February 27th, 2007 | Category: General
MILK: FROM COW TO ICE CREAM
Posted by: Turkey Hill Team
Everyone knows that it takes milk to make ice cream and the milk we use in our ice cream comes from cows, but there’s a bit more to it than that.
Like most animals, cows produce milk to feed their offspring. Dairy cows (Holsteins are the most common breed) are bred to have one calf each year. The average cow is milked for 10 months of the year and then rested for the final two months of their pregnancy to allow the mother to prepare for the arrival of the newborn.
A couple days after she has the calf, the cow is fit to once again be milked commercially. They are usually milked two or three times a day and are capable of producing about 12 gallons or 40 lbs of milk each day.
Most dairy farms have refrigerated storage tanks large enough to store two days of milk which is picked up by tanker trucks every other day. Before the tanker driver starts pumping the milk into his truck, he does several things. First, he makes sure the milk is at the right temperature. Then he does a visual inspection of the milk and also smells it to make sure it passes some basic sensory tests. He then places a sample in a jar and marks with the date and name of the farm for lab testing. This milk is tested to ensure the quality of the product, but it’s also used to determine quality premium payments for the farmer. A sample is also taken for more in depth testing.
Some milk is then taken to a transfer station and combined with other milk truck’s shipments where it is tested even further, however most of the milk used in Turkey Hill ice cream is received directly from the farm and delivered to our 60,000 gallon tanks. To ensure that only the freshest milk is used, many of our deliveries come from dairy farms located within a 25-mile radius of the dairy.
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If you’ve got a technical question about the ice cream making process or some other inquiry about the nuances of America’s favorite treat, chances are Ernie has the answer. He might not be able to answer all questions, but he’ll try his best and some may be featured on the Ice Cream Journal.
5 Comments
my husband loves your chocolate chip ice cream. we all buy turkey hill
July 2nd, 2007 at 5:33 pmAARON - Thank you so much for your comment and praise.
We have to admit, that’s the most heartfelt plea for Turkey Hill expansion that we’ve ever received. Your comment is making its rounds around the offices here and more than one person has already volunteered to personally deliver some Mint Chocolate Chip to you.
As quickly as we’re expanding westward, it’s only a matter of time until we make it to St. Louis. In the meantime, we’ll see what we can do to bring a taste of Turkey Hill your way a little sooner.
April 5th, 2007 at 9:24 amMy mother passed away last month and I wanted to write to you to let you know how much she enjoyed your mint chocolate chip ice cream. The flavor was her favorite and we happened to come across your brand in a store in Pittsfield. Once our family tasted it for the first time last year, we all agreed it was the best we had ever shared together. Thank you for making such a wonderful product.
Now, if you can just make it available in St. Louis, Missouri, I could continue this memory.
April 3rd, 2007 at 4:02 pmI tried milk straight from the cow once. It was…interesting. I much prefer it from the store.
March 1st, 2007 at 2:30 pmI remember working on my cousin’s dairy farm when I was younger. Nothing too intense, just cleaning up, helping feed the cows and having fun chasing the barn cats. To this day, whenever I pass a farm and smell that distinctive “farm smell” it brings back memories. (Some people don’t like that “farm smell” but I do.)
By the way, I like that picture of that cow. Priceless!
March 1st, 2007 at 2:30 pmThese comments are intended to be a discussion of the information presented in the blog postings. Any product-related questions or other issues not related to the post should be referred to our consumer response team through the link on our Contact Us page, as they are the true experts in answering any questions or concerns you may have about Turkey Hill and its products.
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