The old-fashioned milkman is back, but like every recycled trend, he's been updated. No longer is he merely a milkman but a delivery dude. The Delray Delivery Dudes provide what in more provincial times might have been delivery service but is now called "concierge service."
And while back in the day your parents or grandparents -- depending on how old you are -- were happy just to get their milk delivered, nowadays locavores want organic raw milk from happy cows with names.
Ironically, the milk you'll get delivered by the Dudes is probably far more like the substance your great grandparents would have recognized as milk than what you can pick up at your local mega grocery store.
Raw, unpasteurized, unhomogenized milk is thick. It separates in the
container and has to be shaken like orange juice before you pour it over
your cereal. Unless what you want is heavy cream in your coffee -- in that case, just pour without shaking.
In fact, according to Svetlana Simon, half of the husband-and-wife team that runs Heritage Hen Farm, you can make nine products with raw milk in your very own home.
There's the milk itself: Let it separate for heavy cream, then skim it and use the bottom as part of fertilizer for your garden; shake the cream and get whipped cream; shake it more and get butter; let it clabber and make buttermilk; get some starter and make yogurt; let it curdle and get curds and whey. (Whey. Protein shakes. Hello!)
Since the Heritage Hen Farm is a bit out west and their farm front store is open only from 5 to 7 p.m. weekdays (hey, they've got a farm to run), the Dudes offered to deliver the farm's goods once a week. This is especially convenient during the summer months, when the weekly Delray GreenMarket is on hiatus.
Otherwise, the Heritage Hen Farm stand can be found there every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. from October through May.
I had some stuff delivered: a jar of raw local honey ($14 for 1.25 pounds),
a half dozen eggs ($4),
and a quart of raw cow's milk ($6).
It was all delivered on time and in perfect condition. They only deliver once a week, on Fridays, and the last day to get your
order in each week is Wednesday. The delivery charge is $15, and if you
won't be home, leave a cooler outside your front door. You can leave an envelope of cash for the Dudes like I did or pay online by credit card.
As the Dudes expand their franchises from Fort Lauderdale to Lake Worth, they will bring the Heritage Hen Farm deliveries with them. Check back with Clean Plate Charlie for expansion updates.
Place your order on the Delivery Dudes website, or call them at 561-900-7060. Tell the Dudes that New Times says hi. (It won't get you a discount or anything. The Dudes are just nice guys.)
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