When we think of home, food is often one of the first things that comes to mind. We think of Saturday morning breakfasts of pancakes, cheese-laden eggs and a big, tall glass of milk to wash it down.
We think of holiday dinners at grandma’s house, where no piece of pie was complete without a heaping scoop or two of ice cream and a dollop of whipped cream. The Dairy Good Cookbook: Everyday comfort food from America’s dairy farm families is full of the recipes and stories of the men and women who care for the cows that make those memories possible.
The book, which is dedicated to the 47,000 dairy farm families in the U.S. who work hard every day to provide us with the dairy products we love, is organized from sunup to sundown and dessert, just like a dairy farmer’s day. It also has a special section called “Family gatherings and special occasions,” which is specifically dedicated to those recipes that only appear on the table at certain times.
Published by Andrews McMeel, this book is a result of the efforts of Dairy Management Inc (DMI). DMI’s desire is to use this cookbook to tell the story of America’s dairy farm families. Each recipe has a short introduction that either gives details about the dairy products being used, a history of the dish or who contributed the recipe, and how that particular version of the dish came to be.
Full of pictures of food, dairy cows and the men and women who care for them, this book showcases the hard work and determination that set the dairy industry apart. It gives facts and tidbits of information about the life of a dairy producer such as:
“A dairy farm often includes generations of a farm family and many descendants of a great dairy cow. A Holstein heifer may be prized because her great-grandmother was an outstanding producer or lived a long and healthy life.”
Also scattered throughout the book are features on dairy farmers throughout the country. Readers can learn why these people chose to be dairy producers, what they value about the lifestyle that accompanies it and little bit of background about their operations.
But the real stars of the book are the cows; after all, without cows we wouldn’t have milk or a dairy industry. Several of the more popular dairy breeds like Holstein and Jersey are featured in the book. Each cow feature tells a little bit about the breed and gives facts like when they were introduced to America, where they came from and what their milk is often used for.
It also features a “Wow Cow” from each of the six dairy breeds and tells why she stands out above the other animals in her breed. For the Brown Swiss, Snickerdoodle, owned by Allen Bassler of Old Mill Farm in Upperville, Virginia, is the Wow Cow of her breed. She is the only cow of any breed to have been grand champion of her breed six times at World Dairy Expo and has won several other awards, making her the most decorated cow in the Brown Swiss breed.
Detailed directions make the recipes easy to follow. A dairy guide at the front explains the best methods for working with each dairy ingredient, so even inexperienced cooks can tackle them without fear. It offers a wide variety of recipes, from the time-consuming “pear vanilla cream cake with chocolate glaze” for fancy holiday dinners to a “no-bake mac and cheese with crispy crumb topping,” which can be done in less than 30 minutes for those busy weeknight dinners.
As an unashamed chocoholic, I quickly zeroed in on this book’s recipe for “buttermilk brownies.” Although I have not yet acquired the taste for drinking buttermilk straight, I love cooking with it for the subtle tanginess and lightness it adds to breads, cookies and pancakes. However, I’d never thought to put it in brownies before.
The result was a wonderful moist, cakelike brownie. The brownie itself wasn’t particularly sweet, but when topped with the chocolate buttermilk frosting, the combination was delightful and a major hit with my friends. Plus now I have some leftover chocolate frosting to dip my strawberries in.
So the next time you’re enjoying a bowl of ice cream or some cheesy potatoes, take a minute to thank the men and women who work hard every day to make sure there’s milk in the grocery stores. PD
Visit the Dairy Good website to order the cookbook.
PHOTO 1: The Dairy Good Cookbook uses mouthwatering recipes, beautiful photography and fun facts to help tell the story of today's American dairy producer.
PHOTO 2: Enjoy The Dairy Good Cookbook's recipe for buttermilk brownies with a tall glass of cold milk. Photos by Jenna Hurty.
