You may remember I posted a video link to The Trip for Life Episode 17: The Calder Bros Dairy a few weeks ago and I wanted to expand on their amazing dairy a bit.My husband, Jeremy, and I finally signed up for milk delivery last week. We have both enjoyed Calder milks before: he, growing up, and I, while in college. It wasn't until around Christmas that a friend mentioned their milk delivery in passing and we began to get excited. Milk delivery? How awesome! Of course there has to be a gigantic delivery fee, we said, we could never afford it. It'll never happen.
We were totally wrong.
Calder Dairy keeps their cows locally and fed on farm-raised forage. Their practices are leaning towards sustainable and, while they are not certified organic, they are all natural and there are absolutely no hormones or antibiotics used on their cows. Their dairy and farm are both open to visitors, and you can go see the cows in action, healthy and clean (as cows go). Their milk is bottled in recyclable and reusable glass bottles, which is their signature around here. They have been a family owned dairy for fifty five years! In addition to being a long-standing, local business with a great sense of community, they deliver their products to several local cities and communities (in Washtenaw, Wayne, Monroe and Oakland counties) with a minimal delivery fee of $2.50 a delivery!
Yesterday was our delivery day and we placed our cooler out by the fence. Right around 3pm, the dogs started barking and there it was - a giant, cow-spotted delivery truck in our driveway, and milk and bread in our cooler! Our weekly milk is what is called their "Natural" which means un-homogenized, old fashioned cream top milk. The milk is clumpy and thick with cream at the top, and more like skim at the bottom. All of Calder's milk tastes amazing, but their natural milk takes the cake and is amazing to drink, bake with and especially to make cheese with!
In addition to milk, Calder delivers their own butter, icecream, buttermilk, sour cream, eggnog, cream,and yogurt, as well as locally sourced bread (all natural), rice pudding, eggs and even cider!
I strongly recommend them to you if you live in any of the surrounding counties. They are friendly and pleasant to deal with, and if you have delivery they don't charge you for milk bottle deposits which is another bonus. If you don't live in the area, try searching for local dairies online. I was amazed to find that we actually have three local dairies but to be honest, Calder Dairy stands apart as being the highest quality local milk in the area.
Jeremy is such a good sport... Nothing like a milk mustache to show a satisfied consumer.
(We are going to be taking a fieldtrip to their farm this spring. Be sure to watch for the update!)
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Do you have access to great local food? Were they easy to find, or more like a well kept secret?
Do you have access to great local food? Were they easy to find, or more like a well kept secret?
can you get a goat pppllleeeaassseee so we can make goat cheese????
ReplyDeleteI'm totally jealous! Very cool.
ReplyDeleteI have always thought milk delivery to be a good idea. My family basically goes through 2 gallons a milk a day. Whenever we have chocolate milk, it doesn't last very long. I don't know who drinks the most milk in my family. It is probably between me, and my older brother. I have been doing a little research on different milk delivery companies in my area, and I am still not sure which one to go with. http://www.mrdairy.com
ReplyDeleteJust an fyi, they do you antibiotics. As needed.
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