Shatto Dairy--(day 5)

So, on our way headed back down the road from up north, we ventured on into another small town in Missouri.  To visit the SHATTO milk dairy, a family owned small dairy that had the most delicious milk I have EVER tasted. EVER.  Hands down.  I loved their motto on the back of the milk truck:

The kids all had a ball petting the baby calves, talking to the farmer who told us all about the dairy and the babies, their mommas, the milking times (they milk at 3am and 4 pm every single day, 365 days a year---nursing mothers understand, you can't go even a day of missing otherwise they'd have a lot of hurting cows. :) ) 

We saw calves that were just hours old, one day old, two days old, up to a week old.  In each of their stalls was a bucket like this filled with that funny looking pinkish watery substance.  I hadn't even noticed it really, but my kids did and they asked what it was.  The farmer told them it was what they gave the babies for their first few days, like gatorade or pedialyte we give our kids to help with their electrolytes. 

Now, on to the inside to see that dairy at work.  Just ten feet away from where we saw the cows, they are milked and then right behind that wall is where the milk is processed.  In the photos below, you can see the workers bottling the fresh milk----in BOTTLES....no plastic aftertaste!!! 

Now, back into the store area where we were served samples after samples.  We were able to taste their homemade ice cream, cheeses, and milk. 

Everything I tasted was just divine....but the milk.  Y'all, the milk is like no other.  It is indeed the freshest, creamiest, best tasting milk.....and I'm not even a huge milk drinker to begin with, and it made such an impression on me.  They have different flavors to sample, we had whole milk, chocolate milk, and root beer milk.  Yes, I said root beer. And it tasted just like the bottom of a root beer float, where all the cream has melted and mixed with the root beer flavor.....so yum!  We bought a bottle of chocolate and root beer to drink on the drive. 

This little milk drinker was happy to be a sampler at the milk bar.

They have other flavors as well.  They normally carry the flavors banana, orange dream, strawberry, and chocolate 2%, but with the cold winter they had, the cows have spent more energy staying warm than producing milk so they had not made those flavors in a while. However, Ms. Carolyn at Shatto Dairy said that milk production is up and they will soon be carrying all flavors again.

Seriously.....I know I've said it several times in this post already, and I was skeptical at first when a blogger friend (hello friend!) mentioned we should stop here.  I thought to myself....milk is milk. Isn't it?  Boy was I ever wrong!  If you are ever near this area of Missouri you MUST make a stop.....and don't forget to take a cooler so you can bring me home a gallon when you leave!! :)