Fresh from the vaca (cow)
20 July 2009 | Luperon, Dominican Republic
Connie Rosenthal
How cool is it to get milk fresh from the cow!?
I take the dinghy over to a dock and climb out, follow a skinny path up the side of the hill to visit Senor Arturo. He pulls out a chair for me and prepares the cow. He ties her back legs together and gathers his stool and bucket. He lets out the baby from the fence and begins plugging its mouth onto the various teats to stimulate the milk flow. He has the baby suckle about 30 times, alternating teats. He then ties the baby to a tree and begins milking the mom. After he has the amount of milk he wants, he strains it through two strainers directly into the container I have brought. He unties the baby and lets it continue eating. I pay $50 pesos for a half gallon and he also gives me fresh mangoes off the tree. It's just as cool as can be to know where my milk comes from and see the actual process. I often make smoothies with fresh milk, papaya, banana, mango, and pineapple and I know where each of these items originated. It feels good, healthy and pure.