Rjómabúið Erpsstaðir Creamery, Iceland

Founded in 2009, Erpsstaðir Dairy (Rjómabúið Erpsstaðir) is a family dairy farm located just outside of Buðadalur, along road 60, which connects the ring road to the Westfjörds region of Iceland. The farm has grown tremendously over the years, from its roots as small-batch ice cream makers selling their products directly from the farm to becoming a well-known tourist destination.

Their cheeses are made in 650 litre cheese kettle with a help of prepres PRP-R and Cheese cutting device.

With them you will find a wide range of dairy products, Icelandic wool handicrafts and local food products, a petting zoo, you can tour the farm, use the picnic area and the children’s playground activity center. The dairy offers a great opportunity to stretch your legs with plenty of room to roam, fill your tummy with delicious treats and pick up some unique gifts to take home. Visitors are welcome to get up close and personal with the animals while enjoying tasty treats.

This is truly a working farm where they have about 60 cows. However, they only use about 10% of the milk of these cows for the production of various dairy products. The ingredients used are mainly local, seasonal flavors commonly found in Iceland whenever possible. Visitors are always welcome to see the entire production and processing of dairy products, including several types of Icelandic cheeses, traditional skyr and of course ice cream! The dairy specializes in ‘Flavors of Iceland’: you can enjoy delicious ice cream flavors such as Dandelion, Elderflower, Rhubarb and Blueberry, as well as more familiar flavors such as Peppermint, Chocolate, Strawberry, Mocha and Salted Caramel. In addition, they offer a specialty known as skyrkonfekt, a gourmet dessert that looks like a cow’s udder, made with a core of skyr and surrounded by a hard white chocolate shell.

The dairy was founded by local farmers Þorgrímur Einar Guðbjartsson and Helga Elínborg Guðmundsdóttir, who still run it with the help of their children and other local residents. The dairy continues to explore ways to innovate. In 2018, they received recognition for their efforts with the Fjöreggid award for pioneering work in gastrotourism and the development of products from its production. The award is given annually by the Icelandic Food and Nutrition Association with the support of the Confederation of Icelandic Industry, which supports new initiatives in the field of food and nutrition. In 2023, they also received “The Icelandic Agricultural Excellence award”, which is awarded by the Icelandic Ministry of Agriculture. The dairy organizes various special events from time to time and also has the option of renting accommodation.

See also their video about making Skyr for Inside food magazine here.

Source: Icelandic Roots | Genealogy Ancestry