Are you a brand-new customer of RAW FARM? If so, this article will give YOU a checklist to become a super Savvy RAW FARM customer! If you’re already a long-time customer, this will be a helpful refresher. In this article, you’ll learn how to find fresh raw milk, store it properly, communicate with our team online, and get the answers to some commonly asked questions, such as freezing raw dairy products and access to our favorite, everyday raw dairy recipes. Let’s dive into the world of raw dairy together.

What are raw dairy products?

RAW FARM dairy products are simply tested for safety allowing the final product to be unprocessed, whole, nutrient dense, and probiotic. NEVER pasteurized (heated), homogenized (crushed), fortified (enhanced), or otherwise altered. EVER.

The proven health components found in raw dairy products are unlike ANY “milk alternatives”, naturally! Nothing is added to enhance or stabilize this life-giving food. Enjoy our raw products without “tummy issues” or milk sensitivities. We have a variety of delicious, nutritious products to choose from: Whole Raw Milk, Heavy Raw Cream, Raw Butter, Raw Kefir (4 delicious flavors), Truly Raw Cheddar Cheese, and a Raw Kefir (Plain) Pet Food Item now available in Sprouts USA locations! We HIGHLY encourage you to explore our blog and YouTube page where you can learn more the benefits of our products, how we make them, and how you can use them in simple, healthy everyday recipes.

FINDING FRESH RAW DAIRY PRODUCTS

Below are our KEY tips for sourcing fresh, high-quality raw dairy products every time. These tips will help you keep your milk tasting great and fresh for longer! Raw dairy products are perishable, so treat them as delicately as you would fresh raspberries.

KNOW YOUR STORE’S DELIVERY DAY

Do you need help finding a store near you that carries our products? Use our store locator HERE!

FIND YOUR STORE'S WEEKLY DELIVERY DAY (CA ONLY)

Make friends with your dairy case manager and learn the delivery dates and times for optimal times to shop.
Contact us directly at 559.846.9732 OR view our delivery schedule here and we will be happy to help identify your store delivery dates. Email Josh.L@rawfarmusa.com if you don’t see your store on the list.

Keep it cold

If you're not going straight home from the grocery store or Farmers Market after purchasing raw milk, use an insulated bag or cooler with ice packs to keep the milk chilled until it can be stored in the refrigerator at home.

Store your milk in the coldest part of your fridge.
DO NOT leave your RAW FARM Raw Whole Milk sitting on the counter. After pouring what you need put the bottle back in the fridge. The longer it stays cold for, the fresher it will last.

Read the date on the back of the label

In most cases, we deliver to the store weekly (sometimes more). Each week the driver takes away any milk with less than 5 days on the use-by date and replenishes with fresh raw milk that should have 12-14 days left on the code. If you do not see this happening at your store, please contact us on Instagram or email Josh.L@rawfarmusa.com and let us know.

Buy only as much fresh raw milk as your family consumes between trips to the store

Bigger is not always better with raw milk. Unless your family consumes a gallon regularly, opt for the smaller size. If you find that you are running out before you can make it back to the market, then buy the next bigger size or two of the smaller bottles.

WHAT HAPPENS IF…. (FACTS ABOUT OUR PRODUCTS)

1.What happens if I purchase a fresh gallon of Raw Milk, keep it cool, store it in the coldest part of my fridge, and open it the following morning to find that it has spoiled or doesn’t meet RAW FARM’s very high standards?

As our customer, you have the right to take your product back to the store and exchange for a new product or get a full refund. At RAW FARM, we strive for perfection, and we want to give you a consistently wonderful experience with our products every time. That being said, we are human, and sometimes we make mistakes. We are happy to own up to these mistakes and make it right, which is why we offer a guaranteed sales program with all of our stores. This means you can take our products back to the store for a new product or a refund anytime you are unsatisfied with our products. We want you to have the very best! If this happens to you, we HIGHLY encourage you to reach out to us on social media or email Kaleigh.l@rawfarmusa.com and let us know what happened. We are here to help-sometimes, it may be a minor issue and still safe to consume. You can always come up us for tips and advice about raw milk. Plus, we value your feedback- both good and bad-because it helps us become better. So, communicate with us! We love hearing from you.

How to Communicate With Our Family Online:

Instagram DM-If you send us a message on Instagram, you can guarantee our team will see it in less than 24 hours. Usually, we try to respond as quickly as possible (within the same day), but sometimes, we are communicating with other members of our team in order to find a solution for you. In that case, our responses may take a bit longer, but know that your message has been seen, our team is working on it, and you can following up with us for updates any time. (We suggest you send us a direct message rather than leaving a comment on our page, because we get so many new comments a day, it can be easy for them to get lost. Sending a message to us directly guarantees your message will be seen and responded to promptly).
Email- You can communicate with our family directly via email. Each family member has a special area of expertise to assist you in. You can learn more about the family behind RAW FARM here!

RAW FARM: Meet the Family Behind the Brand

Kaleigh.L@rawfarmusa.com-Email for customer service, marketing information, product information, events, FAQs, and collaborations.
Email for product complaints, farm tours, product ingredient information, and cow-care practices
Josh.L@rawfarmusa.com-(as a store vendor) email Josh to inquire about carrying our products in your store; (as a customer) email Josh to learn more about your store’s delivery day, or to request RAW FARM products at your store. We would love to grow into new locations. You can email your new store requests to Josh.L@rawfarmusa.com or tell the store to buy from our national cheese distributor called KeHE.
Aaron.M@rawfarmusa.com-Email for information about our farming and dairy practices.

2. Can I freeze raw dairy products if I don’t use them quickly enough?

Yes, yes, yes you can! All of our raw dairy products can be frozen to prolong freshness. You can freeze our products as is. But, please note that for freezing milk, we suggest pouring off a 1/4 cup from the top and drinking it before freezing. This is because liquid products expand when frozen, and we don’t want your gallon to burst (it’s rare, but it can happen).

Learn more about freezing raw dairy products here!

How to Freeze Raw Dairy Products

3. How long do raw dairy products last for? Do they spoil easier?

Amazingly, raw dairy products rarely go bad. There is a difference between spoiling and souring. Processed dairy products will spoil, rot, and decay to a point it becomes harmful to consume. While raw milk simply evolves and naturally sours. After raw milk starts to sour, it does not become harmful. This is due to its ability to self-ferment, which is remarkable! The symbiotic activity between the milk’s bacteria and enzymes evolves the milk naturally into a probiotic food. (Hint: Try making your own creme fraîche by adding 1/4 cup of high-quality sour cream (best if made with added cultures) to 2 cups or so of our slightly soured raw milk into in a clean glass container. Cover with a breathable cloth and let sit in a dark place at room temperature undisturbed for 18-24 hours until it becomes a sweet fermented sour cream. Put a lid on it and place in the refrigerator for several days. Voila, you can enjoy lovely raw Creme Fraîche).

Plus, it is best to keep the lid on our fresh whole raw milk to prevent acceleration of the souring process because oxygen plays a critical role in the food souring process. Our products are living and perishable. They should stay fresh until the date code if conditions are kept ideal (always kept cold, not exposed to room air for too long, etc), but it is not always possible to maintain optimal conditions, no matter how hard we try. We do our very best to maintain optimal conditions once the milk leaves the cow, gets transported to the creamery, travels in our delivery trucks, and finally gets placed onto a store shelf. Whew. That’s not easy to achieve. To be on the safe side, it’s best to expect it to stay fresh a few days before the use-by date. Even putting a use-by date on a perishable item is only our best guess. It could last a little under or a little past the expected use-by date. The good news is we NEVER add preservatives or funky stuff. We believe fresh and raw is always best for our health.

With that being said, we want you to enjoy fresh raw milk when possible! The link below will give you 10 creative ideas to make the most of sour raw milk, but this should only be used for milk that is past its date. If you purchase a gallon of milk that sours before its date, please exchange for a new, fresh product at the store and let us know what happened (email Kaleigh.L@rawfarmusa.com) so our team can investigate.

Got sour milk? Here are 10 ways to make the most of it!

HOW TO BE A SMART RAW FARM CUSTOMER

Congratulations! In this article, you learned how to be a well-informed RAW FARM customer. You learned how to source fresh milk, store it properly in your fridge, how to find your store’s weekly delivery day, how to communicate directly with our family and team, and what to do with extra raw dairy so it doesn’t go “bad”! The only thing left to do is to dive further into the delicious, exciting world of raw dairy, and our blog is the perfect place to do so take a look at our new recipe page while you’re at it to get inspiration for including raw dairy products as a part of your everyday diet. Be sure to tag us on Instagram when you see our products in stores and when you create recipes using them. It brings us so much joy to watch how you use our products to create something nourishing and much-loved by your (and our) family.

GET RAW DAIRY RECIPES