Alaska farm produces Grade-A goat dairy products

KODIAK, Alaska – An Alaska farm has begun selling what’s being touted as the state’s first certified goat milk dairy products.

Baptist Mission Heritage Farm in Kodiak recently acquired the Grade-A certification necessary to sell products commercially, The Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Thursday.

The farm sold its first batch of goat milk ice cream last week.

The ice cream will be sold at a farmers market on Saturdays during the summer, said Kelli Foreman, Baptist Mission assistant executive director.

“I’m just so excited for Kodiak, for us to have a Grade-A certified ice cream,” Foreman said. “Kodiak is always so good about supporting local.”

Foreman hopes to expand the sales times and the flavours, which include salted caramel and birthday cake.

Foreman frequently experiments with new flavours, most recently adding key-lime pie and mint chocolate chip.

“I’m excited each week to hopefully have somebody stop and say, ‘Have you thought about this flavour?’ and then try and create it,” Foreman said.

Goat cheese varieties including a Monterey Jack version called Kodiak Jack, feta and other soft cheeses are expected to go on sale in the last weekend of June, she said.

Much of Kodiak’s food is delivered by barge and not always as fresh as residents would like. The goat products offer more local options, she said.

“I milk a goat on Tuesday morning, I pasteurize milk in the afternoon and by Wednesday afternoon, you can eat ice cream, or by Friday you can have cheese,” Foreman said. “It’s fresh. It never has to leave (Kodiak).”

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Information from: Kodiak (Alaska) Daily Mirror, http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com