Page 7 - Spring2013

Letters

Recently, I qualified to compete in on shipping charges. We were about to minimum of 161 degrees F for a certain
the World Latin Dance Cup in Miami, place a large order (over one hundred length of time. There is also a category
2012 December 12-15 in the ladies solo fifty pounds) for raw cheese from a called low-temp pasteurization wherein
division. There will be over seventy company from whom we had ordered the milk can be heated to just under 145
countries there to compete and I will be before, one that uses milk from Amish degrees.
representing the United States. farms. I received a tip suggesting I check For some reason, low-temp pas-
At the qualifying competition in to see whether the cheese was truly raw. teurization, or thermization, of the milk
Portland, people repeatedly asked me, It was not. The milk had been heated to used for cheese-making allows for label-
"How do you do it?" "What do you 144.5 degrees for fifteen seconds prior ing the resulting cheese as “raw” in the
eat?" I always tell them, “Raw milk and U.S. even though much of the beneficial
butter.” Since then, I have been holding bacteria and enzymes are destroyed
dance workshops for fundraisers for through the heating process (although
my trip in December. Lately, people not as much as is destroyed with high-
have asked me to help them get on a temperature pasteurization). Enzymes
better diet. I share with them my views begin to break down at 118 degrees. So
on traditional whole nutritious foods. if you are trying to purchase truly raw
My college nutrition class taught me cheese for the health benefits, you might
the holistic way and the USDA way as want to check with your cheese-maker
well, so that I could know the difference. to see whether any heat-treatment has
Having grown up on an Indian reserva- been used on the milk prior to making
tion where my family is one of the few it into cheese.
that still practices eating from nature’s Cheese-makers who are producing
marketplace (the medicine food wheel), truly raw cheese will be getting a clean
I carry that on in my life. supply of milk from which to make
This competition opportunity to their cheese. Those cheese-makers who
take place in December has given me a have doubts about the quality of their
leg to stand on to support raw milk and milk, whether because of the conditions
whole nutrition. I am a fan of nourish- under which the dairy cows live or are
ing traditional diets and the tribal food milked, or how the milk is stored prior
wheel of the Umatilla Indian Reserva- to making the cheese. It was similar in to processing, or with the transportation
tion. that respect to at least one national brand between the dairy and the cheese-maker,
I will be sharing information on that markets its cheese as "raw" even should certainly thermalize or pasteur-
the benefits of raw milk at my "just for though it too is heat-treated, rendering ize their milk prior to cheese-making.
women Latin dance workshop" this it a “less-alive” food. However, when the conditions are opti-
Sunday in Walla Walla, Washington. This type of treatment is called mal and result in a healthy and beneficial
I’m so glad this foundation exists. thermization which the U.S. categorizes raw milk, the cheese-maker can make a
Chelsie Bonifer as raw with regards to cheese and the truly raw cheese, all enzymes and good
Walla Walla, Washington European Union categorizes as pasteur- bacteria intact.
ized. Apparently there are only two of- It is always a good idea to have a
“RAW” CHEESE ficial categories for cheese, pasteurized dialogue with your food suppliers! In
I am a WAPF co-leader in SW and raw, but unofficially there are gray the case of cheese, it’s not just a matter
Colorado. Our chapter serves as a buy- areas. In the U.S., high-temperature pas- of antibiotics or hormones or how much
ing club of sorts for our members to save teurization requires heating the milk to a grass and grain the cow is fed but also
Wise Traditions SPRING 2013 SPRING 2013 Wise Traditions 7