The heritage of particular foods is easily romanticized, like empty glass bottles awaiting the milkman on doorsteps. But it's this tradition that is securing some dairies' future.

As Marion Burros explains in a recent New York Times piece, small dairies are being revived across the nation by filling the growing market for artisanal butter, cream, and yogurt, similar to the artisanal cheese movement that began more than a decade ago.

And the timing is right. Commodity prices are milking dairies for all they're worth, and with more people willing to pay extra for fresh dairy products from small-scale dairies and creameries, such niche markets are keeping some farmers in business.

Restaurants are forming relationships with small creameries (in some cases making up the majority of a single dairy company's market) and giving common foods like butter center stage on fine dining tables. By featuring the origin of these products on the menu, restaurants are fetching a nice price from consumers looking for the kind of quality that only small operations and fresh ingredients can provide. And restaurant owners and chefs enjoy more than a name behind their ingredients – they acknowledge their participation in our food tradition.

Who knows, as the movement toward preserving the farms and people who bring us richly flavorful food grows, the return of the milkman may not be far behind.

Source: New York Times

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written by Chaka Khan, February 23, 2008

I remember in 2002, going to the small store down the road in Vermont and exchanging my half gallon glass for one filled with fresh milk from a mere few miles away. Gawd I loved that ! Not only did I drive by those cows and know where the milk came from, but I have, to this day, still never tasted milk so good! This is such a great example, among many, of the greatness of small, local farms and fun, personable farmers. I just hope I can realize that wonderful dairy again!

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