Free Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and The... by Sally Fallon, Pat Connolly, Phd. Mary G. Enig

and rich productivity of milk. The milk constitutes an important part of the summer's harvesting. While the men and boys gather in the hay and rye, the women and children go in large numbers with the cattle to collect the milk and make and store cheese for the following winter's use This [raw] cheese contains the natural butter fat and minerals of the splendid milk and is a virtual storehouse of life for the coming winter.
    These people. . .recognize the presence of Divinity in the life-giving qualities of the butter made in June when the cows have arrived for pasturage near the glaciers. [The priest] gathers the people together to thank the kind Father for the evidence of His Being in the life-giving qualities of butter and cheese made when the cows eat the grass near the snow line. This worshipful program includes the lighting of a wick in a bowl of the first butter made after the cows have reached the luscious summer pasturage. This wick is permitted to burn in a special sanctuary built for that purpose. The natives of the valley are able to recognize the superior quality of their June butter, and, without knowing exactly why, pay it due homage. Weston Price, DDS Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
    PIIMA CREAM
    Makes 2 cups

1 pint good quality cream
    1 tablespoon starter culture ( Piima Starter Culture )
Cream cultured with the piima culture is similar to European-style creme fraiche . Use the best quality cream you can find. Raw cream is best but pasteurized will do. Do not use ultrapasteurized cream. Place cream in a clean glass container. Add the starter, cover tightly and place in a spot where the temperature is a stable 72-75 degrees for 20 to 24 hours. It will have thickened slightly. Chill well. When cool the cream becomes quite firm. Piima cream will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. It may develop a thin yellowish or pinkish crust—simply remove this with a spoon.
Myth:
Saturated fat clogs arteries.
Truth:
The fatty acids found in artery clogs are mostly unsaturated (74%) of which 41% are polyunsaturated. ( Lancet 1994 344:1195)
    WHOLE-MILK BUTTERMILK
    Makes 1 quart

1 quart whole milk, preferably raw but not ultrapasteurized
    about ¼ cup buttermilk culture (See Sources )
This is the easiest of all the cultured milks. Place milk in a glass container, add the buttermilk culture, stir well and cover. Keep at room temperature (but not higher than 80 degrees) until the milk thickens and curdles slightly. Chill well. Reserve ¼-½ cup in a separate jar in the refrigerator for the next culture. Note: A similar culture from Sweden is called fil mjolk .
    Metchnikoff attributed the relatively long life span and freedom from disease of Bulgarian peasants to their consumption of sour milk containing a lactic acid bacillus. . .. However, his assumption took no account of a far better explanation. Dairy products form a large proportion of the diet in certain countries. Before the era of pasteurization, dairy products were utilized in the raw condition, since their palatability does not improve by heat-treatment, as is the case with many food materials. When a large share of the calorie requirement was supplied by raw milk, raw butter and raw cheese, not only did the organism receive a daily quota of enzymes, but the enzyme content of the tissues was not so heavily drawn upon as in those countries where the preponderance of the diet consisted of heat-treated foods. Therefore, the Bulgarian peasants, many of whom Metchnikoff found to live to the century mark in their mountainous abode, might be expected to have a long life span because their enzyme reserve is more slowly used up during the course of living. Edward Howell, MD Food Enzymes for Health and Longevity
    YOGHURT
    Makes 1 quart

½ cup good quality commercial plain yoghurt, or ½ cup yoghurt from previous batch
    1 quart pasteurized whole milk, nonhomogenized
    a candy thermometer
Yoghurt is easy to make—neither a yoghurt-maker nor a special culture is