Laura Howard of Laloo's Goat's Milk Ice Cream gets a kiss from Buttercup, one of her goats, in Sonoma County, CA.

Whenever chèvre is served at a party, we have to try very hard not to become one of those people who parks ourselves by the cheese plate for too long. (You know who you are!) Lately, we’ve been hearing more about the benefits of goat milk products thanks to G.O.A.T. (short for Greatest of All Time) — a collaboration by Mary Keehn of Cypress Grove Chevre, Laura Howard (pictured) of Laloo’s Goat’s Milk Ice Cream and Jennifer Bice of Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery. Their slogan? “ ‘Moo-ve’ over cow’s milk — there’s a new ‘kid’ in town.”

According to G.O.A.T, the milk has easier-to-digest proteins than other dairy, and it doesn’t contain the common allergen for those with lactose sensitivities. Goat farming is greener, since the animals don’t require as much food or land as cattle and produce less waste — plus they’re raised in smaller family farms and the milk is free of hormones and antibiotics. Goats also are “browsers” instead of “grazers,” eating brush and naturally aerating the soil with their hooves. As for nutrition, goat’s milk has 15 percent more calcium and 47 percent more vitamin A than cow’s milk.

For goat-milk products, check retailers such as Whole Foods and product websites for local retailers. Cypress Grove cheeses include Midnight Moon, Purple Haze, Truffle Tremor and the award-winning Humboldt Fog. Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery produces yogurt and kefir drinks, as well as Raw Milk Feta, best paired with sauvignon blanc, and chèvre, recommended with pinot noir. More wine pairings and serving suggestions can be found on the Redwood Hill and Cypress Grove sites; we also found a recipe from Mirassou for chèvre with apricot spread. As for dessert, Laloo’s ice cream offers such flavors as Black Mission Fig, Cajeta and Deep Chocolate.

Goat milk products sound like a tasty, green and delicious alternative. What do you think of the taste and benefits of goat milk?

Tags: Biotechnology, Cajeta, Cheese, Cuisine, Dairy products, Feta, food, Food and drink, Goat, Goat milk products, Hospitality/Recreation, Humboldt Fog, Kefir, Milk, Redwood Hill, vitamin A