Dairy Review

I was struck by a conversation I had with some co-workers from Ireland regarding the difference in the taste of milk here in the US. They said our milk was like water, lacking flavor. And while I might agree with them when it comes to nonfat milk, I wondered whether there was a significant difference in the taste when it came to organic, or raw for that matter. I had tried the Straus Family Creamery line of products but didn't find any noticeable difference from your ordinary milks except for the fact that there was at times, a layer of cream on top. Horizon, another organic milk, wasn't noticeabley different as well. Both brands just let you can feel a bit better about buying them. But low and behold, in the Berkeley Bowl dairy case, I became intrigued with Claravale's Raw Milk . There's also something very nice about milk that comes in glass bottles. After my first taste, I would have to say that I'm completely hooked. It's amazing what a difference there is in taste. It's such a noticeable difference, full of depth and flavor, that I don't think I could ever buy the regular stuff again. After some sleuthing on the internet, I found that there are only two dairies left in California that make raw milk, which means, besides going through a filter, it comes basically, straight from the cow. The dairy is small. 60 cows out in pasture, each one wears a bell, and has a name. I think this is the the dairy of those "happy cow" ads. The breed kept is more for flavor rather than production. They are not given antibiotics or growth hormones. It's basically the way it should be. And after reading about the health benefits of raw milk, and the health problems associated with the way conventional milk is processed in this article, I'm definitely converted. Unfortunately, the milk council is quite a powerful lobby of large scale, mass dairies, that have tried repeatedly to get raw milk sales banned. I can't believe that in most states, this delicious and nutritious milk I've just encountered, is against the law. Thank goodness, they didn't succeed in California. The only other natural, unprocessed milk dairy in California is Organic Pastures. According to my good friend Sarah, who has tried their milk, it's her definite favorite. They're much larger, with a herd of 350 cows. They actually devised a machine that goes to where the cows are out in pasture to milk them. And they're also available for purchase online.