Boutique Dairy Farm in Germany Goes Kosher

Germany’s kosher consumers can now enjoy a full line of locally produced boutique cheeses and milk that come from a small dairy farm near the major Northern city of Hamburg.

Until now, explains Rabbi Shlomo Bistritzky, Chabad representative to Hamburg, “I’d go to the dairy farm myself, and supervise the kashrut of a small quantity of kosher milk for my family and the school’s kitchen,” he says, referring to the city’s Jewish community school.

Chabad representatives and other consumers throughout Germany who observe chalav yisrael (which requires supervision beginning at the milking process), had to do the same, or depend on dairy products imported from France. But with many German Jews now keeping kosher, and given the growing numbers of Chabad representatives across the country, a full line of chalav yisrael dairy products will fill a gap in Germany’s kosher food market.

The dairy line has fast gained a following, and the numbers are telling. Weekly orders amount to some 300-400 liter of milk per week and 300 kilo of dairy products.

“The beauty of it is that we’ve managed to provide consumers with a truly high quality product, with excellent kosher standards, and all at very fair prices,” says Zev Lluz, the entrepreneur behind Koscheremilch. “We did this so that people find they are actually getting a superior product at a good price and have no reason not to keep the highest standards of kashruth.”

At Koscheremilch, everything from milking the cows to packaging the cheese happens on the farm. “It’s nothing like commercially processed dairy products,” says Zev, where growth hormones and more processing is used to ensure long shelf life and greater profitability.

Consumers are quick to notice the difference in the taste and texture of the dairy products. “If you leave the milk standing for a day, the cream rises to the top, and you’ve got to shake it up,” says Zev.