The Dom Perignon of flavored milks!

The Dish: Farm Fresh Milk
The Place: Danzeisen Dairy
The Location: 6024 W Southern, Phoenix AZ 85339
Website: http://www.danzeisendairy.com

By: Colleen A Johnson
A few days ago I was having dinner with my very good friends. With great enthusiasm, Jill retrieved two drop-dead gorgeous milk bottles from her refrigerator – one chocolate and the other strawberry milk. I was smitten. Beautiful. I fell instantly in love with a milk bottle. The anticipation to taste test this milk was all consuming. The strawberry pink and chocolate colors, the glass bottle, the unique brand logo of Danzeisen Dairy drew me in like moth to a flame.

The bottle was decanted. The milk was poured. The tasting began.

Now, you may be asking yourself why is she writing about “milk” on a food and wine website. Good question, but one so easily to answer. The beauty about AZ Food and Wine is their tag line: “eating, drinking & sharing the best of Arizona.” This website is an anthology of great places to indulge in Arizona’s best food and wine establishments. This is a go-to place to support our local businesses and share with the world how fortunate we are to have these paragons of diners, restaurants, bakeries, delis, ice cream parlors, markets and the like in our local neighborhoods.

It is so easy to blindly support our big box stores. These stores provide us with one-stop, competitive price shopping to purchase lawn mowers and lumber, or groceries and underwear all at the same time. We are enticed to cross the thresholds of our preferred franchises, chain stores and restaurants to drink our beloved coffee, eat our favorite French fries, or consume the best burger, salad, cookie, ice cream, pizza, and the list goes on ad nauseam.

At AZ Food and Wine our goal is to not overlook the great food that comes from successful chain restaurants and stores, but also to find the brick and mortar shops that put people to work as well as give us the finest of foods.

“Eating, drinking & sharing the best of Arizona” also means we cannot and must not ignore the ultimate industry that keeps these restaurants, shops, markets and diners in business – our farming industry. Without the men and women who, from the sweat of their brow and the work of their hands provide our communities with produce, crops, meats, dairy and all the other bountiful harvests that come from farming, we would not be able to enjoy the adventures of feasting upon the myriads of food and beverages prepared for us on a daily basis.

The Danzeisen Dairy farm located in Laveen is one of the best that Arizona has to offer. You see, it wasn’t enough for me to drink the farm fresh milk at Jill’s house. I actually had to go and visit this family-owned and operated dairy farm in person. When I drove up to the bright blue building, I was transported into another world far from the hustle and bustle of I10 traffic, urban sprawl and the din of city living. My heart skipped a beat for the joy of experiencing just for a moment in time the wholesome life, the life of hard work, and the dividends that come from labors of love.

I walked through the welcoming gates and storefront doors to elegant simplicity. Danzeisen family photos hung on the wall along with a lone refrigerated glass case where the treasure trove of milk is stored. Through the glass doors sat an array of milk choices – this is not your average dairy. The Danzeisen family has been producing and delivering milk to Arizonans for over 50 years. Danzeisen Dairy produces not just the traditional white milk in varying types: whole, 2%, 1%, skim, half & half and heavy cream, but they also offer flavored milks of chocolate, strawberry, orange, mocha and root beer all made with 2% milk. Likened to a kid in a candy store, I couldn’t wait for the tasting.

Kevin Danzeisen, family owner and dairy farmer, greeted me and shared about his family’s love and responsibility they have to their 2,200 Holstein cows, farm and craft. They are committed to producing premium fresh milk and ensuring it is delicious in taste and of highest grade and quality. All their milk is rBST-free and hormone free. The family uses state of the art technology on their 1930s-1940s milk processing equipment to produce the very best farm fresh milk bottled in glass to leave no after taste. The shelf life of all their milks is 21 days. While Kevin and I talked, a milk tasting was prepared for my friend, Aggie and me. The presentation of milk was no less beautiful than any wine tasting event I had been to.

We tasted the whole milk first. A rich, creamy sweet libation – if ice-cold, paired with a homemade chocolate chip or Oreo cookie, or heated up as a cup of warm milk before bedtime, it is the perfect consistency and taste to gratify any craving. The whole milk is that delicious.

Next we tasted the 2% milk. This milk was a little less creamy than the whole milk but no less delicious. We were given a sample of the skim milk while drinking the 2% and the difference was negligible. From my personal vantage point, any type of white milk from Danzeisen Dairy can grace my refrigerator. They were all equally delicious, smooth and left no aftertaste. I would be hard pressed to say that one milk type is better than the other.

The flavored milks followed. All flavors added into the milk are natural additives keeping in line with their commitment to quality and freshness. Aggie and I tasted the strawberry milk first. I am addicted! This milk is unbelievably scrumptious. Drinking a cold glass of strawberry milk is like drinking dessert. The flavor is out of this world. You would never believe you are drinking a glass of milk when you are sipping this beautiful pink potation.

We reached for the sample of Arizona orange milk next. Kevin indicated the orange milk flavoring is changing in two weeks from the classic orange creamsicle taste to that of orange Julius. You can be certain that Aggie and I will be returning to taste the new orange milk when it becomes available. However, do not think for a moment that the current orange milk is without flavor. If you love creamsicles or the sweet taste of orange sherbet, you will absolutely enjoy Arizona orange milk. Get some before there is no more!!

The signature milk, the Dom Perignon of the flavored milks is their chocolate. The esteem this milk has – a concoction of incredible chocolate flavoring blended in the farm fresh milk is simply divine. Whoever has a love for chocolate will want this milk in their house 24/7. The chocolate is not too sweet with absolutely no bitterness and leaves no chalky aftertaste. You will not be disappointed with this milky aperitif in your home.

We tried the root beer milk next. It literally tasted like a root beer float sans vanilla ice cream. Drinking this milk reminded me of my tween years when making root beer floats, milkshakes and ice cream cones during those halcyon days of summer Oh, such fond memories.

The last milk we tasted was mocha milk. I am not a fan of coffee or coffee flavor; however, I did enjoy the mocha milk. The coffee taste was not so potent and had a lovely balance of chocolate. Aggie though, thoroughly enjoyed the mocha milk and a quart is now in her refrigerator. Kevin shared a recipe tip. He freezes his coffee into ice cubes and puts these coffee cubes into the mocha milk to have a perfect glass of iced coffee. For those who love coffee, I am certain this tip is a winner.

Finally, brought out for our consumption was the homemade cinnamon sugar butter made from their heavy cream. Kevin told us their heavy cream is the only cream out there that can be whipped directly into butter. If you purchase a quart of heavy cream, they will also give you a bag of cinnamon and brown sugar or a mixture of rosemary and herbs so you can whip up your own flavored butters to use for toast, biscuits, rolls, or for the savory side – steak, chicken, pork.

In the coming days, Danzeisen Dairy and Scooptacular, an ice cream and frozen yogurt shop located also in Laveen will partner together at the dairy farm. Scooptacular uses the fresh milk from Danzeisen Dairy for their ice cream creations. I know for certain that if Scooptacular is using Danzeisen milk to make their ice cream, it must be delicious. I already am planning for an ice cream run at Scooptacular in the near future.

Where can you buy this most delicious milk beautifully bottled and good for you? Danzeisen Dairy milk can be purchased directly from the dairy farm, AJ’s Fine Foods, Sprouts, and Safeway. There is $2 deposit on each bottle, however Danzeisen Dairy offers a $2 rebate for each bottle returned.

Think about stocking your refrigerator with beautiful milk bottles marked with the Danzeisen Dairy logo. Purchasing a quart of farm fresh milk from your grocery store supports a local family owned farm committed to quality for all Arizona consumers.