The Italian Voice

Prices for food are increasing exponentially world-wide, it is not a secret anymore.
Italy is not exempt from this matter, families have serious problems to do the grocery shopping, that is why the food expenses are decreasing rapidly, when it is necessary and possible.
We all must find good solutions.

In Italy there is a fantastic reality which started to grow slowly some years ago, thanks to the consciousness raising of the citizen of small municipalities, and which is creeping in the whole peninsula because it offers a cheap and healthy basic food: raw milk.

shot taken from Cox & Cox

I found a wonderful website about this reality, it is called “Milk Maps “.
It offers the map of the milk stations located in the whole Italy, a page with the explanations of the service and the advantages, a page with the comments of the ones who already tried the raw milk, a page with the contacts and the blogs which mentioned the service and the area for the cattle farmers.
As the website is written in Italian, I will try to report in English its most important parts.

What is the raw milk

The raw milk is the milk at the natural state, as it is just milked from cows, before its pasteurization and packing.
Practically, you can fill up your bottle of daily raw milk at an automatic machine with coins, at the equipped cattle breedings.
It is milk which did not have heat-treatments: raw, whole and genuine, tasty, creamy, active, with lots of vitamins.

Quoting William Campbell Douglas, well-regarded American doctor and credited expert in the field of the milk products: «Today our most serious agricultural loss is due to the senseless destruction of the raw milk through the pasteurization, the radical pasteurization (UHT) and now the radical pasteurization at high temperature, which convert a great food in a white drink with milk flavouring, which is nutrient more or less like the milk of magnesia».

FAQ

Q: For how many days you can store the raw milk?
A: 2 days if raw, 4 or 5 if boiled (it is suggested to boil it lightly after the purchase).

Q: Can I buy less than a litre?
A: Sure, depending on how many coins you put into the automatic machine. If 1 litre of milk costs 1 euro, with 50 cents you can have one half-litre or even 20 mls introducing 20 cents.

Q: With what frequency the automatic machine of raw milk is filled up?
A: Daily. Every day the bin of left milk is replaced with another full one.

Q: Where does the left milk goes at the moment of the replacement?
A: It is used to make the ricotta cheese and other cheeses.

Why to buy the raw milk from the automatic machines?

1. It maintains all the natural characteristics;
2. It is creamy and intense flavour;
3. It is cheaper than the milk which you can find in the supermarkets.

Environmental Benefits

1. Less trucks on the roads! The raw milk is not shipped for kms and kms, it comes from your surroundings;
2. Less garbage! The raw milk is not packed (you can go to take it with your glass-topped bottle, which is washable and reusable);
3. No waste! The milk which is not supplied at the automatic machines after 24 hours is used to make the ricotta cheese and other cheeses.

The comments of the ones who already tried the service of the raw milk at the cattle breedings denote enthusiasm for the flavour and the 24-h availability of that food, they told that it reminds the past times and that it gives intestinal regularity just because it is totally healthy.

I experienced it myself too, as we have two automatic machines in my area, and I must say that this service represents a wonderful opportunity to save money and to learn to have again healthy breakfasts.

So what are you waiting for?
If you come to Italy for a getaway or a longer holiday, visit the “Milk Maps ” and check if there is one or more automatic machines of the raw milk in the province (choosing it from the left column of the main page of the website) where you planned your trip and try this wonderful back-to-the-past, you will not be disappointed!