Move over Bessy, ‘cause there’s a new udder in town.
Petaluma’s Haverton Hill Creamery, which produces the nation’s first commercially available bottled sheep’s milk, is moving in to the ice cream business. Now appearing on the shelves of Sonoma County grocery stores are small batch pints of vanilla bean, dark chocolate cocao nib, mint chip and hazelnut crunch 100% sheep’s milk ice cream.
Lower in fat than cow’s milk and low in lactose to boot, its lush and creamy and everything ice cream should be. Tasters said they could definitely tell it wasn’t cow’s milk, but had its own unique quality. Suffice to say that if you like sheep’s milk cheese, you’ll get it.
Churned at their farm, it’s made with fresh milk, egg yolks and cane sugar — the old fashioned way. There are seasonal specialty flavors, with Taylor Maid coffee the star of the moment. At $10.99 the price is a bit steep, but keep in mind that sheep produce significantly less milk than cows, so it takes a whole lot more milking.
Look for it at Oliver’s, Community Market and local Whole Foods.