Featured Farmer: Smith Creamery

A couple of months ago, when we first went as a family to the Red Stick Farmers Market, we were given some samples of milk by one of the owners of Smith Creamery. After tasting their milk, I was never in such a hurry to pay $6.50 for a gallon of milk as I was then. And their chocolate milk....words fail me.

The following is a write-up featured on Go Green Nola.
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Drinking milk from Smith Creamery is more like drinking dessert. And, from the empty shelves that sometimes greet us in the dairy section of our local foods store, the secret is out about the deliciousness of the milk and dairy products from this family-owned-and-operated dairy in Louisiana.

Try this ice cream recipe from Smith Creamery, developed by Washington Parish residents Pauline Morris-Creel and Jo Nell Burch:

Delicious Creamy Chocolate Ice Cream
1 / 2 gallon Smith Creamery Chocolate Milk
16-ounce Cool Whip
1 can Condensed Milk

Mix all ingredients together and freeze in an ice cream freezer, according to manufacturer’s directions. Note: To make vanilla ice cream, substitute Smith Creamery whole milk for chocolate milk.^{times-picayune}

So, why does the milk, especially the chocolate milk, taste so good? For one, it doesn’t travel that far from cow to glass as the creamery is located in Washington Parish between Franklinton and Kentwood. For another, the fresh milk is pasteurized but not homogenized—so the cream still rises to the top (and you have to shake it before drinking it). Nothing is added and nothing is removed. They use a slow pasturization process that doesn't cook the milk, so the taste, quality and

health benefits of their milks and butters are noticeably better, just as nature intended them to be. Also, all the milk comes from their own grass fed cows. What's so great about grass-fed cows? Milk from grass-fed cows has more CLA, Omega-3 fatty acids ("good fat"), beta-carotene, and other antioxidant vitamins. CKA (conjugated linoleic acid) is an anti-carcinogen (cancer fighter) in your body. Grass-fed cows produce milk with a naturally sweet taste. Grass-fed cows are also cleaner, healthier, and happier. Smith creamery makes whole, fat-free, and chocolate milk, heavy cream, half-and-half, butter (salted or unsalted), and Creole cream cheese. To get their products, visit the Crescent City farmers market or one of the local retailers listed on their website. (And, for fun, you can take a tour of the dairy.)

**PLEASE NOTE: Links to Smith Creamery do not work at this time**
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Ok, so now I'm a convert. Their milk is delicious, and much healthier than most of the milk we're used to buying from the grocery store. You can imagine my dismay then, when just a week or so later, an explosion triggered by a propane leak destroyed much of the creamery. Thankfully, there was no loss of life, human or animal, but still....NO MILK!!! Seeing the empty spot where they were supposed to be at the Red Stick Farmer's Market was so disappointing!

So there we were, like addicts forced into rehab. We'd had enough of the milk to become hooked, and then it was cruelly snatched away. And then, we heard some awesome news. Kleinpeter Dairy, another local (but MUCH larger and more commercial) dairy teamed up with the folks from Smith Creamery and agreed to package and distribute their products for them! We still haven't been able to get their milk at the farmer's market, but we are able to get it at some local produce stands. Thanks, Kleinpeter!!


Smith Creamery is located at

29184 Mount Pisgah Road, Mount Hermon, LA 70450 · Get Directions