Organic Valley's Grassmilk products

[Hassouni]

I haven't had the same issues with them. I also live literally 2 minutes from Whole Foods so returning the bottle is no big deal. I just wish they'd give me $2 store credit for the deposit return, or a $2 voucher for the deposit on the next bottle!

Personally I think the Trickling Springs is better than this Homestead one that I've got now.

[takadi]

There is one issue I have with Grassmilk and it's that the cream on top very easily separates into butter. Sometimes the butter has already separated out upon opening. I don't know if this is a freshness issue or if it has to do with the way the milk is shipped but it is a little annoying

[paulraphael]

Grain refers either to cereals or legumes. We think of legumes as beans, but some grass-like plants (like alfalfa) also qualify. Cereal grains are seeds from grasses. So the huge kerfuffle of "grass vs. grain" just means leaf vs. seed from the same freakin' plant. The seeds just have higher energy density, while sacrificing chlorophyl and some other nutrients. Animals dining on fields of oat grass, wheat grass, barley grass, or alfalfa eat plenty of  grain without any human intervention.

[paulraphael]

I haven't done a lot of tasting of milk from grass-finished cows, but I'm guessing you'd find it similar to grass-finished beef. The grassy flavor notes come from the green part. Cows with a lot of dried forage in their diet seem like the worst of all worlds. They have the leanness of grass-finished cows without the flavor. I'm not sure how stored grass like silage effects things.

 

I've seen some grass finished meat that's actually got a lot of marbling. But not often. My understanding is that it's a time-consuming and expensive trick to pull off. The best beef likely comes from cows that are pasture-finished but that have free access to grain. Typically from places like central california where they have green grass year-round (or close to it). I don't know if any dairies are doing this. If so, it's probably not Organic Valley.

[rotuts]

good points

 

but 'grain-fed' or 'grain finished' add a high proportion of fat to the ( end ) diet

 

which is the point of grain feeding

 

it gets deposited in the meat and the 'fat'

 

pure pasture fed beef is much leaner

 

this is not to go into the FFA's of either method  which is a bit of a Hot Button Issue

 

In the past, I used to visit Upstate NY several times a year.  they have a number of small dairy's there

 

the full cream and butter you got in the fall / winter months was beyond delicious

 

but in the spring when the cows were let out to pasture, the cream and butter had a distinct 

 

' green ' flavor.  to a bit to get used to, but in the ends, a very interesting taste.

[takadi]

 Animals dining on fields of oat grass, wheat grass, barley grass, or alfalfa eat plenty of  grain without any human intervention.

 

Cibola Farms is a local farm in my area that raises bison and they have a very interesting theory and feeding technique that they utilize called "grain on grass" where they are grass fed and finished but they received grain supplements to imitate the fattening process bison go through in the wild when they consume the seed heads of grasses. Here's their explanation

 

http://www.cibolafarms.com/about-grain-on-grass

[rotuts]

Wow

 

that is so interersing

 

Ive had Elk in CO  ( pre 'Grass'   )

 

so long ago and it was delicious

 

I sure hope you can taste and cook the Bison you are talking about

 

if you can, would you post your results ?

 

on the other hand

 

it Would Drive Me To  Pull a Second Cork !

[paulraphael]

rotuts, on 06 Aug 2014 - 12:37 PM, said:
'grain-fed' or 'grain finished' add a high proportion of fat to the ( end ) diet

which is the point of grain feeding

it gets deposited in the meat and the 'fat'

pure pasture fed beef is much leaner

 

 

This is true most of the time, but it's not necessarily so. Cattle can be fattened on grass. It just takes a long time and is expensive, so very few people do it. There are some people raising USDA prime beef in the northeast and finishing on grass. I haven't tried it.

Edited August 7, 2014 by paulraphael (log)