800 B.C.: Year generally cited for when Homer wrote The Odyssey, in which its hero speaks of goat cheese’s ability to ease the acidity of wine.

8th Century: Approximate time that goat cheese is said to have first been made in France, where it continues to flourish.

100: Official number of goat cheeses made in France said to be facing extinction.

1980: Year that goat cheese was first produced commercially in the United States, in Sonoma County, Calif. Soon after that, Alice Waters of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley added a salad of mixed baby greens topped with a disc of warm goat cheese.

1: Average daily milk production, in gallons, of a typical doe. Super producers may have double that amount. Cows produce 10 gallons a day.

1: Pounds of fresh goat cheese produced from 8 pounds (1 gallon) goat’s milk

6: Breeds of dairy goats raised commercially in the U.S. Among the most common are Nubians, Saanen, Alpine and La Mancha. Each varies in size, milk production and temperament.

355,000: Number of dairy goats in the U.S. in 2009. Every state has some dairy goats, with Wisconsin, followed by California, Iowa, Texas and Minnesota, having the largest numbers.

5.9%: Increase in the number of dairy goats over 2008, according to National Agricultural Statistics Service.

2: Movies in which Bruce Willis characters talk about reindeer goat cheese pizza: The Last Boy Scout and Hudson Hawk.