Set high up in the Rockies (where the mountains are named after Ivy League schools) this relatively new and quite sizeable dairy is owned and run by Dawn Jump, a veteran Washington state cheesemaker with serious skills and sharp business sense. The facility is large and is growing by leaps and bounds. Construction began in 2008 and was complete by March ’09.
We arrived in time for their 4pm milking tour which was led by farm guide and volunteer Pat. His wife used to volunteer as well until she was offered a paying position at the dairy in the Country Store doling out samples and educating tourists. Pat gave us a very detailed tour of the facilities, walking us through the different types of cheeses made by Jumpin’ Good Goat while providing us with a history of the farm.
To begin the tour I, Darren, milked a goat! This was a top priority; a goal of utmost importance (unknown to Liana until that moment) and sweet success is what I feel now. I even got a blue ribbon for my fearless effort. The glorious utter was mine, for just a brief moment, all mine. Yes!
Liana’s prize moment was when we got enter the baby goat pen and one of the little rascals jumped up on her and tried gnawing on her sweat shirt. I’m surprised she didn’t try to sneak on of them home! Definitely adorable! When they say “Jumpin” goodgoats, they’re not kidding!
Currently Jumpin’ Goat is home to 95 does and 4 bucks of La Mancha and Alpine breeds. They milk six days a week on the 43 acre farm. This farmstead milk is always used to make their goat cheddar and also to make a few other cheeses. Jumpin’ Good Goat Dairy has a very special arrangement with a nearby minimum security prison by which inmates milk goats for them. Twice a week they go to pick up that milk from the 1,000 more goats milked daily by the inmates. Their goal is to process 250,000 pound of milk (or 25,000 pounds of cheese) per year.
This dairy sells 10 different spreadable chevres such as maple, pumpkin and lemon dill. My favorite was the Rocky Mountain Dawn Chevre Lemon Dill flavor (a 2009 winner at ACS in the Chevre category). It is outrageous: creamy chevre, lemon zest and fresh dill. I was inspired instantly with a receipt that would utilize this delightful cheese. Simply begin by whipping the RMDC up with a little bit of crème fraiche. Let that sit for 5 minutes. In the mean time, take Ruffles chips and layer each on with a piece of smoked salmon. Now drizzle each salmoned chip with the chevre/fraich mixture and sprinkle with fried capers, then BOOM! We are talking dee-lish.
In addition to the chevres Jupin’ Goat makes goat cheddars and some interestingly flavored ones too. One flavor is called Hot Chocolate Cheddar. The cheese consists of their Champion Hill Cheddar with a vein of chipotle and an additional vein of cocoa. Soon they plan on making goat milk ice cream (look out Haagen Daz!).
The tour also includes a trip to their aging caves. We were led to their subterranean cheese cave to spy on the maturing cheese. No booties or special boots required since all their aging is done via cryovac. This also allows for the aging of cheese on wood racks without any hassle from the health department. Right now they sell quite a bit of their products to local restaurants. Her three brothers are all chefs who I’m sure take pride in using her cheeses in their cuisine.
Funny anecdote:
A woman named Laurie, who lives near what is now Jumpin’ Good Goat Dairy, owns a towing company. She was offered a questionnaire, sometime before the dairy was built, asking how she felt about having a goat farm nearby. “Cool!” she thought. Months later, as a neighborly gesture, she rode over to the new dairy to plow the driveway and who does she run into? Her old childhood friend from Washington, Dawn Jump! What a surprise that was, and now the old friends are reunited.
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