probiotics that are a helpful aid to gut health. Made from Jannei licensed unpasteurised Milk. It has a sweet delicate flavour. Kefir is a fermented milk drink and an excellent superfood. It has a PH of 4. It is great in aiding gut health because it contains over 27 live probiotic cultures.

Packed in 1 litre bottles with a four week best before date.

Avaliable through our online store.