Extraordinary Health Magazine EH Magazine VOl 33_Final | Page 19

And the Process Begins
I’ve seen a lot of protein factories
making our organic plant proteins
and our grass fed whey (as well as
other whey factories in Wisconsin
and Minnesota). But, as Joby and
I tour his factory, I immediately
understand that I’m seeing
something special.
This is a continuous process that
begins with fresh, organic milk
every morning and ends in a batch
of artisan, hand-crafted organic
cheese and a batch of artisan,
hand-crafted organic whey that very
same evening. One day, one batch.
There’s no freezing, no holding
tanks, no staging, no storage.
Jeff Brams with members of the Alexandre
(top) and Wetherell (bottom) families, and
Joby Rumiano.
Before the cheese, whey &
milk protein concentrate
comes the grass-fed milk
But, before Rumiano can make
its organic cheese, whey and milk
protein concentrate (MPC), they first
need organic grass fed milk. Every
one of our organic dairy farms is
located within a 20-minute drive
from the Rumiano factory. The
Pacific Ocean is on one side of the
facility and the Smith River (one of
the world’s cleanest rivers) rings the
Del Norte peninsula.
The climate here is what makes year-round grass feeding
possible. On the day I arrived, California was experiencing a heat
wave. While it was 110° F only an hour away from me, it was a
constant 74° F all day. This peninsula receives—on average—
around 120 inches of rain per year, while California averages
only around 25 inches during years when there is no drought. The
temperature only varies around 12 degrees between winter and
summer. Everything is green, lush and fertile. It reminds me of the
beauty of Ireland.
On these beautiful green plains, our small group of family farms
raise their herds. They average around one cow for every acre
of land, and each cow eats grass as the majority of its diet at
least 300 days each year. The farms, the cows, the grass, any
supplemental feed and the milking operations are all audited and
Certified USDA Organic. The grass, feed, milk and even the enzymes
used to make Rumiano’s cheese are additionally audited and verified
non-GMO by the Non-GMO Project. And, the farmers are inspected,
audited and their treatment of their cows is certified by the American
Humane Association.
The milk is picked up daily. Every batch is quality tested including
for hormones (like rBGH) and antibiotics before being accepted
into Rumiano’s facility.
I’m with Joby as today’s batch, freshly
delivered from one of the farms I
visited, begins its journey. Joby lifts
the lid and I see a giant pool of rich,
thick milk with a pale yellow hue.
The color, Joby explains, is due to
the beta carotene from the grass
fed diet. He tells me that in the
mid-1900s, American cheese
competition judges would dock
points from Rumiano’s competitive
score because they did not bleach
or use chemicals to whiten their
milk. But the Rumiano’s have always
believed in true, organic practices.
The milk moves into large tanks where
special non-GMO enzymes are added
and gentle agitation produces curds
which were then separated from the
whey. As fascinating as artisan cheese
making is, my attention is completely
centered on our organic whey—a
yellowish liquid being pumped into
an ultra-purification machine. This
machine will concentrate the
liquid whey without the use of high
heat or chemicals until the protein
content is over 80%. At the same
time, the purification separates out
the lactase (sugars).
“Concentration” simply means the removal of wa