Milk and beef producers defy “progress”
by André LaRivière
Get Fresh
Crème fraîche, a traditional French concoction, is a great thing to have in the fridge right now, because it tops char-grilled potatoes as well as it does fresh raspberries.
This cultured mélange sits somewhere between whipped cream and sour cream. Commercial brands are usually expensive and rarely match the quality of homemade, which is a snap to make.
The only challenge is to fight the instinct to put it in the fridge right away.
For a generous batch, start by heating two cups of heavy (35 per cent) organic cream in a saucepan until just warm to the touch. Stir in two tablespoons of rich (not one per cent) buttermilk.
Pour into a squeaky-clean glass jar, cover with plastic wrap, and allow the mixture to stand in a warm place, like the top of the fridge. Give it a stir and a taste six to eight hours later.
After about 12 to 24 hours, the mixture will be thick but pourable, with a nutty, lightly sour taste.
Give it another good stir, put it in the fridge, and keep it there for up to two weeks.
Drizzle it over anything from fresh oysters to strawberry shortcake.
I clearly recall, as a young Winnipeg lad in the mid-1960s, going for long Saturday-morning drives with my father to a dairy farm (now a residential subdivision well within city limits) to refill the family glass milk jugs from a self-serve tank. My jobs included switching on the paddle to mix some top cream back in to the milk, depositing an envelope in a wooden box (yes, this transaction was on the honour system) and, on the way out, waving our thanks to the cows grazing peacefully in the pasture.
Misty-eyed nostalgia? Perhaps. But I can also remember how tasty that milk was.
And it’s a reminder of the kind of regular connection and, more significantly, the level of trust families once shared with local farmers and their cows.
Cheeseburgers and leather sofas aside, few urbanites get anywhere near cattle. Given the kind of bad press cows have been getting in recent years, due to incidences of E.coli and BSE, many people prefer to keep their distance. That’s unfortunate, because Bessie isn’t to blame for either of these problems.
Today’s industrial-scale production system, supported by bovine drugs and modern feed formulations, receives the brunt of suspicion and criticism on these issues, and it’s not altogether unjustified. That said, the overall quality and safety of Canadian dairy and beef produced by these now-conventional methods remains second-to-none. However, some local cow-based businesses believe they have a tastier, healthier, and better way.
Every city or region once had at least one local family-owned or farmers’ co-op dairy, but the vast majority have been bought up and merged under the banners of multinational agri-food corporations such as Parmalat, Saputo, and Natrel. Very few truly independent operations remain, and Vancouver is fortunate to be home to one of the finest, Avalon Dairy, which has been filling and delivering classic glass milk bottles from its historic Wales Street operation for 99 years.
In October 1999, the company added “B.C.’s first certified organic milk” to its letterhead, a move inspired, says Avalon Dairy’s CEO Gay Hahn, by a visit two years earlier to the East Van Farmers’ Market at Trout Lake. “I was surprised to discover so many people shopping for organic foods and noticed, of course, there was no organic milk available,” she says. “So the family owners and I decided to go for it.”
Avalon’s first and only farmer/partner is Rob Donaldson of Bradner Organic Farms in Aldergrove, whose starter herd numbered 25 happy cows. Avalon’s organic barns are now home to a total of 1,200 cows, most of them grazing across the dairy’s own 20- hectare farm on Barnston Island. “Our cows love it there,” says Hahn. “They eat outside as much as possible, have big roomy stalls in the barns, and a holistic veterinarian on stand-by.” The dairy also leases another 120 hectares on the island to grow and store certified organic grass and hay, which can often be difficult to find in adequate supply.
Because Avalon still handles conventional milk, the Wales Street processing plant must regularly shut down and ready everything for the organic line. With customer demand increasing steadily, the dairy runs organically three out of five days every week. That’s zero-to-60 per cent of the company’s total sales in only six years.
“Organic is going to take over here,” says Hahn. “We got into this to offer consumers an honest choice in milk. They’ve shown us they want it and are asking for more.” Meeting requests for organic cottage cheese and more ice cream will be easier when Avalon opens a new 3,700-square-metre plant in Burnaby next year.
Some things may change down on Wales Street, notes Hahn, whose office is in the parlour of the original farmhouse, but they’ll always keep the glass bottles, home delivery, and other traditions that give Avalon’s milk its local flavour.
WHEN IT COMES TO DETERMINING the taste of the meatier elements of modern cattle production, there are basically two options: grass or grain. Grain is the staple of the feedlot diet. Prime Canadian AAA cattle typically bulk up on rye or barley, while their American cousins get corn in their trough to produce the sweet, yellow-tinged USDA Prime favoured by steakhouses.
However, as ruminants, cows will naturally choose grass over grain every time, something that all ranchers used to respect. This evolutionary idea is the foundation Marlene Friesen and Doug Goerz chose for their direct-marketing beef business, Nomad Cows. “It’s so simple, it’s almost scary,” says Friesen. “We’re just raising cattle the way they did 50 years ago.”
Although not certified organic (all organic beef is also grass-fed), Nomad Cows’ herd of premium Black Angus cattle range freely on the ranch near Aldergrove. When their wandering days are through, they’re slaughtered, dry-aged 28 days to tenderize naturally and intensify the flavour, then butchered, boxed, and personally delivered to Vancouver customers by Friesen or Goerz once or twice a month. Orders are handled on a first-come-first-served basis and requests for popular cuts, such as tenderloin and rib-eye, are often put on a waiting list. Lean ground beef and other products are always available.
The flavour of grass-fed beef, generally a bit stronger and sharper than that of grain-fed, varies with the range of pasture and the seasons. So far, Goerz has identified more than 25 varieties of grasses on their ranch. “Last summer, we discovered a two-acre patch of wild mint the cattle had happily grazed through, so it went into the flavour mix.” The only dietary supplement the Nomad cows receive is a mineral block, a modern saltlick that they can wander over to whenever they choose to, which gives them the essential minerals they need.
As novice ranchers, the simplicity of their approach suits Friesen and Goerz, although their previous business experience as importers of high-end women’s clothing comes in handy in their marketing. “We’d tell our customers it’s always worth buying a quality coat you’ll wear a lot,” says Friesen. “Our beef is certainly more expensive than supermarket brands, but we also encourage people to eat less and savour it more.”
The couple also relishes the direct feedback and support they get from customers. “It’s the best part,” says Friesen. “One gentleman who’d tried our tenderloin told me it was like eating the best candy. I’ll always remember that.”
Where to Find It
The Avalon Dairy farm is hosting a country fair on September 11, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (5808 Wales Street at E. 41st Avenue; avalondairy.com)
Delta-based Olympic Dairy Products (olympicdairy.com) built its name with organic yogourt, but has expanded its product line to include two-litre jugs of organic milk available at many local grocers. Their milk comes from the pasture-raised cows at Nature Glen Farm in Abbotsford.
Marlene Friesen or Doug Goerz of Nomad Cows will deliver a sample of their free-range, grass-fed, dry-aged beef. (1-877-478- 7832; nomadcows.ca)
The Blue Goose Cattle Company is another fine rancher-direct source of both certified-organic and premium natural B.C. beef, pasture-raised near 70 Mile House, packed in Salmon Arm, and shipped to the company’s North Vancouver retail outlet. (604-980-9106; bluegoosecattle.com.)
