Finding nonhomogenized milk in a city?

January 19, 2007 1:25 PM

I live in a medium-sized city in the US. Where can I find cow milk that's not homogenized?

I want to make fresh mozzarella cheese, and homogenization destroys some essential quality of the milk. Pasteurization is fine, and I prefer all the germs killed, so I am not looking for "raw milk", which is often illegal or at least shady.

I live in Orlando, Florida. That's large enough that there are no dairy farms nearby, but small enough that it's not obvious to me where I can find the right kind of milk.

To make the answers interesting to everyone and not be Orlando specific, is there a general source of such milk?

posted by cmiller to Shopping (14 answers total)

Best answer: The folks at Organic Valley have a search feature. The link is what came up for a random Orlando ZIP Code. Note: They say not all stores carry all their products (among which is organic nonhomogenized milk), but they do have phone numbers. Good luck with your search.
posted by hwickline at 1:31 PM on January 19, 2007

Find your local "hippy" grocery store. If you live in a medium-sized city, then you can probably find at lest one store that specializes in mostly organic and "less-processed" foods.

Of course, I live in Portland, Oregon - where it's hard to throw a stone without scaring the clerks at the closest hippy grocery...
posted by terpia at 1:39 PM on January 19, 2007

I have seen non-homogenized milk at grocery stores with an "Organic" section - (here in Texas, it's the HEB). You might want to call up your local Safeway/Ralphs/HEB type store and ask if they sell stuff like that.
posted by muddgirl at 1:43 PM on January 19, 2007

Whole Foods typically has the non-homogenized stuff. I think I've seen the non-pasteurized stuff there too. Then again, I live across the street from their headquarters (Austin), so this one might carry more than the standard Whole Foods.
posted by stovenator at 1:48 PM on January 19, 2007

Is there a term to look for on the packaging? Is it just a matter of finding the cartons that do not specify "homogenized?"
posted by rhizome at 1:49 PM on January 19, 2007

I buy mine (in glass bottles!) at the local co-op. I'd bet Whole Foods would have it, too. It's from a smaller, local dairy, so I never see it at the major grocery stores by my house.
posted by belladonna at 1:51 PM on January 19, 2007

Is there a term to look for on the packaging?

Raw Milk
posted by mattbucher at 1:51 PM on January 19, 2007

http://www.realmilk.com/where2.html
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/041129ta_talk_kaufman?041129ta_talk_kaufman
posted by mattbucher at 1:52 PM on January 19, 2007

I thought "Raw Milk" was unpasteurized, at least from reading the question.
posted by rhizome at 2:04 PM on January 19, 2007

mea culpa
posted by mattbucher at 2:10 PM on January 19, 2007

"Certified" Raw Milk comes from certified herds inspected by USDA for cleanliness and to guard against disease. Usually you buy it directly from the farm but some dairies deliver.
posted by sgobbare at 2:13 PM on January 19, 2007

Okay. Here are some links. On preview, some of this has been covered.

The Sierra Club has a listing of farms and other resources where you can find non-rBGH cheese, but these are the kinds of dairy farms where you'd likely be able to find non-homogenized (or low-temp pasteurized) milk. I know one of them, Hails Family Farm (PA) is on the list, and they produce the non-homogenized milk we drink. It's shipped from PA to VA, so don't be too sure you can't find plenty of options shipped to a store near you.

The Weston A. Price Foundation has a "Campaign for Real Milk." Although I can't speak to the rest of their goals, one thing they want to see is better access to clean, non-shady, raw milk. They have a listing of dairies that provide raw or otherwise "specially untreated" dairy products. Note: some of those dairies are goat-only.

Finally, if you get desperate, you could cold-call some of the dairies listed on Superpages.
posted by Alt F4 at 2:15 PM on January 19, 2007

Perhaps you could ask on the Homesteading Forum, which is frequented by people that do small-scale livestock raising. I believe that they have several members in Florida.

I get milk and eggs directly from a small family farm in my area - and there is such a difference! I'm often able to get them the same day that they were produced. Tracking down a source might be a little tough, but once you have it, it's well worth it.
posted by Ostara at 6:37 PM on January 19, 2007

Another phrase for non-homogenized milk is "cream at the top". It's used by a local dairy tha sell pasteurized, non-homogenized organic milk. I'm in the Bay Area, but perhaps that search term/phrase may help.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:19 AM on January 21, 2007