KILAUEA — Twenty five happy kunana (goats) on Bob and Louisa Wooton’s organic farm are producing healthful and delicious fresh goat’s cheese exclusively for Kaua‘i. The family business is a full-time operation with milking occurring twice a day and cheese
KILAUEA — Twenty five happy kunana (goats) on Bob and Louisa Wooton’s organic farm are producing healthful and delicious fresh goat’s cheese exclusively for Kaua‘i.
The family business is a full-time operation with milking occurring twice a day and cheese making completed every 48 hours.
Ryan and Sarah Wooton, son and daughter-in-law respectively, have helped expand the business with home-made granola baking, chili-oil and salad dressings.
While the mild scent of goat cheese mingles with Sarah’s ginger snap cookies, the morning rain falls gently on to this family farm and the goats nibble on their grassy breakfast.
Goat cheese is known in European countries as chevre, which is the French word for goat.
While cow’s milk is far more prominent in the U.S., Europeans have known that the health benefits from goat’s milk often make it better choice.
Goat cheese, like goat milk, is easier on the human digestive system and lower in calories, cholesterol and fat than its bovine counterpart. Goat cheese is rich in calcium, protein, vitamin A, vitamin K, phosphorus, niacin and thiamin, and comes in numerous shapes, sizes, textures and tastes.
The reason goat milk is easier on digestion is it’s similarity to human milk in its protein composition, “which contains beta-caseins as dominant proteins. Cow milk contains alpha S-1 casein, which is suspected to be the culprit behind digestion difficulties,” states the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.
Many lactose-intolerant individuals have found relief in goat milk and goat products due to its unique composition. Goat milk has more short- and medium-chain fatty acids, whereas cow milk tends to contain long-chain fatty acids. These short- and medium-chain fatty acids in goat milk may make it easier for humans to digest. Also cow milk, as opposed to goat milk, contains agglutinin, which also hinders digestion.
Unlike cow cheese, pasteurized goat cheeses are not generally aged. Commonly called “fresh cheese,” the taste is often milder and texture much softer.
The Kunana Dairy farm in Kilaeua makes many varieties of this soft fresh cheese, including gourmet flavors such as garlic and chive and sun-dried tomato.
“Bob is the mechanical genius behind this operation,” said Louisa Wooton, standing in her sparkling clean dairy facility adjacent to their home. “The plumbing, electric, it’s all because he can engineer anything.”
While Bob is the facilities manager at the intimate operation, Louisa spends her time with the goats.
“I grew up on a Texas farm and we had goats. I have always loved these animals … I usually milk them in the mornings, around 6. Then someone else does the evening milking.”
The warm milk is fully cooled before being pasteurized and then cooled again. The pasteurized milk is then inoculated with a culture and mixed with a vegetable-based rennet.
“Usually rennet is made from the intestinal lining of a goat, we use one that is made from a mushroom-type fungus,” she said.
The rennet helps coagulate the milk and separate the curd from the whey. Hanging in cheese cloth, the remaining whey is collected in bowls overnight, and the curds turn to fresh cheese by the next day.
“The whey is full of liquid protein, and so we use that to make a wonderful hair conditioner,” said Louisa, showing off her body soap, body lotion, shampoo and conditioner all made on the premises. “After I make these products, I always smell so good because if all the oils.”
The floral scent of the conditioner is as inviting as the description of what it does for the hair: “It’s strengthening because of the protein, and leaves you hair really silky,” she said.
Feta cheese has a slightly different consistency than chevre or camembert, perfect for crumbling over a cucumber and tomato salad.
“To make the feta, we soak it brine up to a month,” Louisa said opening the industrial-sized refrigerator with feta in-process.
“We are so happy to have our son Ryan, master gardener, and Sarah, master baker, working with us now,” she said.
Louisa first moved to the island from Texas in 1975. Bob was stationed with the Army on the island in 1959, and stayed on after serving the armed forces. They had always dreamed of having a dairy, but it wasn’t until 1999 that they were able to make it a reality.
“Anyone can talk about saving small farmers and agriculture,” she said, “but you need to show people how to make a living from a small parcel of land.”
Louisa enjoys sharing what her family has accomplished with students at Kula High School when she teaches “Ag in the classroom” each year.
“It’s obvious that we need more government support for the family farmers in this country and on the island. We were lucky to get a grant from KADP (Kaua‘i Agricultural Development Program) for our building expansion and a new pasteurizer, but obviously one grant is not enough,” she said.
Listing concerns about the county’s restrictions on worker’s housing and farm tours, she describes what all Kaua‘i farmers are forced to bear: high production costs and lack of additional labor due to harsh restrictions on allotting housing as partial compensation for workers they may hire.
The gentle goats live in both covered and open fields behind the dairy. As soon as Louisa stands at their fence, the goats come to rub against her loving hands.
“These girls are all part of the family,” she said. “I’ve had my goats longer than my children. I’ve always loved these animals.”
The Wootons have 38 goats total with 25 currently milking, and one lucky buck (male) who occasionally gets visitation rights with the females.
“I love my family and having them all here helping makes this possible. Sarah with her baking and Ryan with the gardens have really helped us expand. It’s wonderful to do this together now and watch it grow,” said Louisa.
The Kunana Dairy Farm products can be found at Hanalei’s sunshine markets on Tuesday and Saturday, as well as local stores Foodland, Windward Market and Papaya’s in Kapa‘a, and also Big Save around the entire island.
For more information visit www.kauaikunanadairy.com.
•Keya Keita, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681 or kkeita@kauaipubco.com.
Penne with Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Health Notes.com
The fresh, tangy flavor of goat cheese complements the sweet taste of sun-dried tomatoes in this creamy sauce. Goat cheese has less fat and cholesterol than other cheeses.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 3-ounce log goat cheese
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 Tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 cups arugula or watercress, stems removed
1 pound penne pasta
2 Tbs. toasted pine nuts (optional)
• Pour 1/2 cup of boiling water over sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl. Cover and let stand 15 minutes until tomatoes soften. Drain tomatoes, reserving soaking liquid.
• Chop tomatoes and combine with crumbled goat cheese, garlic and pepper in a food processor or blender. Puree 30 seconds then add liquid from tomatoes. Puree another 30 seconds.
• Cook penne according to package directions. Rinse and drain well. Toss with sauce, arugula and pine nuts.
• Allergy notes: The egg protein lysozyme is an unlabeled additive in some cheeses. People allergic to eggs should eliminate any cheese in this recipe.
