Say cheese

Vijaya Cherian discusses why she made the switch to French dairy products over the course of the year

- Vijaya Cherian

Purchasing good, authentic, unadulterated, and antibiotic-free food is no longer a choice even for the average consumer. If we are to lead healthy and wholesome lives, we are to pay more attention to what we consume. In our home, where milk is a staple and at least three different types of cheese are lodged at any given point of time in the refrigerator, dairy choices are particularly critical. When I was invited to visit a few dairy farms and cheese factories in France last year, I also learnt some serious facts there that compelled me to revisit my dairy choices. Today, I am a serious advocate for French dairy products.

What caused this life-altering decision last year? A few key factors contributed. For one, I was impressed with the fact that French dairy farms are not run like factories. They are run by farmers and each farming family has only 60 odd cows on average at their farm. Milking takes place at dawn and dusk daily in a quiet and peaceful environment so as to ensure the cows are milked in a stress-free environment. Those tending to the cows are not an external workforce but often a farmer, his son, and maybe a third generation too that have seen each of their cows through their entire gestation period, helped deliver their calves, given them names and made them part of their family. With good cattle breeding practices and only 60 plus cows on each farm, milking generally takes an hour-and-ahalf and in some farms, cow’s milk is tested before adding it to the larger pot and stored at low temperatures. Essentially, the milk produced in such environments taste infinitely better than that which is produced in factories.