I come from a nation where diary products were staple food for centuries. My pre-ancestors were a steppe people coming to Europe from Central Asia in 7th century on horse-back. They used to drink fermented mare-milk called “kummus”. Later on, after settling down, they started domesticating animals and producing at home a variety of diary products – milk, youghurt, butter, cheese, etc.
Today many grown-up people have difficulties digesting diary products. One of the explanations the nutrition science gives is that our bodies stop producing the enzyme that coagulates milk at the age 6-8 and milk digestion after this age becomes difficult.
I believe that another reason for people to develop milk allergies and milk intolerance is the manner in which modern industrial cows are raised. The ruminant animals are fed on grains instead of grass, kept confined and seeing no sunshine, treated with a variety of chemicals, enzymes and antibiotics to give more milk and stay healthy despite the unhealthy conditions they live in. As a result, the milk of these cows contains chemicals and dangerous pathogens and needs to be pasteurized for safety. Pasteurization however, makes it even more difficult to digest, not to mention the fact that it does not kill the bacteria for Johne’s disease (with which most confined cows are infected) suspected of causing Crohn’s disease in humans.
However, soured products including buttermilk, kefir, youghurt, cottage cheese and ricotta are already predigested by the bacterial action of the souring process and are digested much better by the majority of people. Other properties of the milk are also transformed by the souring: lactose is converted to lactic acid and casein is partially broken down.
I consume diary products quite rarely because I do not have access to organically produced diaries and I would rather not buy industrially produced ones. But in the last two weeks a friend of mine whose husband has a small farm for naturally raised sheep and goats, has given me fresh and raw sheep milk which was absolutely amazing!
So, I made my own yoghurt and we enjoyed it with the first seasonal strawberries. The home-made yoghurt is nothing to compare with the commercial one – it is thick, velvety and packed-full with the friendly bacteria that our bodies need in the digestion process.
But I also made my own ricotta, using Sarah B’s recipe that you can see here. These home-made cheese is so fresh and inviting, an absolute indulgence for our senses and so easy to prepare once you get your hands on a good-quality raw milk. The whey which you get as a side-product in preparing ricotta can be used as a base for a delicious and nutritious soup, and I promise to share a recipe next time!
We enjoyed the ricotta by itself, in the company of a big green salad, but I also made these lovely tartalettes that I served with fresh home-made ricotta and topped with fresh strawberries!
Indeed, nothing can beet the home-made products made by fresh, chemicals-free ingredients!
Tartalettes with home-made ricotta
Ingredients for 5 tartalettes For the crust:- 1 cup (110 gm) almond flour
- 1 tbs (10gm) tapioca starch
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- 5 tbs (100 gm) coconut oil (or ghee)
- 1 organic egg
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh home-made ricotta
- 4-5 strawberries
