Even More on Local Dairies

I'm on a roll here looking over the array of producers of dairy products available to us here in Minnesota.

Bongards' Cheese is available both at the supermarkets and at the co-op. Their website says:

Our state of the art factory uses only the freshest milk from our local farm families to produce our award winning cheese. Located 40 miles west of downtown Minneapolis, this 93 year old creamery is an independent co-op in a world of consolidation.

I'm a particular fan of Bongards' string cheese, and have been buying their cheddar from time to time recently as well.

Shepherd's Way Farms is a local jewel, producing artisanal sheep's milk cheeses near Nerstrand that are sold and praised across the country. Still recovering from their devastating fire two and a half years ago, Shepherd's Way makes several different cheeses -- Friesago, Queso Fresco de Oveja and Big Woods Blue -- with others available on a limited basis. You can find their cheese at the co-op.

More on Regional Dairies

Earlier today I commented that dairy products are probably a good bet for being relatively local, even when not specifically labeled as such. Afterward, I sent a query to Kemps -- one of the leading milk and ice cream distributors in local supermarkets -- about the source of their dairy products. Customer service rep Julie King replied:

We are a regional dairy with various milk plants in the region (Minneapolis, Rochester, Duluth, Cedarburg, WI). Raw milk is supplied by farmers closest to the respective plants.

I also did a little research on another popular brand of milk: Nature's Touch, sold in plastic bags at Kwik Trip stores and certainly the least expensive way to buy milk that I'm aware of. Assuming things haven't changed too much in the three years since this article in the La Crosse Tribune was published, Kwik Trip's dairy in La Crosse, Wis., processes milk from several hundred dairy producers in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

Because my household doesn't consume huge quantities of milk, I've recently come to the conclusion that I'd be willing to pay more for organic milk. What's in my fridge right now is Cedar Summit Farm organic, non-homogenized milk from grass fed cows. The dairy's tag line is, "Experience the way milk should taste," and I have to say, boy does that milk taste good! It seems to have a spectrum of flavor that is broader and more wonderful than I ever remember associating with milk before. Cedar Summit milk used, I believe, to be available only in returnable heavy glass bottles, but it is now also available in cartons. Cedar Summit Farm is just down the road in New Prague.

Eating (and Drinking) Locally... in Oregon

I've just returned from a couple of days in Oregon, where I drove through 50 miles of the stunning Columbia River gorge and passed miles and miles of orchards, fruit stands and wineries near Mount Hood. (It looked a lot like this photo, which is from the Hood River Chamber of Commerce site, although the trees were covered with fruit, not blossoms. And yes, that's Mount Hood in the background.) Alas, being on a business trip, I wasn't really in a position to stop and buy bags of ripe fruit or bottles of wine to bring back with me. I did sample a couple of items featuring the Marionberry -- a large, delicious blackberry that was developed at Oregon State University. I had Marionberry flavored Tillamook yogurt at the airport this morning, and last night I watched boats of all kinds slip past as I sipped a gorgeous mixed berry mojito at a restaurant on the Willamette riverfront in Portland. I guess that's called "drinking locally" -- as long as we ignore the rum and lime juice. I also sampled the famous Tillamook cheddar cheese in a crab and shrimp melt after the mojito was gone.

Earlier yesterday my colleague and I lunched on a hillside patio in the picturesque town of Hood River, which is apparently one of the most popular wind-surfing destinations in the world, due to the winds that are funneled along the gorge.

Both restaurants' menus noted that they use local and organic ingredients whenever possible. I'm seeing this more and more -- not that I eat out much, but it seems it's almost becoming an expectation in good restaurants these days. Since local food is likely to be the freshest, it makes perfect sense.