Saturday, September 29, 2007

Raw Milk



I have been reading a lot about raw milk in the papers lately. There was a big article in the New York Times over the summer. I have been wanting to try some raw milk, but didn't want to buy an entire carton of it at the grocery store. Last weekend when I was strolling through the Berkeley Farmer's Market I saw the Claravele Dairy stand. This was my opportunity! I asked for a small taste of the milk. It was really good. Not remarkably different than the Straus milk that I usually buy, just a bit creamier and milkier, if you can imagine that. It was a subtle difference. I bought a quart of it to take home. We drank it during the week. Everytime I or the Boogie had a glass I felt a little thrill. Similar to the thrill you get when you are about to ride a roller coaster - like you are doing something a little bit dangerous. I know that it is generally safe, but with the warning labels on the bottle and that I've read, I was always a little nervous one of us would get sick. Fortunately neither of us did. In the end, I have to say that I am pretty happy with the Straus Creamery milk that I buy and I think I will stick with that, despite the purported health benefits of raw milk. At least while I have such young kids anyway. I will definitely continue to consume lots of raw milk cheese though!

Incidentally, I recently read that the state of North Carolina is requiring raw milk dairies to put gray dye in their milk, since it is only legal to sell as petfood. Go ahead and fertilize the spinach fields with cow shit, look the other way at those mega-slaughter houses, but whatever you do don't sell carefully handled raw milk from small family farms to informed consumers! So crazy!

3 comments:

Marsha said...

We've been buying raw milk from a local dairy since last winter, and we love it! The cows are grass fed (silage in the winter), which, as far as health benefits go, is just as important as the lack of pasteurization. This milk tastes so much sweeter and more flavorful than anything we can buy in the stores here!

kmberrien said...

That's good to know! Does Sylvia drink it too? The Strauss milk that we get is really great and so sweet. Cowgirl Creamery uses it for their cheese (have you ever had any of their cheeses?). But, I love the idea of doing all of my shopping at the Farmer's Market and not having to go to Whole Foods every week. So, I might start getting the raw milk. Although, I don't they don't sell skim milk, which is what I drink. Hmmm. Does your dairy sell skim too?

kmberrien said...

Okay they do sell raw milk. Maybe I will switch to buying it for awhile. A food adventure! I love food adventures!