Featured Items Part III

Cream Cheese: This is another product that I enjoy from the store, but would always feel guilty after eating because of how processed it is. This cream cheese is a bit sharp, so I like to add maple syrup (or any sweetener you enjoy) and a little salt to make it more like the Philly cheese’s we grew up enjoying.

What’s in it? Our A2 cream, cultures, salt and maple syrup.

How to use it: Cheesecake, French toast stuffing, party dips, frosting, herbed cheeseballs! Add it to alfredo sauce, mashed potatoes and soups!

Shelf Life: Unopened, it can last about two months. After opening, it can last about a month to a month and a half. Keep an eye out for green or pink mold. You can scrape off the mold and find perfectly good cheese underneath, but use it quick or it will happen again!

Strawberry Kefir: Kefir is loaded with millions of bacteria counts that are extremely beneficial for your gut health! It helped dry up my acne so much.  I could feel the blemishes drying up in the same day that I drank it. It is similar to yogurt, but it tastes more tart and sour than yogurt. It’s one of my favorites, and I love the benefits! 

What’s in it? Our A2 milk, frozen organic, chemical free, never sprayed strawberries, kefir grains, maple syrup to sweeten (did we mention the syrup is grown/harvested in Amish Country as well??)

How to use it: Drink it straight as a snack or take it like medicine, add it to your shakes, bake into dessert.

Shelf Life: Kefir can last a long time, indefinitely, but it will become fizzy and more intense in flavor. The longer you keep it, the more beneficial bacteria are produced. It even starts to get a little fizzy – like a carbonated beverage. The only warning is this: Kefir is a fermented dairy product. It releases carbon dioxide gas. The container then pressurizes and can cause the container to explode, meaning you will have a mess all over your kitchen. We found some pretty bloated containers that had us wincing!  To avoid an explosion, we recommend burping (opening the lid) every other day to release pressure. It’s up to you how long you want to keep it around. It won’t spoil, but it will take about a week before it starts to carbonate.

Strawberry Drinkable Yogurt: Our strawberry yogurt only comes in a drinkable form, but it’s delicious! 

What’s in it? Our A2 milk, cultuers, frozen organic, chemical free, never sprayed strawberries, maple syrup.

How to use it: Drink it straight or put it in shakes.

Shelf Life: Yogurt is not fermented like kefir, so it isn’t persevered like kefir. Unopened, the yogurt can last about a week or two. After opening, the yogurt can last about two weeks. 

In summary, all of our dairy products have a recommended shelf life but they never go bad! They do not spoil like store products! We took one-month old milk and turned into caramel! The only exception (so far that we found) was strawberry yogurt can sour quicker because of the fresh strawberries. Farm families say that if it doesn’t make you gag, then it’s still healthy. I have personally thrown things out in the past because they smelled “sour”. It’s a comfort-level sort of thing. My husband thought he was going to lose his vision when “taste-testing” the month-old milk prior to turning it into caramel. Needless to say, he never lost his vision, he’s still alive, and he even said it was nowhere near as bad as he thought it smelled! He definitely wouldn’t drink it straight, but he became aware of how much flavor it could add to for cooking/baking. We use our old yogurt, kefir, milk, and creams for pancakes, baked dishes, and cheesy entrees. Substitute soured milk into any savory dish calling for water – it’ll bring out flavors you never expected!