Edible Phoenix Award

Black Mesa Ranch

Snowflake, Arizona, USA

Artisan Cheese

Nubian Goats

Cheese and Candy Information and Online Ordering Page

Featured pages on this site

Updated!

We have revamped our Ranch Workshop Packages!

In addition to our three-day cheese making and goat management workshops learn about our free open- house days and lodging accommodations.

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Award Winning Artisan Goat Cheeses

2 Awards 2008 ADGA National Competition

4 Awards 2005 ADGA National Competition

3 Awards 2004 ADGA National Competition

Award Winning Fine Candies

(available seasonally)

2 Awards 2005 ADGA National Competition

2 Awards 2004 ADGA National Competition

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Click here to read the online version of Kathryn's booklet

Getting Started

The RIGHT WAY

With Goats

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This site last updated:

July 19, 2010

Endorsed by more than 36 humane organizations, the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® program is nationally recognized as the Gold Standard for certifying animal welfare.

Arizona Grown!

Black Mesa Ranch
Snowflake Arizona

Edible Phoenix Magazine Article

The following article appeared in the Summer 2006 Edible Phoenix Magazine and is reprinted here with permission

GOAT LOVE AT BLACK MESA RANCH

By Lisa Falconer

It's the goats. I can't get them out of my mind. I'm a city kid so I'm naturally somewhat apprehensive when faced with live farm animals. Like cows-they're so big-how can you be sure they're all that docile? And horses, they bite and kick if you're not very careful. So these goats at Black Mesa Ranch up in the White Mountains-as soon as they see you, they come running, trotting, or in the case of the little two-day old ones, tottering toward you with a look of steady determination in their goggly eyes and you've heard, well, that goats eat anything, and you can't help but wonder…am I lunch?

What happens next is the sudden swing of your emotional pendulum from "anxious" to "awe shucks"-- when you realize that the reason they seem so bent on going after you is because they want to be petted! Waist-high goats stand looking at you adoringly, offering their heads to be scratched, while baby goats butt their teeny little heads against your shins in order to get some attention, too. And suddenly you find yourself sitting in the dirt, completely oblivious to droppings, hugging goats and laughing, and you realize…you're in love.

Goat love. It's common knowledge that David and Kathryn Heininger had a similar experience six years ago. David had "retired" from the pastry cooking business and he and Kathy moved out to experience life off the grid. Along the way they met some Nubian goats and thought, "A couple of goats might be nice to have around." One thing led to another and the next thing you know they're running a lovely White Mountain goat resort so they decided they'd better do something with all that goat milk. David Heininger began to make cheese.

And, not just any cheese. Black Mesa Ranch (BMR) cheeses have consistently placed in the top three at national goat cheese competitions. Judges have noted the pure, clean fresh flavors-the Heininger's cheeses are never "goaty" tasting.

"It's easy to make bad goat cheese," says David. "Just treat the milk carelessly-collect several batches over a few days, don't worry too much about how clean your facilities are or both to control the temperature, allow the capric acid to develop, and you'll produce cheese that tastes goaty. I make cheese twice a day-the milk goes directly from the milking room to the cheese kitchen-it's a matter of minutes. The milk is not overly agitated; I work with small quantities, and can ensure that every batch is the best it can be."

Once I had torn myself away from the goats (we even bottle fed the kids!), we were treated to some of Black Mesa's most popular cheeses. We started with the fresh goat cheese, or chèvre. This is the cheese most of us think of when we hear the words "goat cheese". It's lovely, creamy (no graininess), subtly tart and very tasty. BMR also makes a terrific feta-just the right balance of tang and salt. There is a mozzarella-style Boule to try out on your next pizza session, or to cut into chunks and toss with a salad. David is always experimenting with additional cheese varieties-we also tried a nicely aged blue cheese and a long-aged parmesan-style cheese called Capriana.

BMR's web site has a lot more information on both the products (they make lovely truffles and brittle, too) and the goats. You can pick up some new vocabulary: doelings, bucklings, and wethers (castrated males). And, you'll be amazed by the wealth of information covered, including how to start buying and raising your own goats, goat lineage, kidding schedules, goats for sale, and pictures of goats wearing Christmas hats.

As you peruse the site a feeling of…well, exhaustion…may overcome you. Just when do they find the time to do all this?! They've got the twice a day milking, babies to birth, the kids to bottle feed throughout the kidding season (February until June), cheese to make twice a day, a recently adopted second herd of not-well-cared-for goats to look after, a collection of guinea fowl, chickens, ducks, and cows to care for, and then pesky media people popping in every other day to interrupt their work schedule and taste cheese. But the Heiningers obviously found a couple of spare, under-utilized seconds in their day because they have recently joined Vocation Vacations in order to give people interested in raising goats an opportunity to come out and stay and experience ranch life for themselves. I can only hope that those tourists prove to be just a little bit useful while they're there.

It's no accident that top Valley restaurants serve BMR cheeses including Rancho Pinot, Pizzeria Bianco, Quiessence at The Farm at South Mountain, Binkley's and dual. If you wish to purchase fresh BMR goat cheese to take home, try Pane Bianco, 4404 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, (602)234-2100. You can also purchase cheese, truffles and caramels directly from Black Mesa Ranch at www.blackmesaranchonline.com.

Lisa Falconer is a Cordon Bleu trained chef and free-lance food writer. She is currently busy considering whether a couple of goats might enjoy apartment life.

R E C I P E

FRESH GOAT CHEESE

David and Kathryn Heininger have graciously agreed to share their recipe for making fresh goat cheese.

Ingredients:
20-25 delightful registered Nubian goats
Barn/Comfortable safe shelter
Fully equipped milking shed
280 acres open range for grazing
Pasteurization equipment
Assorted thermometers, pots, filters, stirring, shaping, pressing and molding utensils

Method:
Ensure that your 280 acres of land have sound perimeter fencing. Set herd of Nubian goats loose to forage on open range. This ensures that the flavor of the milk is subtly enhanced by whatever edibles are in season: tender new leaves in spring, cactus flowers and fruit, assorted native grasses, tasty chewy aromatic barks in the fall. Terroir, it's not just for the French. (Note: Phoenix foodies get very excited about the subtle changes in flavor that occur in BMR's artisanal cheeses as the goats forage for food throughout the seasons. I'm considering it a personal challenge to do the same and have pledged to devote myself to trying BMR cheese throughout the spring and summer to experience the influences of the White Mountain terroir myself.)

Bring goats in twice a day, every day, even Christmas and your birthday, to be milked. They are happy to comply and may even be waiting by the door in case you are a little tardy. The goats will hop up on the milking platform and wait for you to attach the milking apparatus. Turn on the pump. Collect milk in a clean pail. Make sure to empty goat completely as the last drops have the highest butterfat and protein content. Repeat until you have a full set of relieved goats. Lug pail(s) full of milk, taking care not to spill, next door to the kitchen, filter out any impurities, and pour into a large sterile container for pasteurization. (By law, all milk used for cheese that will be aged less than 60 days must be pasteurized. Heininger uses the gentlest method: the milk is heated to 145F for 30 minutes.)

Once pasteurization is complete, cool milk rapidly to 86F, add culture and non-animal rennet, stir well, and wait for about 24 hours while it sets into curds. Scoop the curds into cheesecloth bags and hang to drain for about 24-48 hours. Add a bit of salt, and voilà!-fresh goat cheese.

CHEF COMMENTS

We asked Chrysa Kaufman of Rancho Pinot and Chris Bianco of Pane Bianco why they use Black Mesa Ranch goat cheese.

Chef Kaufman:
"I use their cheese because it's good! I like that they are local and unique...their story is great...just sort of stumbled into raising goats and making cheese...started as a "hobby". Kathryn and David are two of the most genuine, warm and special people I know! I took my kitchen staff up to visit their ranch last year as a sort of "field trip". We had a blast! Some of us slept outside in the corral (so their horses wouldn't bug us) and some slept below the dairy building. We helped milk the "girls", then made dinner and stayed up late talking and laughing. We went on a walk with Kathryn and the herd in the morning and got to feed the two day old baby goats! BMR cheese has that special flavor from the land...like a wine and its terroir...it reminds me of the high desert...all sage-y and herbal. At Rancho, we use the feta in our roasted beet salad, the fresh chèvre in lots of things: galettes, soup, pasta…and the aged cheese for our cheese plate...and I snack on it more than I should!! And by the way, fresh goat milk in your coffee is a treat not to be missed..."

Chef Bianco:
We searched for Arizona cheese for quite a long time before we found Black Mesa Ranch. When we're foraging for ingredients, we know we're not just looking at a product, we're seeing the family's story and struggles. When you meet David and see the information on their website, you understand the commitment they have. Their agenda is pure and purposeful: they're people who are doing something incredible. When we get our Fed Ex package [with the cheese] we're opening their life story and seeing their sense of purpose. The reality is that the cheese is already perfect. Our role as chefs is to harness that perfection and not screw it up. The texture of the fresh goat cheese is very creamy and clean. You can taste the freshness. It is as good as any other chevre style cheese I've ever had. It is "just goaty enough". I brought some of BMR's aged Capriana cheese with me to New York when I cooked at the James Beard house and put it on pasta with lamb sausage. I was proud to use their cheese, especially when you can show people outside of Arizona what we have here in the state. You start to see your own backyard with different eyes - you don't have to go to Paris or New York to find amazing food.

DAVID’S CHEESE TASTING TIPS

Let the cheese warm to room temperature so that its aromas and flavors are at their maximum levels.

Taste milder cheeses first and progress to the stronger flavored ones, leaving blue cheeses till near the end and tasting "stinky" cheeses last.

Taste each cheese at its center first and then work your way to the outside where the cheese is most aged and stronger in flavor.

Taste starting from the tip of your tongue working towards the back of your mouth. This takes advantage of all of the taste receptors in your mouth and brings the cheese in contact with of all of the sense areas: sweet, salty, acidic, and bitter.

Taste the rind/skin last.

Take note of these characteristics when you taste:
Texture - smooth, grainy, crunchy, etc.
Density/weight - how compact the cheese feels in your mouth
Intensity - how flavorful is the cheese?
Acidity/balance - acidity should be offset by creaminess
Duration/finish - how long each of the characteristics last
Fruit - a subtle, seasonal element relating to temperature and feed
Saltiness-salt enhances flavor just up to a point; did they get it right?
Flavors - earthy, nutty, roasty, toasted, musty, mushroomy, meaty , etc.
Aroma - don't be shy about smelling the cheese just as you would wine

(Writer's Note: as this process is similar to that of wine tasting, I suggest you combine the two and open some nice wine and have a crusty baguette nearby for cleansing your palette between bites.)