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Whatever you may think of Jim Oberweis’
politics, one thing is for sure: In any taste contest against ordinary
store-bought milk, Oberweis Dairy milk wins in a landslide. In 1915 Peter Oberweis began selling extra milk from
his farm’s cows in Aurora. By 1927 he was in the dairy business
full-time. Back then, the lack of refrigeration meant milk was delivered
daily, first in horse-drawn wagons, then in Model Ts. With the advent of
more reliable refrigeration and gas rationing in World War II, milk
deliveries decreased to once or twice a week. Of course, in those days milk and other highly
perishable dairy products came from local dairies that used local farmers.
In Springfield there were at least three: Producer’s (sold to Prairie
Farms), Sangamon (my mother still longingly remembers Sangamon’s
buttermilk), and Homeier’s (when I was young, Homeier’s
chocolate-chip ice cream was my favorite). By the ’60s, however, most
local dairies were going out of business, unable to compete with the lower
prices of supermarket milk produced on new factory farms. Home milk
delivery was becoming as obsolete as physician house calls.
A few small dairies managed to hang on, though none
here. Bloomington’s Laesch Dairy began a short-lived home-delivery
service in Springfield in the 1990s, largely because it’d been
awarded a contract to supply the District 186 schools. (Sadly, the contract
was canceled because officials felt that dealing with glass bottles was too
much bother, giving Springfield schoolchildren a reverse lesson in the
benefits of recycling). Once the contract was canceled, Laesch didn’t
have enough home-delivery business in Springfield to continue the service.
The small dairies that managed to stay in business
did so because the quality of their products was measurably better than
that of the factory-farm stuff. It was still tough going, however, even for
the Oberweis Dairy, which had the advantage of a large Chicago-area market.
In 1986, Jim Oberweis and his wife, Elaine (who together had a successful
financial services business), purchased the dairy from his brother, John.
The family refers to the following period as “the disastrous
years.” Though Jim was (and remains) chairman of the board, insiders
say that Elaine is the one who grabbed the steering wheel, turning the
company around at a time when many thought that Oberweis would soon be
delivering its last bottles of milk. She concentrated on the home-delivery
side of the business and emphasized the quality of Oberweis’
products, opening dairy stores and putting products into other retail
markets. The home-delivery service expanded from 3,500 to 35,000 customers
and began offering a much wider range of products (in addition to dairy
products, Oberweis home delivery now includes many other items, such as
juice, bacon, sausage, eggs, pizza, quiches, bagels, and other
breadstuffs). Oberweis isn’t really a local dairy anymore,
but it is a regional dairy and, as far as company president Bob Renaut (who took
over leadership of the company in 1999, when Elaine Oberweis retired) is
aware, the only Illinois dairy offering home delivery. Though the largest
part of Oberweis’ business is still in Illinois, Oberweis dairy
products can also be found in Indiana, Wisconsin, and Missouri (in the St.
Louis area). In 1998 Oberweis acquired Laesch Dairy and soon began offering
home-delivery service in Bloomington-Normal and Springfield, where they now
have more than 1,400 home-delivery customers. Why does Oberweis milk taste so much better? There
are several reasons. First, the glass bottles keep the milk colder and
don’t impart any of the off taste that plastic or waxed cardboard can
give. Oberweis also requires the local farmers who supply the raw milk to
ensure that the milk has a low count of somatic cells. Some somatic cells
(essentially dead cells) are present in all milk, but a high count is an
indication that the cow is sick and also affects flavor. Illinois law
allows as many as 750,000 SCCs per milliliter; Oberweis’ maximum is
250,000 SCCs per milliliter, and most of the dairy’s farmers report
levels between 100,000 and 150,000 SCCs per milliliter. Another important factor is pasteurization. Whenever
milk is heated, the taste is affected. Pasteurization can be done at very
high temperatures for a very short time or at lower temperatures for a
longer time, on a sliding scale. The higher temperatures destroy flavor
enzymes, as well as others that aid digestibility (one reason for the
dramatic increase in the incidence of lactose intolerance) and gives a
“cooked” taste to the milk, but is used by virtually all
factory dairies because it’s cheaper and extends shelf life. The
“ultrapasteurization” touted on the labels of many dairy
products is actually an indication of lower quality; most food
professionals won’t use such products. I’ve been an Oberweis customer for years.
It’s hard to believe that the skim milk is really fat-free:
It’s refreshing, light, and flavorful, without that thin bluish cast
that makes farm factory skim milk unappealing. I use the 2 percent milk in
coffee and occasionally whole milk for cooking. The chocolate milk, even
though it’s made with 2 percent milk, is decadently rich. All of
Oberweis’ other products are of exceptionally high quality as well. Oberweis milk (and milk products) don’t just
taste better; they’re also better for you, largely because of
what’s not in
them. The local farmers who supply Oberweis must sign a pledge to not use
preventive antibiotics, which are routinely given to animals on factory
farms (including cows, pigs, and chickens) because their living conditions
are so crowded and unsanitary. Factory farms are the biggest users of
antibiotics in the United States, and many scientists and health officials
believe that the amount of antibiotics that consumers ingest in products
from factory farm animals is a major factor in the development of
untreatable “superbugs.” On an Oberweis farm, a sick cow may be
treated with antibiotics, but her milk cannot be used until she is well and
her milk tests antibiotic-free. Farmers also pledge to treat their animals humanely
and to not use recombinant bovine growth hormone, an artificial hormone
that increases milk production. The FDA and USDA approved the controversial
drug in 1993, but it’s banned in every other industrialized nation
because of its effects on bovine and human health. Cows given rBGH are at
higher risk for some 20 ailments, including mastitis and other udder
infections. It also stimulates the production of insulin-like growth
factor-1, or IGF-1, found in both cows and humans, in whom it has been
linked to breast and prostate cancer. Milk products that taste better and are better for
you are what Oberweis is all about. Their motto says it all: “Simply
the Best.”
Oberweis Dairy can be contacted to set up home
delivery at www.oberweisdairy.com or by calling 888-645-5868. The
dairy’s milk can also be purchased at Cub Food Stores.
Send questions and comments to Julianne Glatz at
realcuisine@insightbb.com.
This article appears in Apr 12-18, 2007.
