Rediscovering The Milkman
written by Laura Sears
on 05/09/2011
By Laura Sears
metrocurean contributor, lb's good spoon
You may think of the milkman as something of the past, but the joys of glass bottled milk hand delivered to your front steps is well within reach. In an effort to eat local and support area farmers, here are some great sources for fresh milk delivery.
• South Mountain Creamery
This creamery serves a large number of milk drinkers in Maryland, DC, Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The Sowers family has seen the farm, which started in 1981, go through a host of changes from just 13 customers to thousands.
Running the operation now takes many hands and is something you can experience by visiting the farm and watching the cows being milked. You can even help bottle feed the baby calves. The cows are only given antibiotics if they are sick, and in that case they are taken off the line and their milk is not used. That means the South Mountain milk you drink will be free of both antibiotics and hormones.
South Mountain also provides excellent meats, cheeses, butter and other items that can be added to your order weekly and left in a cooler that you provide or one that can be purchased from them. There is a $3.75 charge per delivery and a refundable deposit of $1.50 per glass bottle. Milk ranges in price from $2.50 to $4.
• Holy Cow Delivery
Launched by one of the cousins of South Mountain's owners, Holy Cow has expanded the number of homes that can receive the creamery's milk. Milk prices range from $3 to $4.50 with a $1.50 refundable bottle deposit fee and $3.75 delivery fee.
Owner Samantha Stern's family also runs a 20-acre farm in Strasburg, Va., home to cattle, sheep, goats, and Rhode Island Red Chickens. Through the milk delivery service, you can add on local meats, cheese, eggs and produce.
The cows that produce Trickling Springs milk graze on grass.Photo from Trickling Springs Creamery.
• Trickling Springs Creamery
This Pennsylvania creamery provides its delicious organic milk to many restaurants, coffee shops and stores in the DC area. Get their milk delivered to your doorstep through Arganica and Washington's Green Grocer. (Check sites for pricing.)
Laura Sears is a personal chef, cooking instructor and food writer following her love of cooking and writing after a career in various business jobs. Born and raised in Ohio, she is both molded by those roots and the ones she grew as an early adult in Santa Barbara, Calif. Her love for local, seasonal food blossomed there as did her desire to garden each opportunity she got.
Living in DC has been a recent change though she is encouraged by the number of farmers markets and local suppliers of meat and dairy. You can follow her on her personal blog LB's Good Spoon that was created in 2008 after several friends kept asking her what she had cooked up recently!
Comments
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Bringing a little country to the city! Sounds great!!!
5/10/2011 4:36:13 PM EDT
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Way to go Laura...next we will be seeing you on the food network :)
5/11/2011 2:27:05 PM EDT
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