I Survived The Cheese!!!!!
While not a raw milk drinker, I am a raw cheese eater…well any kind of cheese eater…bit of a cheese whore. In fact, I did a major happy dance when my CSA announced the they hooked up with CSA Pastured Meat & Poultry which brings upstate farm goods to us greedy little city dwellers. So when Tuesday Crunchy posted about the quandary of raw milk and the potential banning I must say I became more than a little concerned.
Cheese is art…and therefore should not be messed with because a handful of farmers didn’t practice clean and safe handling. Fortunately, yesterday was the CSA’s first CSAPM&P delivery and you bet your sweet caboose I ordered myself a pound of the good stuff…1/2 raw milk cheddar and 1/2 raw milk firehouse jack. The cheddar we happily nibbled and the firehouse made a tasty little tostada. Maybe our enjoyment was heightened by the idea that we may not always be able to get raw cheese legally, but it was gooooooooood. Aren’t you impressed that I didn’t say gouda? ( I would have taken pictures of the potential contraband but it was just too hard to balance the camera and shove cheese in my cheddar hole with both fists at the same time.)
Well…I won’t keep you in suspense…we all survived.
Well except for that set of horns growing out of my head…probably nothing…I’ll just dab a little Neosporin on it and I’m sure it will clear right up. Just a little Rawmilkcowheadidous. Very catchy. You had better not eat my cheese…just to be on the safe side.
The camembert flies with the bunny….10 pm…sharp.
That’s awesome! You’re CSA is becoming a one stop shop! Talk about the yummy possibilities!
We have been eating raw cheese for awhile now. I have been told that the aging of the cheese kills enough bacteria that it can be sold under regular laws. We eat it and love it!
Mmmm I love cheese too. Not having luck making it. But I now am armed with a book on the subject
I’ve been told that too. I hope it’s true. I will say I don’t feed it to my 2 yr old just in case.
Verde- I don’t even attempt to make cheese. I like to stay in awe of the voodoo magic.
My husband and I have been eating/drinking raw cheese and milk now for 3 months. So far so good!
I agree with you that raw cheese should not be banned, since that should be your own choice whether or not to take a chance on getting a foodborne illness. But to say that the reports of foodborne illness are due to “a handful of farmers didn’t practice clean and safe handling” is false. Yes, clean and safe handling decreases the risk of producing contaminated milk. But these pathogens can arrive at the farm through birds, pests, visitors, trucks, new additions to the herd, or contaminated water supply or feed. Many of these things are not noticed until there is a problem. And while you may not be as susceptible to contracting these diseases from your milk, it can be devastating to others, like the young, old, or immunocompromised (AIDS patients or those undergoing chemotherapy), and many of the pathogens like listeria can easily cause abortion in pregnant women. So be careful before you decide that raw milk must be safe since you drink it and haven’t had a problem. There are many documented cases of severe outbreaks that have killed a lot of people. Having said this, I think if you have educated yourself on the subject and you are not in a high risk category, you should be allowed to legally enjoy your cheese!
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