Eat Me: Surfing Goat Dairy in Kula

By Kristin Hashimoto

Does at Surfing Goat Dairy, photo by Kristin Hashimoto

They had over 30 kids last breeding season. Between bottle-feeding and milking their mothers, the Surfing Goat Dairy have their hands full. It’s no wonder that with their hands-on approach, community involvement, and farm-fresh products, the dairy has become rather popularized throughout the state.

The cheese is good, really good. Order a salad from Flatbread in Paia and you’ll find their goat cheese sitting atop the local greens. Ono Gelato in Kihei and Paia also have a delicious gelato flavor called lilikoi quark, which utilizes the dairy’s rather sumptuous quark cheese.

Quark is a rather fresh goat’s milk yogurt that is a little tart on the tongue, with a mild flavor. It’s a very soft white type of cheese that is not aged. It is made ready to consume.

Products from this dairy are found in many of Maui’s restaurants. If there’s goat cheese, on the menu, in various dishes, there’s a good chance that it came from those upcountry goats. Duo in Wailea has a very satisfying goat cheese fritter appetizer made from cheese made fresh at this dairy.

Goats from Surfing Goat Dairy, photo by Kristin Hashimoto

Take a tour and do a tasting. Fun, friendly guides literally walk you through the production process as you meet and greet bearded, bleeting goats. The working dairy, tour ground and stable are all located on forty-two acres of land, which also hold three bucks and approximately 100 does.

The Surfing Goat Dairy is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The dairy is located in Kula at 3651 Omaopio Road . For more information visit www.surfinggoatdairy.com, or call 878-2870.