rmosolgo

*crimson clover (by the looks of it)

Shopify: https://shopify.dev/docs/api/usage/gids#global-id-structure

My house! But seriously, I'd say that "raw" makes less of a difference than freshness and the cow's diet. (After all, milk is made out of what the cows eat, and several notable compounds can only be synthesized with a grass-based diet.) Herd health, breed, cleanliness, and milking frequency all make a difference too.

If you can find a local-ish place that rotationally grazes the cows and milks once per day, I'd say go for it.

I haven't run through the grass in a video game since Ocarina of Time, so those modern screenshots really impressed me.

Have there been any games that tried to include species diversity in their grass? Around here anyways, there are 6 or 8 major pasture species, often in different growth stages at any given time of year.

I've been drinking raw milk almost exclusively for about 5 years (and milking my own cows for the last 1.5 years). Whenever I get store-bought milk, I'm hit by the "cooked" flavor of it. I assume it's the pasteurization that makes the difference because I've also scalded milk on the stove -- same taste.

Yes, they still exist! In my limited experience the milk does taste better but I think it's because of management, not genetics.

The "get big or get out" Holsteins of conventional dairying will produce themselves to death. That is, they'll make milk even at the expense of their own bodies. To handle that, they need to be fed very intensive grain-based diets (corn and soy). Otherwise they'd waste away.

But low-input cows can produce milk on grass-based diets without wasting away. Grass milk is healthier (https://extension.umn.edu/pasture-based-dairy/grass-fed-cows...) and in my experience, tastier, too!

low efficiency cows

Interestingly, the "alternative" breeds I'm familiar with are marketed as _high_ efficiency because they produce milk on very little input (all or mostly grass; very little corn and soy). For example: https://licnz.com/products-services/lic-cow-breeds/

Meanwhile, there's been an alternative storyline prioritizing other goals: low maintenance, high fertility, good yield on a grass-based or all-grass diet, high portion of milk solids. These genetics are also available on ice, for example, from New Zealand: https://licnz.com/products-services/lic-cow-breeds/

Nearish to me, there's a world-class cheese dairy that's making it work: https://www.meadowcreekdairy.com/herd

At my farm, I milk three cows from that herd and distribute the milk and cheese to family, friends, and neighbors. We all agree it's delicious but it's hard to say whether it's the breed, the diet, or the freshness.

Thanks for sharing all these reflections on the topic. Regarding Carhartts, I can really recommend Super Casuals, which sells Carhartt factory seconds: https://www.supercasuals.com/category.cfm/449

They're stamped "IRR" on the inside... but that's more subtle than tread marks XD I usually order several sizes of what I'm interested in and send most of them back.

A few updates since I first wrote this up:

- I don't bother sterilizing any more. I make sure the jars are clean, but that's all. I think the culture is fast enough to raise acidity to a safe point very quickly. (I still sterilize for cheese though.)

- I always use commercial culture now. I had off-results after the third round of saving a starter. (Someone mentioned heirloom cultures, which I think would avoid this problem. My wife tried those, but we didn't care for the flavor, and I prefer the workflow of two gallons at a time, done overnight.)

- If you make yogurt, but never started with the high-temperature initial step, I really recommend trying it. It makes a thicker consistency because the proteins are denatured and curdle better. (The downside in my opinion is that it also destroys some of the goodies present in my previously-raw milk.)

- My 20-minute high-temperature hold is often much longer. I try to reach 180 degrees F and take it off the heat, then put the kids to bed. It always seems to do fine.

Anyways, thanks for all the comments. I'm always happy to read a nice discussion about dairy processing! Next time you're passing through central Virginia, let me know and we can share a cheese plate.

Batman.js is production-ready: our company has two production apps and I work full-time on a Rails/Batman.js app. I think the biggest weakness is the low "googleability". Even when shopify was maintaining it, the hype machine never got rolling . I've been adding docs & guides as much as I can, but there's still a lot to be desired.

I've recently been working on a glorified FAQ that would be very helpful if you decide to go the batman.js route: https://www.softcover.io/read/b5c051f3/batmanjs_mvc_cookbook

And I'd love to add to it -- just drop by #batmanjs on freenode! (ps, I kept trying to vote but I didn't see the thing go up ... and I even made a HN account just for the occasion!)