Why choose old fashioned sourdough bread? What makes it better?

Let's get this straight - sourdough came first. It might feel like a new trend, but it's actually the most old fashioned leavened bread you can eat. I mean, active dry yeast wasn't even invented until 1943! As we've heard time and time again when it comes to modern conventional food, convenience and cost typically come before health. Ugh. This is especially true when it comes to bread. Modern bread in supermarkets has 22.5 ingredients on average. I mean, wow! Our sourdough bread is made with just 3 - flour, water, and pink Himalayan salt. Why all those other ingredients? To make what modern consumers consider the "perfect bread". Sugar to make it sweeter. Yeast to make it rise instantly (instead of waiting for the sourdough culture). Dough conditioners for better volume. Preservatives to make it last for weeks. Emulsifiers to give it the same consistency every time. Artificial colors to make it look good. Did you notice a trend with those extra ingredients? None are there to improve the nutrition of the bread (on the contrary, many come with potential risks). Yup, it's all about appearance and flavor. Enter sourdough, the better bread. It's more nutritious than yeast bread.  There are 4 big reasons why: 1- Carbohydrates are broken down during fermentation, making them easier to digest. There are naturally occurring bacteria and yeasts in flour. When flour is dry, they're inactive. But, when you add water, they come to life. It might seem like magic... but it's science on a microscopic level. These lactic acid bacteria and yeasts feed on carbohydrates. They break them down and produce carbon dioxide gas. That's what makes a sourdough culture bubble and what makes bread have those wonderful pockets inside. This is also what makes sourdough bread more digestible. Carbs are one of the hardest things for your body to digest. But the carbs in sourdough bread are pre-digested, making it a lot easier on your body. 2- Gluten is broken down during fermentation, making it easier to digest. Same story as above. The naturally occurring bacteria and yeasts break down gluten, too! That means there's less gluten in sourdough bread compared to yeast bread.  This doesn't mean that those with Celiac disease can eat it, but it does mean that it's more digestible for most. But it does mean that many people with gluten sensitivity can handle sourdough but not yeast bread. 3- Phytic acid is broken down, which makes the minerals bioavailable. Phytic acid in unfermented bread binds to minerals, making it hard (and sometimes impossible) for our body to absorb them. But, sourdough fermentation creates phytase, an enzyme that breaks down the phytic acid. This makes the minerals remain bioavailable. Because of this, sourdough bread is more nutrient-dense than yeast bread. 4- Prebiotics are naturally present.  Prebiotics are a type of fiber that feed on the good bacteria in your gut. When you eat them, it helps probiotics grow and thrive in your digestive tract. Beca-glucan is a specific prebiotic in sourdough bread that can boost probiotic activity after digestion. Buyer beware --- fake sourdough is a thing! Watch out for yeast and sugars as ingredients. Real sourdough does not include them.  Also keep an eye out for expiration dates weeks or months away. Authentic sourdough will only last a few days. And lastly you may want to ask about fermentation time. A true sourdough will ferment 3.5-7 hours. There's a new thing called "sourdough powder", which is basically an active dry yeast that makes the bread taste like sourdough. Did you know we offer handmade artisan sourdough bread? It's the real deal sourdough bread made with just flour, water, and Himalayan pink salt. We have both regular and organic. Every loaf is made by Esta, right here on our farm. Our loaves are crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. It's everything you expect from an old fashioned bread. If you won't eat it within a few days, you can freeze it for later! If you have any questions about our sourdough bread, comment below or contact us. We're super transparent and are happy to answer any questions you may have 😊 ----- Sources In the Land of the World's Oldest Bread, a Return to an Ancient Baking CultureDo you know what’s in your bread?Sourdough Fermented Breads are More Digestible than Those Started with Baker’s Yeast AloneSourdough and digestibilityIs Sourdough Bread Healthy? Nutrition Facts & BenefitsHow to Spot a Fake Sourdough

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Yes, raw milk naturally sours! Here's why and what you need to know.

Raw milk. Such a simple old fashioned food. But, as a society over the past few generations, we've lost so much common sense knowledge about it. One big example is --- Raw milk sours! It's a natural thing and impossible to stop in the fridge.  This blog post will dive into all things sour... as it relates to raw milk. Keep reading to learn more. Why Raw Milk Sours The short answer is --- it's fermenting and turning into cheese! The living microbiology in raw milk is digesting the lactose (milk sugar) and making lactic acid. This is what makes raw milk naturally get more and more sour over time. When I say "living microbiology", I'm specifically talking about lactic acid bacteria. Those are the ones that eat lactose. There are many kinds in raw milk, including Lactobacillus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Enterococcus, and Lactococcus.  These lactic acid bacteria are probiotic! This is why raw milk is known for improving gut health. It's like a completely natural probiotic pill. It's important to note that raw milk has all of the living microbiology intact. That includes microorganisms that aren't in the cow but around the cow. Yeasts and fungal spores come from the air. And potentially harmful bacteria can come from manure. This is why we keep our barn, cows, and equipment meticulously clean! These outside-of-the-cow microorganisms do NOT eat lactose. So the fact that the milk sours does NOT indicate danger. It's a palatability issue, not a safety issue. Instead, souring milk simply becomes more and more probiotic. The more sour the milk, the higher the amounts of lactic acid bacteria. The busier those bacteria were fermenting, eating the lactose, and creating lactic acid, the more their colonies grew. What Affects The Souring Process How fast raw milk sours depends on (1) how clean the milking process was (after all, lactic acid bacteria can grow on equipment); (2) how fast the milk was cooled down; and (3) how it's stored. The first two are 100% our responsibility. The third point we share. It's our job to keep your milk cold until you get it. Then it's your responsibility to properly store it at home. Once you get your raw milk, how fast it sours depends on temp and time. The higher the temp, the faster the fermentation. The longer it sits, the more it ferments.  Storage Tips COUNTER: If you want to purposefully sour your milk, the counter is the way to go. When fresh raw milk is kept on the counter, it will start to sour overnight and will become unpalatable within a few days. If you want your raw milk to sour very quickly, then leave it at a higher temp. Remember that all the wonderful properties of raw begin to break down when heated above 110F... and that includes the lactic acid bacteria! So never store raw milk you want to sour over 110F. FRIDGE: When kept in the fridge, raw milk typically starts to develop a sour flavor in 7-14 days. It will likely become too sour to palate in about 10-21 days.  There's no way to stop the fermentation, but there is a way to optimize it. The ideal storage temp for raw milk is 33-38F. The average fridge is usually 35-40F, so using a thermometer will help you figure out if your fridge is the perfect temp. Also keep in mind that different parts of your fridge may be different temps. The lowest, farthest back part of your fridge is usually the coldest and therefore likely the best spot for your milk. FREEZER: Yes, you can freeze raw milk for up to 6 months! Once thawed, it may become clumpy. Simply shake to recombine.  Freezing raw milk pauses fermentation. The living microbiology will (mostly) come back to life when thawed, and then your milk will continue to ferment and get sour.  Keep in mind that the longer raw milk is frozen, the more probiotic loss. Because of this, I don't recommend freezing for more than 6 months. *An important note it that some people can detect a undesirable flavor difference in previously frozen milk. So, if you haven't done it before, I recommend freezing a small amount first. Test it and see how you like it. You definitely don't want to waste any milk! How To Use Sour Milk Whether for your human or furry family, sour milk is 100% fine to consume. It's not a safety issue but a palatability issue.  CHOCOLATE MILK: This is a way to mask the sourness. Heat 1 cup water, 1 cup cocoa powder, and 1/2 tsp sea salt in a pot on the stove. Once smooth, stir in 1 cup maple syrup. Now you have chocolate syrup to flavor your sour milk with! I usually use about 1 cup of chocolate syrup to a gallon of milk. RICOTTA CHEESE: This is my favorite way to use up sour milk. Heat 1/2 gallon of sour milk and 1/2 tsp of sea salt in a pot on the stove until steaming (around 185F). Lower the heat and add 3 Tbsp of lemon juice (or vinegar). Stir for about 2 minutes. You'll notice the curds separating from the whey. Turn the heat off and let it sit for 20 minutes. Then, pour into a cheesecloth-lined colander set inside a large bowl. For a creamier cheese, let sit 3-5 minutes. For a firmer cheese, let sit up to 20 minutes. Enjoy immediately or store in the fridge for up to 3 days. COOKING AND BAKING: Guess what? For any recipe that calls for buttermilk, you can sub with sour milk! Think sour milk pancakes, marinating chicken, or homemade ranch dressing. Have You Tried Triple E's Raw Milk? How long does yours last? How do you store it? What do you do with sour milk?

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How to succeed with a natural farm direct bird. Tips for thawing and cooking.

So, you're getting a farm direct Thanksgiving turkey this year... Failing to cook the turkey is basically the worst thing that can happen on Thanksgiving. This is especially true when you buy a farm direct turkey. When you know the farmer, you probably care even more about that bird (I'd even say it tastes better for that reason, too). For a small regenerative farm like ours, freezing turkeys right after processing is the best way to give you the best quality turkeys (while not wasting any, too). Thawing takes a little more planning, so we're here to help you get set up for success. It's so important to plan ahead. You need to make sure: Your turkey is fully thawed before you cook it. You know how long it will take to cook, so you can serve Thanksgiving dinner on time. Keep reading so you can make your choices now. Then, you can know how much time is needed for each step. How to thaw Keep your turkey in the freezer until you're ready to thaw it. When you get a Triple E turkey, it will arrive frozen (or maybe slightly thawed).  And now you have 2 choices on how to thaw it: Slow thaw in the fridge. For every 4-5 pounds of turkey, you’ll need about 24 hours of thawing time. So, for a 11-13lb bird, plan for 2-3 days of thawing in the fridge. I recommend putting your bird on a plate/platter in the fridge. This is just in case there's a small hole in the package. You don't want turkey juices on everything in your fridge!Quick thaw in cold water. For every pound of turkey, plan for 30 seconds of thawing. So, for a 11-13lb bird, plan for a 5-7 hour thaw time. Put the turkey in a sink or bowl of cold water. Check the water every 30-60 minutes. If it's warming up, change it to fresh cold water. Once thawed, it will last 1-2 days in the fridge. Always keep a turkey cold, when thawing or when storing in the fridge after thawing. This keeps it in best quality and safe for eating. How to cook This part is only about cook time. How you prep and season, to brine or not to brine, to stuff or not to stuff. Those are your choices! Standard cooking. This is likely the way your mom cooked a turkey! It's probably the most common way to cook a turkey nowadays. Here's how it's done: Preheat your oven to 425F.Cook your turkey uncovered for 30-45 minutes.Tent the pan with foil or put a lid on your roasting pan. Lower the temp to 350F.Every 45 minutes, brush or baste your turkey with the pan drippings.Continue cooking until done. This should take a total of 13 minutes for each pound of unstuffed turkey (15 minutes for every pound of stuffed turkey). Your meat thermometer should read 165F when inserted into the thickest part of the bird. Low and slow cooking. Pastured birds like ours that get a lot of exercise. Natural birds like ours that aren't injected with saline or tenderizers. They're old fashioned. So, they tend to have more bite than a modern store bought turkey. For this reason, slow cooking is a great idea. And, it's how everyone used to do it 100 years ago. Here's how you do it: Preheat your oven to 350F.Put your turkey in the oven uncovered, and turn down the heat to 250F.Every 1-2 hours, brush or baste your turkey with the pan drippings. While you do this, watch to see if the skin is getting too dark. If it is, tent with foil or put a lid on the pan.Continue cooking until done. This should take a total of 15-17 minutes for each pound of unstuffed turkey (17-19 minutes for every pound of stuffed turkey). Your meat thermometer should read 165F when inserted into the thickest part of the bird. Leave time for extra cooking or resting. In case your turkey needs a little more time to cook, make sure to leave some wiggle room. Also make sure to leave at least 30 minutes for your turkey to rest before serving. This makes sure it's nice and moist and juicy. 

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Regenerative can mean something different to every farm. Here are our 5 principles.

In our neck of West Virginia, we're the only farm that claims to be regenerative.  Why are we the only regenerative farm in a 50 mile radius? Well, my first thought is that the life of a farmer isn't easy. My second thought is that farmers simply aren't paid like they used to be. Most people nowadays view farming as a side gig instead of a career. They want it to be easy, and trucking in outside fertilizer and spraying and overgrazing sure are easy... at least in the short term. Not me and my brother Phil. We want to take it back to the olden days when you could support your family 100% through farming. To make a living with farming, you 100% need your land and animals to be healthy and productive. Since I want to work with nature (instead of against it), this means regenerative farming. Although we're the only ones in our area, we're thankfully not alone in the movement overall. Allen Willians from Understanding Ag and the Soil Health Academy says that they're consulting on 35 million acres in the US and 55 million acres globally. Wow! There’s more and more interest and more and more land being converted every year. Wow and thank goodness!!  But any movement sometimes comes with an unfortunate downside. In the natural food world, the term "regenerative" has sadly become somewhat overused (dare I say greenwashed). So, to make what Triple E does super clear for you, I'm going to outline what regenerative means to us right now.  Here are Triple E's 5 principles of regenerative farming: ----- Principle #1: We practice adaptive, rotational grazing. Rotational grazing means that your animals move to fresh, new pasture often. It's kinda like it used to be when herds of bison or deer moved from area to area. After the animals are done eating down a pasture, we allow the land ample time to regrow. We let our pasture rest 40 days at minimum.  When the animals move on, the new manure on top naturally fertilizes the land. The roots to spread and naturally til the soil (without mechanical tilling). The microbiology in the soil does its thing. And the plants take and fix back nutrients into the soil. We don't overgraze. We have about 20 cows to an acre. We use moveable fences to move the cows at minimum 1x per day (this also keeps the cows fuller - every time you move a cow they eat more). We practice adaptive grazing, which means we don't operate on a strict and set schedule. If grass it growing, they need less pasture. If it’s a drought, then they need a bigger space to graze. In the spring, they need less space because of the fresh growth. If the weather is in our favor, we sometimes move the cows 2-3x per day! Principle #2: We keep cows outside, even in the winter. This can be a contested issue when it comes to animal welfare. Some people think it's too cold and cows need winter jackets. But, in my experience, cows don't feel cold until it's below 20F.  So why not have the cows out in the fresh air an sunshine all year? That's what we do. They typically have access to indoors, but they rarely use it. In the warmer months, they're eating lots of fresh pasture. In the colder months or drought, we give them dry pasture (AKA hay). With pigs, we do the same thing. But birds are a different story. They won't like it if it's too cold. So, we don't grow broilers in the colder months. And the laying hens are given inside space in the winter. Principle #3: We don't use sprays. No crazy chemicals here! That's right. We don't spray anything on our pastures... even certified organic ones. So no worry about chemicals on our land! We do have our soil tested every so often. If the ratios of minerals are off, we'll have a special blend mixed for where it's needed. This is far from synthetic fertilizers many farms spread everywhere every year. They're simply ground rocks spread strategically and only where it's needed. This helps us get the soil where it needs to be for better growth immediately. As the years of regenerative farming go on, less and less minerals are needed, since nature is naturally balancing itself. Principle #4: We let nature do its thing. Nature loves to be in balance. If humans were to disappear, nature would overtake everything, just like in those post-apocalyptic movies with vines growing on skyscrapers. We follow nature's lead.  Nature always tries to cover bare soil. A lot of people try to tear up the land and seed specific plants in. But is that necessary? Nature will let many things grow back. We almost always keep the soil covered and rarely til, only when absolutely necessary or for a specific purpose. Nature always try to stay in balance. For example, if a field is deficient in calcium, you'll likely see more Canadian thistle growing. This is because it pulls calcium and makes it more available in the soil. Or, another example is that pigweed appears when there's a nitrogen imbalance, because it helps balance the nitrogen levels.  We respect nature a lot. Principle #5: Diversity is everything to us. We focus on the farm as a whole, not on individual little problems. We encourage many plants and insects and animals to thrive in our pastures. For example, a weed is a plant that you don't want growing somewhere. To us, we don't have really any weeds. Because, as described in the previous principle, every plant has a purpose, whether for the soil or as a food or as a breeding area for beneficial insects. As another example, when a farm uses a pesticide, they’re targeting a very specific pest. But for every one of those "pesky" plants, there’s 1700 beneficial insects that thrive with and around it. And we need those insects for the health of everything else.  We choose to focus on increasing beneficial insects instead of killing the handful of potentially harmful ones. We choose to focus on resilience, not destruction. ----- To sum it up, regenerative farming means that we're naturally improving everything year after year. The soil improves --> the plants get healthier and bigger --> the animals get healthier and grow better and fertilize better --> the food becomes more nutrient-dense for you. It's all an amazing natural cycle of health. When we farm naturally, we grow wellness. And want to know one more amazing fact? When you eat regeneratively-farmed, nutrient-dense food, you actually want to eat less. That's because your body is getting more nourishment from each bite when compared to conventional food. No empty calories. Wow! Thank you so so much for your support with our regenerative vision! We sure wouldn't be able to keep going without you eating the food we grow.

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Coming Soon: Raw Dairy Pet Food!

Get ready to wag those tails and purr with delight because we're introducing something truly special - 100% Grass-Fed Raw Dairy Pet Food! What makes our raw dairy pet food stand out?...

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Coming Soon - Low PUFA Pork, Corn, and Soy Free!

At Triple E Farm, we're thrilled to announce an upcoming addition to our product lineup: Low PUFA Pork that's both corn and soy-free! You might be wondering, what's all the fuss about? Well, let us fill you in on why we've made this switch and why it matters for you. Why the Switch to Corn and Soy-Free?...

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Coming Soon - Low PUFA Chicken, Raised on Pasture!

We're adding Low PUFA Chicken to our product lineup! Our pasture-raised chickens will soon be available with lower polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), offering you a healthier option for your meals.Why the Switch to Low PUFA Chicken? Learn more here...

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Raw Local Cheese From Peace Hollow Farm Market!

Introducing our new collection of 100% Grass-Fed Raw Cheeses! Handcrafted with care by our local producer, Peace Hollow Farm Market, each cheese in our collection reflects the essence of our region's rich agricultural heritage and dedication to quality craftsmanship...

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Triple E Farm's Commitment to Eco-Friendly Packaging

As stewards of the land and advocates for regenerative farming, we are constantly seeking ways to align our practices with the principles of sustainability. Today, we are excited to share our latest endeavor: a commitment to eco-friendly packaging.

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Corn and Soy-Free Eggs: A Healthier Choice for You and Our Chickens!

Have you ever considered what goes into the eggs you enjoy every morning? At Triple E Farm, we're passionate about providing our customers with the highest quality, most nutritious eggs possible. That's why we've chosen to raise our hens on a diet free from corn and soy—and we're here to share why this choice matters for both your health and the well-being of our feathered friends.

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