Steven's comment, below, leads me to put a disclaimer on this post. I've been reading about the value of raw dairy for a few months and have been drinking it for about a month. If you want to try it, I encourage you to become an informed consumer. RealMilk will give you the "pro" side of the case. If you Google "e coli" and "raw milk," you will get lots of info from the other side.
I've been putting this post off for a long time -- because what I really want to do is visit these dairies and do interviews and take photographs. And right now, that's beyond my means. So here is everything I know about how to buy the best-quality dairy possible in Longview.
Let me say first of all that I can't always buy the products listed below. I frequently buy Tillamook cheese and butter--their cattle have at least some opportunity to graze real grass and they are located less than 100 miles away. And I sometimes buy Umpqua dairy products, which are produced in Oregon, are rBST free, and are pasteurized instead of ultra-pasteurized. And cheap, especially at Grocery Outlet.
But when I can, I go for the good stuff.
The Blue Rose Dairy is the most local cheese that's actually being sold in Longview, at least, that I know of. They are located in Winlock, Washington, in Lewis County. Their goats are fed grass, hay, and grain and the cheese is pasteurized. I've bought it several times at the Cowlitz County Farmer's Market. My favorites are the chevre and feta. I love buying from their stand because I can sample the cheese and ask as many questions as I like.
Dee Creek Farm is actually located in Cowlitz County, but they market all their products to south, in Vancouver and Portland. They sell raw and lightly pasteurized goat cheeses, and they sell raw goat milk in Washington only.
Both Blue Rose and Dee Creek offer cheese making classes and events on the farm -- check their sites for details.
I was delighted to find that Longview Produce Co. is selling cheese from Steamboat Island Goat Farm. The farm is located outside Olympia, WA. Longview Produce Co. is at 851 California Way in Longview. These cheeses are aged raw-milk cheeses, and they are really wonderful. So far I have bought the pepper jack, and sampled the cheddar, cumin jack and an herbed cheese.
Finally -- yes, there is a source for raw milk (WAPF calls it Real Milk) in Longview. I was lucky to be there on the right day of the week, or I would not have known. The Country Village sells milk from Dungeness Valley Creamery, which is a rich, creamy raw Jersey milk. They are pasture based and feed a diet of grass (with alfalfa hay in winter) supplemented with a grain ration.
Since not everyone who wants to buy high-quality dairy products is an upscale, affluent consumer (ahem), I would like to point out that Longview Produce and Country Village both take EBT cards.
This post is entered in Simple Lives Thursday
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2 comments:
Didn't Dee Creek and Dungeness Valley both have e. coli problems in the past?
Steven, yes, and thank you.
I knew about Dee Creek's problems in the past and frankly, the stories scared me away from drinking raw milk until just recently. At the time they were operating as a "cow share" operation (now illegal, though it wasn't at the time), and have since been licensed by the state to sell raw milk, a demanding process that (from some of the Daily News stories I read at the time) required changes in their setup and operations. I'm surprised it didn't put them out of business entirely.
I did a quick search just now and found that Dungeness Dairy was investigated in December 2009 but no conclusive link was found between their milk and the outbreak; their operations were not halted and no milk was recalled.
I have plans to do a more detailed post on raw milk soon; the short version, however, is to do your own research and make an informed decision.
I found it interested that the top hits in my searches were law firms that specialize in food poisoning cases.
I am also hoping, in the next several months, to make personal visits and do stories on the farms that provide milk, eggs and meat.
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