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Food & Drink: Ice cream from goat’s milk is divine

Conway Family Farm also makes delicious cheeses

By Rachel Pinsky
Published: September 7, 2018, 6:00am
4 Photos
Conway Family Farm’s country store.
Conway Family Farm’s country store. Photo Gallery

On a sunny summer day, I headed out on a short journey (about 30 minutes from Vancouver) to Conway Family Farm seeking goat milk ice cream. On the drive there, the road slowly narrowed and curved. The forest grew denser. There were signs for Eileen Quiring, hypnosis, and heirloom tomatoes.

After I turned onto Dial Road, Conway Family Farm’s country store was the second gravel driveway on the left. This store is a small gray cottage with a modest porch and a birdhouse hanging from the roof. Lush forest surrounds the farm, and I could see the Conways’ herd of Nubian goats going about their business to the right of the farm store, above the head of a small statue of St. Francis.

Shaun and Lorrie Conway purchased these 5 acres of land in Fern Prairie (located in the area of the historic Yacolt Burn forest fire of 1904) in 1989 and decided to build a farm on it. Lorrie Conway fell in love with goats in 1974. In 2004, the Conways decided to make the family farm into a business. They were one of the first licensed Grade A raw milk micro dairies in Washington.

Their country store is a treasure trove of farm goods — goat cheese, Girl Meets Dirt preserves (rhubarb lavender, crabapple, orange peppered pear), Conway Farm jam (blueberry), eggs, goat milk soap, yarn, woolen blankets, and beeswax candles. The store contains an eclectic mix of items made from the Conways’ goats and other things that they like and use in their home.

On my visit, there were pints of goat milk ice cream in a variety of flavors (coffee, cherry, mint chip, peach, and strawberry). I tried mint chip, cherry (with bits of chocolate), and strawberry. The ice cream reached its peak texture when thawed to room temperature. Lorrie Conway explained: “By the time you reach the bottom of the pint, it’s the perfect temperature.” The ice cream doesn’t contain eggs, and goat milk is lower in fat than cream. This combination creates a foamy texture — light and airy. The berries and mint in the ice cream were farm-fresh. Pumpkin ice cream will be available next month and peppermint will be available around Christmas.

I came for the ice cream, but I’ll definitely return for the cheese. The Conways have been making cheese since 2009. They began with the more familiar soft goat cheese (or chevre), but making this type of cheese bored Lorrie to death. She preferred making hard cheeses, even though it wasn’t easy. According to her, “Hard cheeses were a battle for me. I’m not a scientist. There is a science to knowing what the different cultures do. There’s also a lot of wasted time.” Hard cheeses take longer to make (a minimum of six months of aging, reaching their peak at one year or more), and they don’t always turn out as expected.

Years of trial and error have paid off in extraordinary hard, cave-aged cheeses. I tried the Yacolt Burn (an orange and white cheese with smoked paprika) and Boulder Creek (a white cheese with cumin seeds). I’ve had soft goat cheese before (which are also available here), but I’ve never tried aged goat cheese. The aging process gives the cheese an umami flavor and crystalline texture similar to Parmesan or an aged cheddar. The spices added to these cheeses complement their complexity. If I had brought crackers and a knife instead of just ice cream spoons, the cheese would have been devoured before I got back into my car for the long and winding drive home.

Rachel Pinsky can be emailed at couveeats@gmail.com. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @couveeats.

If You Go

What: Conway Family Farm.

Where: 32116 N.E. Dial Road, Camas.

Hours: The farm store is open daily 9 a.m. to dusk; email before you go.

Contact info:www.conwayfamilyfarm.com or conwayfamilyfarm@gmail.com

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