Farm~School~Life

Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts

Some of you that read my blog may already know that last year at the beginning of the pandemic, The Farmer & I decided to bite the bullet on something we had been discussing, planning, and subsequently laying to the side for years. Last year, we opened an on farm creamery. We began in the spring and after working with delays due to Covid-19 finally got up and running in November of 2020.

After 10 months of operating we have a little bit better idea of how to balance all the things that need to get done. The creamery only processes a small percentage of the milk we produce on farm. The remaining milk is sold through our milk cooperative. That means it ends up on grocery store shelves like always.

So if we are still shipping milk and you can still our milk at the grocery store, why would anyone purchase milk from our local retailers? Well the milk we bottle on farm is different! Plus, we partner with small mom and pop restaurants, farmers markets and businesses.

But really how is our milk different?

It's pasteurized (because pasteurization saves lives) but it is not homogenized. What the heck does that mean? Well when milk is homogenized it's basically shaken until all the fat particles in the milk are separated and dispersed to the point those particles can't reform the bonds they once had. Non-homogenized milk allows the cream (or fat) to rise to the top. It can be scooped off for coffee creamer, ice cream, making your own butter or whipped cream, etc. Don't want to scoop to scoop it off...no big deal...just give the milk a good shake or 2 and the cream will disperse back into the milk.

Ok so I don't want the cream to rise...then why on earth would I buy this instead of 'regular' milk?

Our process allows us to heat the milk to low temperature for a longer amount of time, which kills any bad bacteria which maybe in the milk but keeps the good bacteria (the kind that aid in digestion).

When you purchase whole milk at the grocery store it contains 97% fluid milk and 3% fat. Yes, you have been buying milk flavored water if you have been buying skim all these years. Since our milk isn't skimmed that means that you get the full flavor and all the nutrients that come with that flavor. There is nothing like a ice cold glass of milk on a hot day (or after a workout) to help quench your thirst and replenish your body with the needed nutrients.

So now that you know a little more about the milk we bottle on farm, you might be wondering if whole milk is all we do.... That answer is NO! We also do chocolate milk (which is kind of addicting) and buttermilk. We hope to add more dairy products over the course of the next year, but we will have to see what is next.