By Julia Howard
“What the cows are giving is what you drink,” is how Kyle Depew describes the milk that Bunker Hill Creamery produces.
Bunker Hill Creamery, located in Cossayuna, is among the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s newest vendors. The creamery began bringing milk to the Wednesday market in the summer and then was added to the market on Saturdays.
Depew and his lifelong friend Dan Richards started Bunker Hill Creamery in 2008. Richards and his wife Erin own Richview Farms, which provides the milk to Bunker Hill as well as meat that the partnership also brings to the market.
Richview Farm is home to 300 animals and 75 dairy cows provide milk for the creamery. The creamery is located right on the farm, and milk is processed and bottled in small batches and then distributed for sale.
The milk coming from the creamery is minimally processed and is non-homogenized. What does that mean exactly? Kyle Depew explains that the milk undergoes low-temperature pasteurization that results in creamy milk with no separation of the milk and cream. Processed in small batches, the milk also maintains its nutritional value. This process makes Bunker Hill Creamery’s milk notable.
“We want people to be aware of the value in the bottle,” says Depew. Bunker Hill Creamery offers cream top whole milk, chocolate milk, and maple milk in half gallons and single servings. Their chocolate milk uses high-quality cocoa and is free from carrageenan and corn starch and their maple milk is sweetened with local maple syrup.
In addition to milk, Bunker Hill Creamery brings a variety of cuts of Angus beef, pork, and veal. These products are sourced from their partnership with Richview Farms.
“When we started, we really wanted to do something new and different,” explains Depew. “Our biggest challenge has been finding the right opportunities to get our milk to the community”.
Bunker Hill Creamery is overcoming that challenge. Their milk is currently available at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market on Saturdays as well as the Troy and Delmar Farmers’ Markets, numerous Price Chopper and Hannaford locations, several local eateries and stores, and at farm stores at 167 Bunker Hill Rd. in Cossayuna and 144 N Rd. in Greenwich.
Customers can look forward to expanded offerings from Bunker Hill Creamery as they hope to offer reduced-fat milk, heavy cream, half & half, and other dairy products in the future.
This week’s recipe: One-Pot Bunker Hill Mac
