Raw milk and butter from Organic Pastures, a dairy in Fresno County, CA, are being recalled after 10 people became sick from a strain of bacteria found in a sample of cream from the dairy.

None of the people involved in the current recall was hospitalized. The patients ranged in age from 9 months to 38 years and came from five California counties, including Santa Clara. They all became sick between January and the end of April this year.

Read more here.

Photo by jeffreyw

Milkshakes are creamy, cool and delicious, but why not kick it up a notch? Shakes blended with alcohol are the new rage, and for good reason. Come on, it's booze and ice cream!

At Hill Country Barbecue Market in Washington, the maple bourbon milkshake pays homage to the retro diners and soda fountains of the 1950s. Served in the classic style with two straws in one large glass, this shake made for sharing combines a rich blend of bourbon with vanilla ice cream and maple syrup infused with vanilla beans. The whole thing is topped with maraschino cherries in the classic tradition.

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Photo by Josep Ma. Rosell

Robots are playing a bigger role in farming these days. From automatic planting machines to robotic cow udder cleaners, high tech is the way of the future for large farms that are struggling to turn a profit. Robotic machines can also save farmers time:

Robot technologies like these can buy farmers a little more time off.

"Just this past Christmas we had a customer of ours that had started up two of our (robotic milkers) with their herd," says Mark Futcher, product manager for an automatic milking machine made by DeLaval. "That Christmas morning was the first time that gentleman had ever been witness to his children finding their Christmas stockings."

Read the full blog post here.

While the artisan cheese movement has national roots in the 1980s, it's only been in the past few years that the state of Florida has seen a rise in artisan cheesemakers. The Tampa Bay Times chronicles the story behind three such cheesemakers: Winter Park Dairy, The Dancing Goat, and BufaLatte.

"Zoning said we could have a dairy on our 8 acres. The intention was to create the highest value dairy product that there is — that's cheese. We helped write state code, because it had never been done before. We were first in the state to do raw milk cheese," Green says.

Read the full article here.

Organic Valley is set to begin selling milk from cows that have only been allowed to graze on grass and not fed corn, silage, or any other kind of feed. The company says that the milk is richer in Omega-3s, calcium, and other nutrients.

“It’s a simple truth that cows naturally love to eat grass,” said Organic Valley Grassmilk farmer-owner Jim Regli. “We pasture-raise our cows to feed them what already grows here in the beautiful north coast of California. Rye grass, white clover, and orchard grass are the components of our nutrient-dense pastures. When our cows eat well, we do, too.”

Read the full story here.

Photo by Problemkind

Who made the Huffington Post's "16 Great Under-the-Radar Food Magazines" list? Oh yeah, we did! Check out Culture's spot, as well as the fifteen others if you fancy more than just cheese.

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Photo by Huffington Post

Tasting Table got their hands on this fantastic recipe from chef Nicole Krasinski of San Francisco. Tapioca alone is scrumptious (for those who don't mind the texture), but add dulce de leche and we think it might be a home run:

Nicole Krasinski didn't grow up in a particularly dessert-heavy household, but tapioca pudding, one of the few desserts she remembers eating regularly, was a post-dinner constant. When she opened State Bird Provisions in San Francisco with her husband, Stuart Brioza, pastry chef and co-owner Krasinski turned to the tender pearls of her youth. In this iteration, she stirs dulce de leche into tapioca-studded pudding and tops it with more dulce de leche and fresh strawberries. It’s a dessert that’s both simple to make and impossible to stop eating. Pearls of wisdom indeed.

The 2nd annual Great Canadian Cheese Festival promises to be bigger and better than its inaugural year. Attendees can sample over 36 Canadian cheeses, enjoy cooking demonstrations, and try local artisan food from the region. Enjoy this cheese-filled weekend June 1-3 and don't wait to make plans - tickets are selling out and B&Bs are filling up!

“There are so many phenomenal cheeses being made in this country,” says Kolesnikovs. “My mission is to show that Canadian artisan cheese is as good as, or better than, many international cheeses.”

Read more here.

Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread and Wine owners are set to open Bar Pastoral next door to their popular shop this fall. The wine bar will offer small, "grazing" plates, the occasional cocktail, and of course, a large selection of wine.

Guests can look forward to great products from around the globe, like fine cheese or small-production, earth-friendly wines and craft beers, as well as a number of hot and cold small plates featuring food made in house. As for specifics, O'Neill said the menu is still in development while they look for a chef to bring on board.

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Photo by Pastoral

Los Angeles Times Food Test Kitchen brings us this helpful tip when grating cheese: spray your grater with a light coat of vegetable oil to prevent cheese from sticking to the grater. The oil coat can also be used on a knife to prevent dried fruit from sticking -- so break out that no-stick spray for a no-hassle fruit and cheese plate prep!

Watch the video here
Photo by Fiona Shields