Crumb Trail

Swissland Cheese Co.

Located in Berne, IN at 818 Welty Street, you will find the Swissland Cheese Company.  Their grass-fed organic cheese is certified organic.  In this category they offer:  White Cheddar, Feta, Baby Swiss, Mozzarella, White Colby, Veggie Jack, Horseradish, Pepper Jack, Garlic & Herb, and Tomato, Basil, & Pinenut.

Swissland also offers two raw milk cheeses, grass-fed organic Raw Milk Cheddar and grass-fed organic Raw Milk Pepper-Jack.  They have three goat's milk cheeses:  Feta, Cheddar Style, and Jalapeno Cheddar Style.  They also have three specialty cheeses.

Their products can be purchased at their booth at the Barr Street Market (where you can sample many of their cheeses) in Fort Wayne on Saturdays or at their address in Berne, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to
1 p.m.

"cow shares" maybe not what you think

Here is something I previously did not know existed and I find fascinating.

According to the FDA, "In states that prohibit intrastate sales of raw milk, some people
have tried to circumvent the law by 'cow sharing,' or 'cow leasing.'  They pay a fee to a
farmer to lease or purchase part of a cow in exchange for raw milk, claiming that they
are not actually buying the milk since they are part-owners of the cow."  This practice
falls into a gray area in Indiana.

Typically you pay the farmer for a share in the cow.  This is a one time fee and could be
anywhere from $60 to $80.  You also pay a monthly fee towards the boarding, feeding
and milking expenses of cow, which seem to run between $15 and $24 per month.  This
entitles you to a gallon of raw milk a week.  So this comes to roughly $4-6/gallon of milk.

If you happen to be interested in more information of this topic, check out RealMilk.com

 

 

local milk

Something I have learned along the way is to read the label carefully on milk products,
particularly organic milk products.

In Allen county, if you want to purchase local milk, you have a very limited choice.  I
called Prarie Farms Dairy Inc. on Lima Road in Fort Wayne and was told that the
only milk product leaving their plant that is from the Fort Wayne area is the gallon
and half gallon carton of milk.  It was stressed to me that this was the carton only,
not the plastic containers.  I was told that in the gallon and half gallon cartons, it did
not matter if the milk was whole milk, 2%, or fat free it was all from Fort Wayne. I
am so thankful that we have at least this one local dairy.

Now, I am going to take a bit of a detour here.  I want to write about Indiana law
and federal law in regard to raw milk, pasteurized milk and ultra-pasteurized milk. 
Raw milk, which is unpasteurized, is forbidden by law to be sold in Indiana for human consumption. However, cowshare programs (tomorrow's topic) exist in the state
and are legal according to the FDA.  It is also a violation of federal law to sell raw
milk, packaged for consumer use across state lines.  The FDA's web site also
states, "But each state regulates the sale of raw milk within the state (intrastate),
and some states allow it to be sold.  This means that in some states dairy operations
may sell it to local retail food stores, or to consumers directly from the farm or at
agricultural fairs or other community events, depending on the state law."   For a
listing of each  state and and whether raw milk is legally available check out this
article in USA Today.  The article was printed in Aug. of '06 but I have been unable
to find any more recently published information, so be aware the laws could
have changed.

So, milk available to the consumer in Indiana is either pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized. 
Again, according to the FDA's web site "The pasteurization process uses heat to
destroy harmful bacteria without significantly changing milk's nutritional value or flavor. 
In addition to killing disease-causing bacteria, pasteurization destroys bacteria that
cause spoilage, extending the shelf life of milk."  Pasteurized means that the milk has
been heated to a minimum of 161 degrees F for a minumum of 15 seconds or to 145
degrees F for 30 minutes.  Ultra-pasteurized milk must be heated to a minimum of
280 degrees F for a minimum of 2 seconds.

There is much discussion regarding the pros and cons of ultra-pasteurization.  The
most significant pro is that it extends the milk's shelf life by 2-3 weeks.  Is this really
a good thing?  Personally, I am with those who believe that ultra-pasteurization also
deminishes the nutrional value of the milk.  Be aware that most organic milk is
ultra-pasteurized and you need to read the label carefully if you prefer to purchase
a product that has not been ultra-pasteurized.