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GOURMET NEWS MAY 2017 www.gourmetnews.com Naturally Healthy NATURALLY HEALTHY 1 7 Whole Cow Milk Yogurts from Bellwether Farms The Callahan family, Founders of Bell- wether Farms, believe in using only full-fat milk for making their yogurt. For 10 years, Bellwether Farms Sheep Yogurt has claimed front-row status in dairy cases across the US. Next month, Bellwether Farms will introduce its first Organic Cow Yogurt made with milk from Jersey cows pastured on a farm down the road from its Sonoma County, California, sheep ranch and creamery. The new Organic Cow Yo- gurt will arrive in freshly designed four-packs of 3.75-ounce transparent cups. Bellwether Farms sources fruit from Oregon's Columbia River region to blend into Strawberry, Blackberry, Blueberry and Spiced Apple yogurts. "We know our customers appreciate the high quality of the fruit we source, and this cup reveals the fresh fruit ready to blend into the creamy yogurt," says Liam Callahan, co-Founder, Cheese and Yogurt Maker. "We source the best fruit and add the min- imum amount of sugar necessary." Plain and Madagascar Vanilla flavors are also available. In addition to the single- serve cups, a 5.3-ounce cup is planned along with a 32-ounce foodservice size, in all six flavors. Northern California distri- bution is slated to begin in April. Pastured Jersey cows give milk that is naturally high in heart healthy fats and nu- tritious A2 protein, and packed with essen- tial vitamins and minerals. Bellwether Farms blends 12 live, active bacteria strains that work together to deliver the probiotic benefits expected from yogurt. Bellwether Farms doesn't strain, drain or add stabiliz- ers to make thicker yogurt. The creamy smooth texture comes naturally, coaxed by careful handling of the freshest milk deliv- ered daily to the creamery. GN Mikey's Adds to Paleo Baked Goods Line Mikey's, which makes frozen bakery prod- ucts, showcased an entire line of English muffins, pizza crusts, bread and muffin tops this year at Natural Products Expo West. The exhibit marked the debut of Chocolate Chip as the most recent flavor addition to the gluten-free muffin tops line. Mikey's aims to serve those with alterna- tive dietary needs, those who shop the frozen food aisle, and health-conscious individuals by delivering wholesome serving sizes that are low calorie, low carbohydrate and low glycemic. All of Mikey's frozen delights are gluten and grain-free multi-purpose alterna- tives to traditional breads and grain items. "We are excited to introduce our new Chocolate Chip Muf- fin Top, a clean and healthy spin on an old classic," said Michael Tierney, CEO and Founder of Mikey's. "It means a lot to be sampling our new addition alongside the popular Mikey's core line-up – especially in an environment of people who value real ingredients and quality food that not only tastes good, but is really good for you." Mikey's signa- ture English muffins are avail- able in original, cinnamon raisin and toasted onion flavors; muffin tops in double chocolate and lemon blueberry flavors; sliced bread; and a pizza crust. All ingredients are responsibly sourced and offer consumers an ingredient deck that's easy to understand and possible to pronounce, like almond and coconut flour, kosher salt and non-GMO eggs, among others. Mikey's is available in more than 4,500 retailers nationwide, including Whole Foods, Sprouts, Walmart and more. For ad- ditional information regarding Mikey's, visit www.eatmikeys.com. GN Goats Milk Fudge from Black Mesa Ranch BY LORRIE BAUMANN When David Heininger and his wife Kathryn bought their 280-acre ranch near Snowflake, Arizona, they were thinking of it as a retirement home. Now they've turned it into the Grade A goat dairy that's producing the milk that David turns into award-winning fudge. The fudge, in its turn, has launched him into a new career that's taking him in a full circle back to his culinary roots. "It all started off as that we went up there to retire. We had some in- vestments. In the meantime, we had gotten a few goats, a few sheep and some cows," he said. "The idea was to have a retired life and do some hobbies. When the in- vestments started fading out, we decided that we needed the goats to start paying for themselves." Heininger's culinary career began right after graduation from Rhode Island's branch of Johnson & Wales University until a decade later, when Heininger and his wife decided to move to Tucson, Arizona for opportunities to reno- vate some of the city's historic homes. "Even then we were doing a seasonal candy business. I always stuck with it. It was al- ways something we were doing," he said. "When it was time to goof off a little bit, we found a neat place up there at Snowflake [a small rural town in north central Ari- zona]." With the decision that the five pet goats on the 280-acre off-the-grid ranch property needed to start paying rent, the Heiningers certified their operation as a goat dairy in 2003. While he was building the dairy fa- cilities, he also built a commercial kitchen on the property, with a propane stove and $20,000 in solar generating equipment to power electric refrigeration. "It wasn't a big philosophical decision to move off grid. We just found this perfect property, and there wasn't grid power within six miles of it," he said. "It's a bal- ancing act. We don't run a lot of personal power. Almost everything goes into the dairy.... People think of it as a simple life, but when you make the decision to be your own power company, there's a lot of re- sponsibility that comes with it. If your power goes out, it's your fault." Today, Kathryn Heininger is the couple's herd manager, supervising 50 Nubian goats and milking 30 of them in an operation that's certified Humanely Raised and Han- dled. David Heininger is the operation's cheesemaker and chocolatier. Heininger makes his three flavors of Black Mesa Ranch Goats Milk Fudge with a short list of high-quality ingredients: Bel- gian chocolate, cane sugar, butter, salt and the milk from 30 Nubian dairy goats. His Belgian Chocolate Fudge includes just those ingredients; Original is the Belgian Chocolate Fudge studded with walnuts, and Fudge on Fire is made with concho chiles, Arizona-grown pecans and a little spice. "It's a nice little glow-in-your-mouth kind of fudge," Heininger said. In addition to his fudge, Heininger is making some cheeses, primarily fresh goat cheeses in four flavors: plain, herb, jalapeno and chipotle, in addition to three flavors of feta: plain, hot pepper and garlic. "We sold our first log of cheese locally to a little independent health food store in Snowflake," Heininger said. He then started submitting cheeses to competitions, where they placed well enough to encourage him to persevere, and then Phoenix chefs started calling. "We got some more goats and started making more cheese," he said. He makes a little aged cheese, too, no- tably Dutchess, a Gouda-style cheese; Blue Goat, a blue cheese; and a Havarti-style cheese called Tivoli. The aged cheeses, though, are a minor addition to his range because Heininger's off-the-grid lifestyle doesn't allow for much affinage infrastruc- ture. "When you're on solar, you've got to think about refrigeration and climate con- trol, and we try to keep that part of the busi- ness really small. It's not a huge part of what we're doing," he said. "The confection side is a little less dependent on that. We can do more with less. I can make more fudge out of the same amount of milk than with cheese, and it's ready to go the next day." His food products, which also include a range of spiced pecans made from Arizona- grown nuts, provide Heininger with per- sonal satisfaction as well as the income to maintain a life he loves. "It's just the two of us, and we're making a real go of it. We're never going to get rich doing it, but it's a great lifestyle and we're having a lot of fun," he said. "The Goats Milk Fudge is a really unique product that I think it's going to find a niche and take off. And it takes me back to my training and my roots." For more information, call 928.536.7759 or email david@blackmesaranch.com. Visit online at www.blackmesaranch.com or www.goatsmilkfudge.com. GN

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