There’s an episode in the first season of Chef! where the main character finds himself in the back of a truck on an abandoned country road doing a shady deal in illegal goods, all for the purpose of acquiring some unpasteurized Stilton.
The flavour (and health) benefits of raw milk, and raw milk cheese are much debated, and here in Ontario, it’s currently on everybody’s radar as a farmer producing raw milk for a number of customers including high-end restaurants and, oh yeah, the family of the provincial finance minister, is in the news. Seems the government raided his farm and removed all of his equipment.
The debate becomes multi-faceted in light of the number of recent scares and recalls of what was supposed to be safe, healthy produce – spinach, organic juice and melons have all been under scrutiny lately, and the government is intensely paranoid about any food producer not following strict guidelines.
As consumers, we have the right to expect food produced in a safe, clean environment, and government standards are the only way to ensure that. On the other hand, all of the issues with recent outbreaks have been within the industrialized farming framework; small family farms working to create a niche product, especially one for the high-end consumer, tend to set their own standards that put the government regulations to shame.
Thus it becomes a fight for the small independant farmer when the government essentially wants to destroy everything about his product that makes it flavourful and unique.
I don’t drink milk, so I can’t say from personal experience that raw milk tastes better than pasteurized, but in terms of cheese, I’ll take a raw milk cheese over that scary brick from the supermarket any day. Even in specific styles of cheese, there is no comparison between a pasteurized Canadian brie and a gorgeous single-milk raw brie de meaux.
This is a tough one all around. I can understand the need and desire for pasteurization within the mainstream factory farm industry, because milks are blended together and levels of quality and care vary greatly from farm to farm. But for an individual farmer who is creating a product to the most exacting standards, I suspect the health risk is minimal compared to the benefits of a more natural product.











Buckwheat is a healthy alternative to white flour noodles, although most brands are made from a combination of buckwheat and wheat flours, so check your labels. Any combination of vegetables may be used here, but the earthy taste of shitake mushrooms compliments the fresh peas and the nori quite nicely. Any of the Japanese ingredients not available at your supermarket should be found easily at any health food store.
Fill a large pot or pasta pot with salted water and bring to a boil. Prepare vegetables and place in a steamer. When water comes to a boil, add noodles and place steamer full of vegetables over cooking pasta. (Follow package direction on noodles for cooking time and rinsing instructions.)