The Slippery, Buttery Slope of Raw Milk: A Cautionary Tale | April 25, 2025

They warn you about gateway substances. They tell you how one innocent choice can lead to a lifetime of increasingly consuming obsessions. But no one ever sits you down and has “the talk” about raw milk.

It Begins Innocently Enough
It starts with a simple glass of raw milk. Perhaps you visited a local farm or met someone at the farmers market who spoke passionately about the creamy texture and complex flavor profiles that are destroyed during pasteurization. “Just try it,” they said, eyes gleaming with the fervor of the converted. “You’ll never go back to store-bought.”

And so you do. That first cold glass goes down easy—too easy. The richness coats your tongue with a sweetness and depth you’ve never experienced from the homogenized, pasteurized variety. You tell yourself it’s just a treat, a once-in-a-while indulgence.

But soon, you’re making weekly trips to the farm, bringing your own glass bottles, on a first-name basis with the farmer, and asking about the diet of the cows. You’re noticing the seasonal changes in flavor. You’re explaining to skeptical friends that “the risks are overblown if you know your source.”

The Inevitable Escalation
Before long, the raw milk in your refrigerator starts to separate naturally. That thick layer of cream on top is just sitting there, tempting you. Would it be so wrong to skim it off? To collect it in a separate jar?

Raw cream is a whole new level of decadence. You’re pouring it in your coffee, over berries, making whipped cream that stands in peaks so firm they practically salute you.

But raw cream, it turns out, is just a stepping stone.

Deeper Into the Dairy Rabbit Hole
One day, you notice that some of your cream got shaken too vigorously on the drive home. There are small globules of… is that butter forming? A quick internet search later, and you’re actively shaking a jar of cream, watching in wonder as it separates into butter and buttermilk.

The homemade raw butter is a revelation—golden, grassy, alive with flavor. Store-bought butter now tastes like wax by comparison. But what’s bread without butter? Clearly, you need to start baking your own sourdough to properly showcase your artisanal butter.

And that raw buttermilk left over from butter-making? It would be wasteful not to use it. Pancakes, biscuits, and ranch dressing are suddenly on the weekly rotation.

Meanwhile, summer arrives, and the thought occurs: wouldn’t that raw cream make incredible ice cream? One secondhand ice cream maker purchase later, and you’re experimenting with flavors, textures, and mix-ins that would make Ben and Jerry weep with envy.

But ice cream needs toppings, doesn’t it? Homemade chocolate sauce with raw butter incorporated for richness. Caramel sauce with raw cream that makes store-bought varieties taste like melted plastic. Butterscotch that actually deserves its name because you can taste the butter and the subtle notes of the scotch you splashed in.

The Collection Phase
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