from the good earth
the Science of Chevre
At Caprini Creamery, Kristy Kikly does the cheesemaking, and her husband, Mike Hoopengardner, milks and feeds the goats.
Indiana’s newest goat cheese producer draws from biology background BY CAROLINE MOSEY PHOTOS BY KELLEY JORDAN HENEVELD
M
ost would agree there’s an undeniable art to cheese making. But there’s a science to it too, and Kristy Kikly has learned the balancing act.
Kikly, a fulltime scientist with a background in biology, is behind Indiana’s newest goat cheese producer: Caprini Creamery. Along with her husband and 15-year-old daughter, Kikly crafts high-quality chevre and feta at their family farm near Spiceland, about 40 miles east of Indianapolis.
Though they now own nearly 200 goats and make 70 pounds of cheese each week, cheese making wasn’t always the plan. In 2007, Kikly and her family purchased farmland where they eventually made their home and kept goats and llamas as pets. Over time, she and her husband began discussing ways to make the jump from being pet owners to business owners. 22
edible indy
“We thought about fibers at first,” says Kikly. “With goats and especially with llamas, that was our first consideration.” After toying with the idea of raising the animals for their coats, Kikly began researching what it would it would look like to produce goat cheese. “I got some books and started playing around in the kitchen,” she says. “I also enrolled in cheese making courses up in Wisconsin.” Relying on her science background throughout the process, Kikly was able to begin making small batches of goat cheese that, to her, had creamier notes than others being produced locally. “We’re raising Nigerian Dwarf goats, which have a higher milk fat content,” Kikly explains. “You get a creamier cheese that way.”
winter 2012
