Cajeta: the nectar of the heavens

Have you ever tasted something that you thought must be the nectar of the heavens? Yes? Then you know “cajeta”!

No? Then you really need to search some out. Better yet, contact me and I’ll see about getting you some.

Since Four Country Gals is raising milk goats, I was looking into a cheese venture. However, after carefully planning, pricing, checking on all the regulations, considering the market, and looking at my competition, I’ve chosen to back away from the goat cheese venture.

However…
I’ve found a much better use for goat milk. Combine it with sugar, cook it for hours until it caramelizes, add some flavoring, and you’ve got a taste of heaven.

Now, cajeta is a traditional Mexican desert sauce. It’s most famous home is Celaya, a small town in central Mexico where dulcederos ply their wares, making goat milk caramel by the copper pot full right on the street. If cooked past the sauce stage it becomes a type of milk candy… also to die for.

Ah you say… but you’re not Mexican! True, but I have a lot of Mexican friends from home in Oregon, and they taught me how to make cajeta. It’s not rocket science, just time consuming.

So, here’s the plan.

We still need to construct a small kitchen, but that’s a lot less expensive than building a cheese making room. We also have to build a “milking room”. That is less than a full-fledged dairy, as I won’t need to bottle any milk. We already have goats.

I’ve taken the time to write a very detailed business plan about the who, what, when, where, why, and how come of this venture. It’s taken me a couple of weeks to cost it out and do my market research. While I can’t share the entire plan here with you, I can let you in on a few things.

There is NO COMPETITION from any other local producers.

There is large Mexican community in southern Utah, and the word is spreading that there is a cajeta maker loose on the desert, who is going to satisfy their wildest dreams of traditional cajeta, right down to and including the real authentic Mexican vanilla.

We already have two places where we are able to sell our products… the Year Round Farmer’s Market (we’re also major sponsors of that market) as well as the Downtown Cedar City Farmer’s Market.

As far as regulations go, I’ll need a Utah State Cottage License (far easier than for the cheese venture). I’ll still be inspected by the same UDAF guy, but under different conditions.

The equipment I need is the same as if for a home kitchen. We could use our own kitchen if we didn’t have six dogs. And, no… the dogs stay in house.

So, here’s the nitty-gritty of the plan. I need to find financing, and for me, the best way is to do it non-traditionally through “crowd funding”. I will post the project on Kickstarter. Within a couple of weeks, I’ll launch the request and that’s where you come in.

This kind of funding works because you tell your friends about this crazy woman who wants to make a goat milk caramel sauce and sell it at farmer’s markets. You and your friends believe in the project, and tell more folks. See how it spreads?

You show me you believe by donating a few bucks to the project. For enough bucks, you’ll get some cajeta of your own, and I promise you… it is a taste of heaven. You can use it on ice cream, pancakes, toast, or just eat it out of the jar. Trust me, if you like peanut butter, or Nutella, you’re gonna love cajeta.

I’ll be working hard to spread the word about the project, too. You see, it’s an ALL OR NOTHING deal. If we don’t hit our money goal, the project doesn’t get funded, and I don’t get to sell cajeta. I’ll have to sell the goats that I really love, and everybody loses.

Here’s another way you can help (and only costs your time).

Follow Four Country Gals on Twitter. When I tweet about the project, re-tweet it to your friends. That will help spread the word.

Also, be sure to friend us on Facebook.

If you happen to be in Cedar City on Saturday mornings, stop in at the  Year Round Farmer’s Market, located inside the IFA store (until warmer weather). I may have samples, as I’ll begin milking this weekend. Surely Annie will let me steal a quart or two a day while she feeds her two boys. We’re at that market from 9 AM until  Noon.

 

 

 

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