10 Uses For Milk… Besides Drinking It!

10 Uses for Milk… Besides Drinking It!

Sure, you can drink milk, but have you ever considered using it around the house? Check out these 10 different uses for milk!

1. Thaw frozen fish: Use a milk bath to thaw your frozen fish! Milk acts as a natural moisturizer to restore hydration and flavor back to frozen fish. Try leaving a piece of frozen fish in a milk bath in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
2. Polish tarnished silverware: Soak tarnished silverware in sour milk for 30 minutes. Wash in soapy water to polish and brighten your silverware.
3. Repair fine china: Have fine china with hairline cracks? Put a piece of china in a big pot, cover in milk and simmer for 45 minutes. The proteins in milk bond with the clay, sealing the crack.
4. Create an industrial-strength hand cleaner: Regular soap just not working? Create a paste of oatmeal and milk. Rub on hands to remove grime and soften skin. Try adding lemon juice to help with exceptionally greasy messes.
5. Stain remover: One of the best ways to get rid of ink stains on clothes is to soak the stain in milk. Adding vinegar to the milk while soaking with help to break down and lift the stain.
6. Shine patent leather: Run a milk-soaked rag over patent leather shoes. For deeper shine, apply milk to shoes, let dry, and buff shoes to a shine. This method also works on patent leather purses and jackets. You can even apply milk to a clean cotton swab to wipe scuff marks off patent leather.
7. Helps swallow large pills: Milk coats the throat and protects te stomach lining as the pill breaks down. Be sure to check with your doctor first, as milk can react with some medications.
8. Cool a spicy mouth: The casein in milk helps to lessen the problem of a burning mouth after eating spicy food.
9. Boost the flavor of corn: Milk can boost the flavor of corn on the cob. Check out South Mountain Creamery’s corn on the cob recipes on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/southmtcreamery/corn-recipes
10. Condition Hair: Fill a spray bottle with cold milk and spray hair thoroughly. Gently comb hair and rinse after 30 minutes. No need for conditioner!

South Mountain Creamery does dairy differently! South Mountain Creamery is an all natural dairy farm offering glass bottled milk, yogurt, butter, ice cream, and a variety of specialty vendor products delivered to customers’ homes throughout Maryland, DC, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Sign up for home delivery today and have milk delivered straight to your door: www.southmountaincreamery.com

Taken from the November 2013 issue of Dairy Herd Management

Celebrating National Dairy Month

June is National Dairy Month! 

Whether it’s ice cream, yogurt, sour cream, or a cold glass of milk, South Mountain Creamery encourages you to purchase more local dairy products to celebrate National Dairy Month. Dairy is the third largest agricultural commodity in Maryland. There are over 520 dairy farms across the state!

National Dairy Month was created by the National Dairy Council in 1937 and to celebrate the dairy industry and to promote dairy consumption. Today, milk is still considered a nutrient-rich powerhouse. From essential minerals like calcium, to its body building protein and vitamins, milk remains the clear drink choice for a healthy lifestyle.

Celebrate National Dairy Month with SMC:

Include milk, Maryland’s official state beverage, in your diet. With nine essential nutrients, calcium, potassium, phosphorous, protein, vitamin D, vitamin A, Vitamin B12, riboflavin, and niacin, dairy is a nutrient powerhouse! Find dairy-inspired recipes and ideas on the SMC Pinterest Board.

Join SMC on a guided tour. Learn about local agriculture and how your milk is made. All of our tours end with a delicious scoop of super-premium SMC ice cream. Visit our website for more information and to schedule your tour.

Experience Maryland’s dairy farms first-hand. The Maryland’s Best Ice Cream trail features eight dairy farms that produce farm fresh ice cream and sell it directly to consumers on the farm. Pick up your Ice Cream Trail Passport at SMC or any other participating creamery!

Sign up for Home Delivery. Drop the hassle of going to the grocery store every week and have milk delivered straight to your door! SMC is the return of the milkman, delivering to over 9,000 homes in DC, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. We have over 500 products available in our online store. Sign up for home delivery today.

Find other local Maryland dairy products near you at www.marylandsbest.net

How will you celebrate National Dairy Month?  Be sure to tag South Mountain Creamery in your celebration! #30DaysofSMCDairy

A Dozen Creative Ways to Use Egg Cartons

 Celebrating National Egg Month

A Dozen Creative Ways to Use Egg Cartons

Egg Carton Roses: Cut 1 slit into each corner of 1 egg cup and shape into petals. Repeat twice, making petals slightly smaller and roll together to make a bud shape. Hot glue the  layers together, offsetting middle layer so petals sit in spaces between petals of bottom layer. Create bouquets, wreaths, or use to cover a picture frame or mirror.

Egg Carton Flower Lights: A bit of creative cutting, a strand of Christmas lights, and a dab of paint can turn that boring carton into an adorable floral lighting string.

Grow Seedlings in Egg Cartons: The small cups are the perfect size for smaller seedlings.

Bird Feeder: Punch four holes in bottom half of an egg carton. Cut four 18-inch pieces of twine and attach to holes in corner. Fill carton with birdseed. Tie loose ends into knot and hang in a tree.

Get Organized: Egg cartons are the perfect way to organize “small stuff.” Decorate them and use for storing jewelry, beads, office supplies, buttons, craft supplies, nuts/bolts, and more.

Store Christmas Ornaments: Store smaller holiday decorations. They work like a charm, keep your ornaments safe, and save a lot of space.

DIY Fire Starters: Add a bit of wax, and some dryer lint, and voila! You have a handy fire starter for camping or cold winter nights.

Charcoal Grill Starter: Take a cardboard egg carton and place one piece of charcoal in each slot. This technique puts the kindling and coals into close proximity Make up several cartons and keep them on hand to take on camping trips, or keep in a safe place for those last-minute backyard marshmallow roasts.

Paper Mache Clay: Fill a bucket with 10 egg boxes and two glossy magazines. Tear strips into one inch pieces and soak overnight. Use a kitchen mixer to beat the paper to a mash. You can also use a drill with a plaster mixer attachment. Drain the mixture with a colander and an old pair of stockings or draining bag and squeeze out water. Dry into balls and add water to bring back to life!

Egg Carton Mancala Game: Egg cartons make the perfect game board, and you can use beads, marbles, or dry beans for the playing pieces. 

Sidewalk Chalk: Mix 1 cup of plaster of paris, 3/4 cup of cold water, and tempera powder (use more for brighter colors) in a container with your stirring tool. Let mixture thicken, and pour into egg cartons. Let sit one day for mold and chalk to dry completely.

Paint Cups: This idea will be popular with the kiddos, or if you are needing to use several colors at once.

SMC Supreme Eggs

South Mountain Creamery’s Certified Humane Eggs can’t be beat*! Our eggs meet the Humane Farm Animal Care program standards, which include a nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones, animals raised with shelter, resting areas, sufficient space, and the ability to engage in natural behaviors. Our laying hens are fed with food grown and harvest on the farm. See how SMC’s eggs compare to the leading brand: www.southmountaincreamery.com

*Disclaimer: SMC eggs CAN be beat! Try them scrambled or in a soufflé, quiche, crème brulee, and more! Visit our EGG-Citing Ideas Pinterest board for recipes, ideas, and more!

Egg Storage

 

How to Store SMC Certified Humane Brown Eggs

Take care of your farm fresh SMC eggs with these storage tips!

Always store your South Mountain Creamery eggs in a refrigerator. To maintain freshness and quality of your eggs, it is always best to store eggs on an inside shelf, rather than in the refrigerator door. Repeated opening and closing of the refrigerator door can cause temperature fluctuations. Slamming can even result in breakage.

The carton in which you purchase them helps keep the eggs from picking up odors and flavors from other foods while also helping to prevent moisture loss.

Storing Fresh, Uncooked Eggs

You can keep fresh, uncooked eggs in the shell refrigerated in their cartons for at least four to five weeks beyond the pack date. If eggs are properly handled and stored, they rarely spoil. Sometimes, eggs will dry up if you keep them long enough. Never leave eggs out. They will age more in one day at room temperature than they will in one week in the refrigerator!

Storing Hard Boiled Eggs

As soon as hard boiled eggs have cooled, refrigerate the eggs in their shells and use them within one week. When storing hard-boiled eggs, you may notice a gassy odor in your refrigerator. Often, the smell is more noticeable when you open the refrigerator infrequently. The odor is caused by hydrogen sulfide, which forms when the eggs are cooked. This odor is harmless and usually dissipates within a few hours.

Picnics and Outdoor Occasions

For outdoor eating occasions, you can keep eggs refrigerator-cold with ice or commercial coolant in an insulated bag or picnic cooler.

Leftover Whites and Yolks

Refrigerate and store leftover egg whites in a covered container for up to four days. Store leftover yolks in water in a covered container in the refrigerator and use them within one to two days.

SMC Supreme Eggs

South Mountain Creamery’s Certified Humane Eggs can’t be beat*! Our eggs meet the Humane Farm Animal Care program standards, which include a nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones, animals raised with shelter, resting areas, sufficient space, and the ability to engage in natural behaviors. Our laying hens are fed with food grown and harvest on the farm. See how SMC’s eggs compare to the leading brand: www.southmountaincreamery.com

*Disclaimer: SMC eggs CAN be beat! Try them scrambled or in a soufflé, quiche, crème brulee, and more! Visit our EGG-Citing Ideas Pinterest board for recipes, ideas, and more!

The Ultimate Guide to the 2015 Spring Festival

 SMC is excited to hold the 14th Annual Spring Festival!

Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3

Join us this weekend for food, ice cream, and fun for the whole family!

Charity Raffle

This spring, SMC has chosen our local 4-H Chapter as our charity of choice. As the nation’s largest positive youth development and youth mentoring organization, 4-H empowers six million young people in the U.S annually. On behalf of the Frederick County 4-H, South Mountain Creamery is asking you to donate to our charity raffle to grow more confident and capable young people. Youth who participate in 4-H learn life skills to help them become caring, competent and responsible individuals through club work, community service, and 4-H project curriculum.  Members of 4-H work with their club leaders to develop yearly educational plans and service projects, and attend field trips and learning activities. Stop by our Raffle Table this weekend to see how you can invest in the future of our young people through bidding on these exclusive items:

• Ocean City Beach Vacation (Two chances to win a 1 week stay)
• Two Admission Tickets to Medieval Times
• Two Cider Tastings at Distillery Lane Ciderworks
• Catoctin Popcorn Basket
• Falling Bark Farm Hickory Syrup Basket
• Firefly Farms Gift Certificate
• Hoffman’s Meats Gift Certificate
• Liberty View Creamery Goat Product Basket
• Lord Byron Honey Basket
• McCutcheon’s Gift Basket
• Michele’s Granola Sampler
• The Breadery Gourmet Bread Basket
• Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Gift Certificate
• Handmade Quilt by Margaret Minton
• Photo by Ralph Adkins
• Dominion Tea Gift Basket
• Adventure Park USA Gift Certificate
• Manoli Canoli Olive Oil & Kalamata Olives
• South Mountain Creamery Porch Box

For History Enthusiasts

Did you know South Mountain Creamery is located in the heart of Civil War territory? Our history buff visitors will have the opportunity to learn more with these great demonstrations:

• John Milleker Photography and Wet Plate Demonstrations
• Civil War Reenactors and Encampment
• Civil War Ambulance

Vendors

Visit with some of our awesome vendors to learn more about why we choose to offer their products! Free samples and giveaways will be offered:

• Animal Planet, APLive camera, demonstrations and giveaways
• WFRE, live remote and giveaways
• WLIF, live remote and giveaways
• Catoctin Popcorn, fresh kettle corn
• istillery Lane Ciderworks, hard cider tastings
• Dominion Tea, tea samples
• Falling Bark Farm, hickory syrup samples
• Gude Brothers Greenhouses, lettuce samples and greenhouse tours
• Civil War Photographer, civil war style photos
• Civil War Reenactors, encampment
• Liberty View Creamery, goats and samples
• Lord Byron Honey, bee demonstration and samples
• Manoli Canoli, olive oil samples
• Maryland Aerial Video, aerial videography demonstration
• Michele’s Granola, granola samples
• Rolling Thunder, motorcycle display
• Sanner Brothers Maple Products
• Sleepy Hollow Lights, recycled tin cans
• Sugar Loaf Alpacas, alpacas and yarn
• Sweet Farm Sauerkraut, sauerkraut samples
• The Wild Pea Hummous, hummous samples
• DC Dills, flavored pickle samples

Entertainment

After you’ve eaten too much ice cream, sit down in our shop and enjoy some great music:

• Ernie Bradley (bluegrass music) performing Saturday & Sunday
• Special appearance by SMC’s very own Randy Sowers

 Free Activities

You have to take advantage of our free activities over the weekend! Our festivals are the only chance you have to see our production facility!

• Animal Planet Photo Booth
• Watch the Cows being milked 1:30pm-5:00pm
• Bottle Feed the Calves, 4:00pm
• Playground and Rock Pile
• Hayrides
• Face Painting by local Girl Scout Troop
• Tours of production facility and milking parlor
• Antique Tractor Display
• Cow Milking Contests
• Make Your Own Butter

Karen's Kountry Store

Our farm store will be open 10:00am-6:00pm on Saturday, and 11:00am-6:00pm on Sunday. Join us in the store for free samples and merchandise. Our 2015 Spring Festival Shirts will be on sale over the weekend.

Food

Our food tent, located in our pavilion, showcases some of SMC's meats and local products. Our rub and BBQ sauce are made locally. This year, greens and potatoes will come from Gude Brothers Greenhouses.

• Pit Beef and Pork BBQ Sandwiches
• Fresh Cut French Fries (Regular & Sweet Potato)
• Super Premium Ice Cream & Milkshakes
• Chicken Corn Soup and Chili
• Hamburgers, Cheeseburgers, Chicken Tenders and Hot Dogs

Parking

Both parking and admission at the festival are free. If you are in need of handicapped parking, please let one of our parking staff know!

For more information:

Visit www.southmountaincreamery.com

Like South Mountain Creamery on Facebook

Email us at events@smcdairy.com

Celebrating Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! 

Earth day is celebrated every year on April 22 to raise awareness about the environment and pollution. At SMC, we believe that every day should be Earth Day. Our farm’s commitment to agricultural sustainability has led us to establishing a goal of becoming a completely sustainable company.

The dairy industry, along with the USDA, is committed to advancing their eco-friendly sustainability practices. Over the next 10 years, they plan to reduce the output of greenhouse gasses by 25 percent. This has been made possible thanks to the USDA’s funding of approximately 25,000 environmental improvement projects through grants.

Since 1944, resources to produce a gallon of milk have decreased. This includes 90 percent less cropland, 65 percent less water, and 63 percent less carbon. In the United States, agriculture occupies 51 percent of land, uses 80 percent of our water and is responsible for 8 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions.

SMC’s Totally Green Practices

South Mountain Creamery is committed to agricultural sustainability. Our goal is to use our own resources to power the farm with a combination of bio-diesel, a methane digester, wind turbines, solar energy, and geothermal loops . In the past few years, SMC has completed a number of tasks, with the help of grants and the Maryland Energy Administration.

Soybean Press: In 2013, SMC completed their project of installing a fully-operational soybean press. A soybean press is a process of pressing soybeans to make our own soybean meal for animal feed.  The byproduct of the pressing process is soy oil which we can convert into bio-diesel.  The soybean oil is burned oil in our diesel trucks at about 5%-10%.

Lighting: In 2014, SMC replaced all of the company’s lighting with LED lights. LED lighting is energy efficient and consumes up to 90% less power than incandescent bulbs. Since LED lights use only a fraction of the energy of an incandescent light bulb and have a longer lifespan, there is a decreased amount of power usage, maintenance, and replacement costs.

Refrigeration Units: With the help of MEA and SEDESCO, SMC replaced all of our refrigeration units with energy efficient refrigeration units, which reduced our energy usage by 50%-90%! 

SMC is continuing to work on becoming a self-sustaining company with goals to install a Methane Digester, Wind Turbines, Solar Energy, and Geothermal Loops.

Other Eco-Friendly Practices:

Milking Parlor: South Mountain Creamery currently uses re washable cloths, instead of paper towels in our milking parlor. 

Glass Bottled Milk: Our milk bottles are glass so they can be washed, sanitized, and reused! 

Reusable Bags: The plastic bags used in our store and home delivery are biodegradable. Our friends at Gude Brothers also use eco-friendly bags for their produce bags, delivered to SMC daily.
Boonsboro Greenfest: Love sustainability? Join SMC at Boonsboro Greenfest on May 9 at Shafer Park in Boonsobor, MD! Visit their website fro more eco-friendly information.

http://dairygood.org/what-makes-a-farm-sustainable

http://dairygood.org/whats-the-carbon-footprint-of-a-gallon-of-milk

http://southmountaincreamery.com/pages.php?pageid=18

The Milk Wagon

One of South Mountain Creamery vintage delivery trucks.

Spot our delivery vehicles driving down the road, and you'll see cow spots, cartoon characters, and milk bottles from Middletown, MD, to Alexandria, VA, to Annapolis, MD, and more! A dairy delivery company isn’t complete without a fleet of delivery trucks. Today, South Mountain Creamery has over 20 delivery trucks to deliver to homes in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Fourteen years ago, on April 13, 2001, South Mountain Creamery began deliveries to 13 local customers in Karen’s purple Ford Explorer. With the start of dairy delivery, South Mountain Creamery became the first on-the-farm milk processing plant in the State of Maryland.  They processed and bottled the high quality milk from their dairy cows.  The decision was made to use reusable glass bottles for the milk and home deliver it to customers, just like other local dairy companies had done since the early 1900s in the Middletown Valley.

"Spot" SMC delivering to your neighborhood in our black, pink, and brown spotted delivery trucks.

As the company grew, the Sowers added more delivery trucks to their fleet. In the beginning, these trucks were all pre-owned by other delivery companies. During a visit from an agriculture statistician, the Sowers were informed that a milk truck was available for sale in Frederick. Karen and Randy visited the owners of the delivery truck, who ran a milk delivery business called "The Milk Wagon." The woman was selling the truck and all of its contents (tires, milk boxes, supplies, etc.) They purchased the truck and brought it and a pickup truck full of supplies back to the farm. The Milk Wagon soon became Truck 91, South Mountain Creamery’s newest addition to the delivery fleet.

Years later, the driver of The Milk Wagon became an SMC delivery driver and is still delivering today! Truck 91 doesn’t leave the farm, but is a reminder of SMC’s beginning and continued growth.

Early deliveries make for beautiful sunrises!

Our success over the past 14 years as South Mountain Creamery and the past 34 years as Sowers Dairy and we owe everything is owed completely to our customers!  Your families, friends, neighbors and co-workers that have shared their SMC experiences, recruited new customers and have come out to see what we do every day – make every moment worthwhile. From our South Mountain Creamery family to yours, would like to thank you for all for your continued support.  Thank you!