Say CHEESE!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Hilmar Cheese Factory

One day while we were there at Nona's house, we drove out to the Hilmar Cheese Factory.  We learned about dairy farms and how they take care of the cows on a dairy, and how they make cheese.  Hilmar Cheese Factory makes A LOT of cheese, (I forget what percentage in the country that they told me) but they sell it to cheese companies who use their own labels to package the cheese, so you have probably eaten cheese that was made at Hilmar Cheese Factory, just 20 minutes from where I grew up. Anyway, pretty interesting stuff.  

We learned that milk cows drink about 150 gallons of water a day to support their milk production.  And milk is 85-90% water, and the rest is what they make cheese out of.  The factory has a big waterfall on the grounds that uses 90% water from milk.  I didn't get a picture of it, unfortunately, but it was pretty cool.  

Dressing up as milk processing technicians.

Buttercup, the cow, and us saying, 

"CHEEEESE" at a Cheese Factory.  

(couldn't resist.)

This is the size of bottle that they feed the baby cows on a dairy.

A little too big for our babies!

Enjoying some delicious ice cream after the tour.

Thanks, Nona!