Egg-Citing Facts

May is National Egg Month! Below are 18 egg-citing facts about eggs!

Hatching Eggs

• It takes anywhere between 24 and 26 hours to produce an egg
• Most eggs are laid between the hours of 7am and 11am
• It takes about 21 days to hatch a chicken eggs and 28 days to hatch a duck egg
• The color of an egg yolk is determined by the hen’s diet
• The average hen lays between 250 to 320 eggs per year

Egg Nutrition 

• There are 13 nutrients in one egg.
• A large egg contains about 70 calories
• Eggs contain Choline, which is essential to healthy fetal development. Choline may be a key factor in the development of an infant’s memory functions.
• Six grams of protein are contained in one egg
• The protein found in eggs is one of the highest-quality proteins of any food
• Not all of the protein is found in the egg white—some of it is in the yolk!

Cooking Eggs

• You cannot cook an egg in its shell in the microwave. The steam inside the egg builds up so fast, it might egg-splode!
• To tell if an egg is raw or hard-boiled, spin it. Hard boiled eggs spin easier, while raw eggs wobble when they are spun.

Egg Production

• The United States produces about 75 billion eggs per year, which accounts for 10% of the world supply
• Maryland farmers produce almost 71 million dozen eggs per year
• South Mountain Creamery's eggs are Certified Humane, meaning we meet the Humane Farm Animal Care program standards

Did you know...

• An egg will stand on its end during the spring equinox, around March 21, when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are equal lengths everywhere.
• Rumor has it, a chef’s hat has a pleat for each of the many ways you can cook an egg

Facts from:

https://www.incredibleegg.org/

http://news.maryland.gov/mda/press-release/2014/05/01/may-is-national-egg-month-maryland-farmers-produce-nearly-71-million-dozen-eggs-a-year/

Winter Woes: Keeping your milk from freezing this winter!

You may have noticed frozen and/or cracked glass bottles in your most recent delivery! Why? Due to the extremely low temperatures (record breaking, in fact) your milk has frozen and has caused the glass bottle to bust. Let's examine the reasoning:

WHY:
1. Glass is considered a brittle solid. Brittle is defined by dictionary.com as, "having hardness and rigidity but little tensile strength; breaking readily with a comparatively smooth fracture, as glass." This means that, when pressure is applied, glass will break before it bends. In the case of excess force to your milk bottle, a crack would be foreseeable.

2.Glass also fluctuates (only slightly) during temperature change. Significant temperature changes (like running a recently used coffee pot under cold water) causes these fluctuations. 

3.The expansion of liquid or material inside of a glass product (due to freezing) causes increased pressure against the glass walls. It is recommend to only fill a glass bottle 90% (or less) full to accommodate for expansion. SMC fills milk bottles completely full, however, which leaves no room for the bottle to expand! The excess force  from increased stress is the number once cause of SMC glass bottle breakage.

HOW TO PREVENT IT: 
Preventing bottle breakage is easy! Simply remove your products from your cooler soon after they are delivered. The only method to reduce/eliminate fractured milk bottles is to react before it can happen. Too harsh of temperature change can also busy glass, so do not add any heated items to your porch box/cooler

Making Milk Part of Your New Year Resolution

What's in a resolution?

Make a resolution you can actually stick with! Start the New Year with South Mountain Creamery home delivery!

As a vertically integrated dairy processing plant, we understand the importance of healthy eating, local agriculture, and knowing where your food comes from. Wholesome and true ingredients are the only asset to our glass bottled milk, butters, yogurts, meats, ice creams, and more. With over 9,000 active home delivery customers - we know our customer's needs: convenience, a true and whole product, and a family-style relationship. All are benefits of receiving home delivery! You can also expect:

1. No sign up fee & no minimum order
2. Supportive and friendly staff
3. A convenient and flexible delivery (weekly, bi-weekly, once monthly, etc)
4. A true "field to fork" operation
5. Over 500 options: dairy, meat, eggs, snacks, drinks, products from local vendors, ice cream ,etc)
6. Family atmosphere: visit 365 days a year to take a self-guided or guided tour
7. A healthier product: NO ANTIBIOTICS, NO GROWTH HORMONES, NO PESTICIDES
8. Responsive feedback to suggestions
9. Weekly specials, discounts, and features!
10. Annual Festivals & other social gatherings
11. A presence in numerous restaurants, bakeries, and shops throughout DC, WV, MD, VA, & PA!\
12. Experienced milkmen

And much more! Signing up for service is easy. Simply log on to http://www.southmountaincreamery.com and click "sign up here."

SMC GLASS MILK BOTTLES: Why packaging in plastic is SO 2001

SMC GLASS MILK BOTTLES: Why packaging in plastic is SO 2001

DO NOT RECYCLE OUR GLASS BOTTLES! Return them to us! We want to wash and reuse SMC glass bottles for your next delivery! We bottle our milk in glass for many reasons! Not only is it better for the environment, it keeps your milk colder, fresher, and more pure! Ready why glass is cool and plastic is.....jealous.

What is glass? Glass is made from all-natural sustainable raw materials. Glass containers are commonly made with a combination of various oxides or oxygen-based compounds and are commonly referred to as “soda-lime” glass. The combining of raw materials, including sand, soda ash, limestone and cullet, creates glass containers that are durable, strong, impermeable, easily shaped, and inexpensive. The proportion of raw materials is based on availability, chemical and physical consistency, sizing, purity and cost. The goal is to use the most economical and high-quality raw materials available. Some oxides will form glass without adding any other elements and are known as network formers. The most common of these is silica (SiO2). –Glass Packaging Institute

 

Why glass?

 

Glass keeps milk colder: Glass is a better insulator than plastic. Glass bottles are typically thicker than plastic and are not permeable, so outside air cannot get in! Of course we suggest you take proper cooling measures to keep your milk fresh for longer…store your milk at the bottom of the fridge and to the back, where the air is the coldest!

 

Glass is environmentally friendly: Reusing the bottles cuts down on waste we would create with plastic packaging. In addition, 100% of glass bottles can be recycled back into glass bottles. Many other recyclable products have to be “downcycled” into other products! Glass can typically be recycled and back on shelves within 30 days!

DID YOU KNOW: when we recycle our glass bottles they are smashed into little pieces called “cullet!” They can then be melted and shaped back into glass bottles!

 

Glass is nonporous/ non-permeable: Glass is not porous so no outside chemicals, air, or germs can penetrate through the bottle! Products like plastic and Styrofoam are extremely permeable (although not to the naked eye) and can let many harmful bacteria and germs come in contact with your delicious and farm fresh milk!

 

Glass is safe: Glass is the ONLY packaging product to receive the GRAS “generally recognized as safe” certification from the Food and Drug Administration!

 

Glass is all-natural & BPA free: Unlike some aluminum cans and hard plastic containers, glass is BPA free. BPA stands for Bisphenol A, a compound in thermal papers and the lining of many food and drink packages! The longer a product sits in a plastic container, the more susceptible it is to BPA chemicals and other pollutants. Warmer air can have the same effect on plastic! Glass is made out of all-natural and sustainable raw materials AND is non porous so no outside chemical compounds can enter the bottle!

 

Glass is aesthetically pleasing: Who doesn’t like the look of a perfectly curved clear bottle making a statement in your fridge?

 

Why a deposit?

 

We charge a refundable $1.50 bottle deposit to help ensure that bottles are returned to us! Although they do make a statement in your fridge, we want to wash and reuse the bottle so that you can enjoy our freshest milk in a container that is not damaging to your health or the environment. After you return your bottle, your account is credited the amount! If you hold a lot of SMC bottles, it causes an inconvenience for our drivers who will have to pick up many bottles at once! We also need replacement bottles for your next delivery!

Super Premium Ice Cream

South Mountain Creamery is proud to serve its customers over 40 flavors of super-premium ice cream!

What makes SMC ice cream super-premium?

According to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), super-premium ice cream has a very low overrun and high fat content, and the manufacturer uses the best quality ingredients.

Overrun is the amount of aeration the ice cream undergoes. Aerating ice cream keeps the mixture from being an inedible frozen mass! Federal standards require that the finished ice cream product cannot weigh less than 4.5 pounds per gallon.

Super premium ice cream needs an overrun of less than 50%, meaning that ice cream is made with one part air to every two parts cream. Lower overrun makes the ice cream taste smoother, creamier, and richer! Less air also means fewer ice crystals and more ice cream per container!

Super premium ice cream has to contain at least 14% butterfat. At South Mountain Creamery, our ice cream has 18% butterfat!

We want to provide the highest quality ice cream using only the finest ingredients! Our ice cream is made from our all-natural and farm fresh milk. Each flavor is hand-crafted and individually packaged!

Learn more about our ice cream at www.southmountaincreamery.com

A Scoop of Ice Cream a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!

Even though ice cream is considered a dessert, it can have many health benefits!

Ice cream’s main ingredient is milk, so it is rich in calcium. Calcium is important in building and maintaining strong bones and avoiding bone-related diseases.  It has been helpful in preventing mood swings and even premenstrual symptoms! Studies have even found that ice cream can reduce the chance of kidney stones. Calcium can also help to prevent osteoporosis, cancer, and hypertension.

Ice cream also contains multiple vitamins, including A, B-6, B-12, C, D, E, and K. It even contains thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and phosphorous—all vitamins and minerals that you need!

Next time you’re looking for a snack to give you energy, reach a scoop of ice cream! Ice cream contains carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, which are all essential for energy.

Ever feel relaxed after having a bowl of ice cream? Ice cream is a good comfort food and can help reduce stress! It can also help to relax the nervous system and prevent symptoms of insomnia.

Did you know ice cream doesn’t cause colds? Because our body temperature is much higher than ice cream, it melts when we eat it. Ice cream is also helpful in staying hydrated because it provides fluid for our bodies. Some research has even shows that ice cream can improve immunity to certain diseases, like influenza!

Next time you’re looking for a snack, reach in the freezer for some SMC ice cream and remember all the good it does for your body! Just remember that ice cream is best in moderation!

http://tipshealthypeople.blogspot.com/2012/03/benefits-of-ice-cream-for-body.html

http://www.magforwomen.com/5-benefits-of-eating-ice-cream/

http://www.hersheyicecream.com/HICblog/2012/02/a-scoop-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away/

July is National Ice Cream Month!

Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy ice cream, which is pretty much the same thing!

President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month in 1984. National Ice Cream Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of July. This year, National Ice Cream Day is on Sunday, July 21.

Read President Reagan’s proclamation for National Ice Cream Month and National Ice Cream Day. 

A survey in 2012 found that a majority of ice cream and frozen dessert manufacturers have been in business for over 50 years. Many of them are family owned!

Ice cream is an easy and delicious dessert for your family. Favorites include sundaes, root beer floats, banana splits, milkshakes, pie a-la-mode, and ice cream cones. Top off ice cream with hot fudge, chocolate, caramel, whipped cream, nuts, fruit, sprinkles, or cookies.

Did you know…

• Vanilla is the most popular ice cream flavor.
• Chocolate syrup is the most popular ice cream topping.
• The ice cream industry generates more than $21 billion in annual sales in the United States.
• More than 90 percent of U.S. households purchase ice cream.
• More ice cream is sold on Sunday than any other day of the week.
• A "brain freeze" is triggered when ice cream touches the roof of your mouth, causing blood vessels in the head to dilate.

South Mountain Creamery has over 40 different flavors of ice cream made from our all-natural and farm fresh milk.  Each flavor is handcrafted and individually packaged. Our ice cream is available for home delivery and at Karen’s Kountry Store!