Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Eat local dairy products

Recently I stumbled up this article that skims the surface of the difference between commercial and local dairy products. There is a lot of information out there about commercial versus raw dairy products, and I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty. Local dairy products are my number one choice, and if that's not an option then my next choice is organic. Buying local not only supports the local economy, but it's also the freshest, and (I think) often the tastiest product. Cows and goats eating grass—like nature intended—results in a product with higher concentrations of beneficial vitamins and nutrients. There's nothing like a spoonful of fresh yogurt or goat cheese straight from the farm. And if you have a dairy intolerance, you might be able to tolerate goat or sheep's milk products, because they're thought to be easier to digest.
The Triangle is full of amazing local dairies, farms, and artisan cheesemakers. I decided to gather all of that information in one place for the local readers. Feel free to add more information in the comments section and I'll add to the post.

Black River Farmstead in Ivanhoe and Durham, NC
Alpine goat dairy farm with goat cheese and goat's milk soaps for purchase.
It appears you can purchase online. I've also noticed you can purchase their cheese via Papa Spud's.

Celebrity Dairy in Siler City, NC
Goat dairy farm with plain and flavored goat cheese and chevre for purchase.
Available at the Carrboro Farmers Market, Midtown Farmers Market, Durham Farmers Market, Pittsboro Farmers Market, Whole Foods, and Weaver Street Markets.

Chapel Hill Creamery in Chapel Hill, NC
Small Jersey cow dairy farm and farmstead cheesemaking facility. Delicious cheeses for sale, and I've seen them sell yogurt at the farmers markets (seriously the best yogurt ever).
Available at Carrboro Farmers Markets and Whole Foods.

Goat Lady Dairy in Climax, NC
Goat dairy with aged, spreadable, marinated, ripened, and raw goat milk cheeses. Also sell tango (sounds similar to yogurt) and chocolate goat cheese truffles.
Available at the Greensboro Farmers Market club, the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market, and Whole Foods.

Hillsborough Cheese Co. in Hillsborough, NC
A small boutique creamery focusing on the art of cheese-making. A rotating mixture of fresh chèvre, mozzarella, ricotta, semi-aged, and aged cheeses for purchase.
They don't have a dairy, but purchase their goat and cow's milk from local farms. Here's a list of where to purchase.

Maple View Farms in Hillsborough, NC
Holstein cow dairy farm that sells milk, butter, and ice cream.
Here's a long list of where their products are available.

Prodigal Farms in Rougemont, NC
Goat dairy with bread (made with goat whey), goat cheese, chevre, cheescakes for sale. I love their marinated feta.
Available for pickup at the Midtown Farmers Market in Raleigh and King's Daughter Inn in Durham. Also available for purchase at the State Farmers Market.

More North Carolina cheese makers can be found here and regional vendors here. Local cheese shops like Reliable Cheese Co. in Durham and Southern Whey in Southern Pines also carry some of these products. Don't forget that you can visit these local farms, taste, and buy the products on the annual Piedmont Farm Tour on April 28-29, 2012!

10 comments:

samantha ramage said...

i just sent your blog to my cousin who lives in NC!! yay for local eating!

xo
sami

DZell1982 said...

Fantasic work, Adrienne. You've provided your local readership with a plethora of local-dairy knowledge and knowhow. This is an encouraging post and gets me excited to visit the NH farmer's market this spring. Downtown Farmer's market is starting back up soon too! Well done an thanks. On the local food topic, what's your favorite CSA? Can you make some recommendations there?

Yasmeen said...

Just fantastic. My local area is pretty far from yours (Melbourne, Australia) but you've provided some great information that no doubt will inspire others to learn more about the wonders of their own local produce.

We've signed up to a local CSA and it's been an absolute dream - boxes of fresh seasonal fruit and veg, plus bread, milk and cheese each week. Surprisingly less expensive than the market and happy to support smaller orchards + dairy producers. win- win!

Erin said...

As always, great post!

I'm still in the midst of figuring out local sources for dairy. Luckily I only live an hour from Iowa (which has a bunch of dairies) but most of the farms only sell commercial.

Hillsborough Cheese Co said...

Thanks for helping shine the light on local cheese! We love what we do, and are happy to share it with our customers.

Unknown said...

Samantha - thanks for sending to your cousin!

DZ - sending some info your way :)

Yasmeen - that's awesome you signed up for a CSA!

Thanks, Erin!

Of course, Hillsborough Cheese Co!

Jess @ Cheese Please said...

Great post - I live in Charlotte, so a lot of this info is helpful :)

Unknown said...

Glad you find it helpful, Jess!

ZDubb said...

Last summer I did a CSA through the Durham Farmer's Market. It was lovely but I found that I often forgot to pick up my share. I am so happy I found out about Papa Spud's through your blog. I'm thinking of signing up!

Unknown said...

Nice article. Thanks, to sharing your local dairy product information. I think, local dairy products are the better than the commercial dairy product. Because the local dairy products are fresh and tastiest. This is an motivating publish and gets me thrilled to visit the NH farmer's market this springtime. Company Profile