“Every once in a while you taste something so profoundly good, it’s all you can think about. “When can I have it again?” constantly haunts you. You’re obsessed.
Close your eyes and imagine actually drinking a Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie in a glass or savoring the ultimate creamy eggnog as hints of vanilla and warm cinnamon dance on your tongue. You can actually find these seasonal items and other palate pleasers at the Trinity Valley Dairy Farm store or at a local grocer.
Branden and Rebekah (Poole) Brown from Trinity Valley Farm have been working on these flavorful, old-school recipes since early summer to create memorable dairy-inspired products. “It’s our passion to keep giving our customers the best eating or drinking experience fresh from the farm,” said the Browns. This passion for dairy has a lineage dating back over a hundred years when the land on which the cows roamed was known as Sunset Young Farm, originally owned by Otis and Hazel Young.
Trinity Valley is now a fifth-generation family farm in East Homer, NY, where the “Moo Crew” – Ken and Sue Poole, Derek Poole and Branden and Rebekah (Poole) Brown – run the 600-acre owned and rented operation. The 120-head milking herd of Holsteins and Brown Swiss graze outdoors from April until November, and during the winter they eat farm-grown corn and hay. The cows also get silage and a few pounds of grain each day. The Pooles generally work with the cows while the Browns run the processing and retail farm store.
Of the more than 100 dairy farms in Cortland County, theirs is also the first and only “Jugger,” an endearing term for family operations that bottle milk straight from the cow. In 2013, they turned a sweet corn field into a milk production facility and general store.
“We process our milk as little as allowable to help important enzymes and ‘good’ bacteria work for you. The fancy term for this old fashioned method is low temperature vat pasteurization,” said the Browns.
“The milk is held at 145 degrees for 30 minutes and then cooled as quickly as possible. This gives milk (the kind many of us remember as kids) the smooth, sweet taste of yesteryear and preserves the naturally occurring enzymes that help your body easily digest it. Granted, this process takes more effort but we don’t mind,” said Rebekah. “Our milk also is un-homogenized, with a thick layer of cream rising to the top of each bottle. Folks tell us they are again enjoying a cold glass of our cream-line milk. The great taste and nostalgia is worth every minute.” “