Raw Milk and Local Brews

My dad visited from Boise and we spent the first part of the week in Greer/Greenville, SC. We went to Kelsey's Dairy in Greer, which offers raw milk, buttermilk and eggs. It is illegal for farmers to sell raw milk for human consumption in North Carolina, so I took advantage of the opportunity to buy it legally in South Carolina. I was a bit surprised we saw no cows, just yearlings and new calves (Holstein, Jersey and a darker brown breed I couldn't identify). Disappointingly, the owner was nowhere to be found, so I was unable to ask about the milkers' health. Since I wasn't positive the milk was safe to consume, I had to pasteurize it before doing anything with it. I was looking forward to fresh-from-the-cow cheese!

Pasteurization is a more intensive process than I would prefer, but I ended up with about a pound of mozzarella from one gallon of milk (the second gallon I bought will soon become ricotta). The cheese tastes a little grassy, and it smells faintly of a pasture in summertime - a surprisingly pleasant sensation.

We had lunch at Barley's Taproom & Pizzeria: pizza topped with roasted red peppers, portabella mushrooms and andouille sausage, washed down with Thomas Creek River Falls Red Ale. If you're in Greenville and have a spare hour, tour the brewery and sample some tasty local beer.

Later, I made cheese grits with the NC grits I picked up at the farmers market last Saturday. They turned out perfectly fluffy-creamy, as good grits should. I also picked up a growler of RJ Rockers Son of a Peach American wheat ale, brewed just up the road from Greenville in Spartanburg, SC, and some Thomas Creek Stillwater Vanilla Cream Ale.

Another stop was Fisher's Orchard for some fresh corn and red potatoes for a low country boil. Dillard's Ice Cream Parlor has extended their summer hours and is a great relief from the muggy summer heat, so we also enjoyed a few refreshing scoops.

After a week in Boston, I figured Daddy needed a break from big city life, so we spent three days fighting the heat and humidity of South Carolina and taking it easy.