Wonderful Water Buffaloes

By:

by Julianne, age 12

 

MISSION: To learn all about a local artisan food by visiting the ranch and interviewing the rancher/cheesemaker. I hope other kids will read this and do something similar in their own areas. If you would like info on how to post a blog in our project, please see the guidelines under my article.  I hope you like it and I hope you write your own!!!! :)

 

THE RAMINI MOZZARELLA STORY:

 

Today we got to see water buffaloes. The farm that we visited makes mozzarella cheese from the water buffaloes' milk. You would think that water buffalo milk cheese would not taste as good as goat cheese or cow cheese. But really out of all of them, I think buffalo cheese is the best.

Every spring and fall the water buffaloes have babies and the mothers produce the milk that makes mozzarella cheese. Each water buffalo has a name that Craig, the farmer, gives them. I think that it is really sweet.

 

 

There were three pastures. The first pasture in the front was the babies and their mothers. They were mother buffaloes who had their first calves ever. The calves always stay with their mothers and never leave their sight.

The second pasture was water buffaloes who had their calves last fall. The third pasture had water buffaloes who were going to have calves this year.

 

The third pasture got split up. While we were there, Craig separated the young buffaloes from their mothers. It took about ten minutes. Usually it does not take that long but the cows were there.  A few times one of the mothers ran across the field toward Craig and made a loud honking noise. She wanted to know if her baby was okay.

We got to go into the pen where the young 1-2 year old buffaloes were.

 

 

We got to pet them. They loved when you scratched them behind their horns and ears, because their hooves cannot reach there. When you start to pet them, they lick you or chew your clothes. They felt kind of rough and their horns were smooth. Their hair was parted down the middle.

 

My favorite buffalo was Bob Dylan because he was the smallest of them all and really cute. His tag was #12. They were so cute. We thought that our friend Laura should take one home with her.

Craig gave us some samples of the mozzarella cheese to taste. It was a fresh new batch made yesterday at night. It felt soft and squirmy. It tasted creamy and different from other cheese.

Craig told us that a lot of people really want to buy mozzarella cheese from him because his cheese is really good. When you cut the cheese, liquid comes out and that’s hard to make that. I think it was the best mozzarella cheese I had.

 

They start milking the buffaloes a few weeks after they just had their baby because that’s when the milk is there. When the mothers are milked for the first time, Craig brings their calf with the mother so the mother knows her calf is safe and sound. If her calf was not there she could get worried and not give her milk. That’s bad because they would be behind on milk for a day.

They milk the water buffaloes in the barn every morning at 8:00. Craig purposely spills some of the milk for the cats. There are about 7 cats who live in the barn. They were feral cats but now they are family. When new hay comes to the farm, it is filled with mice, so the cats' job is to catch the mice.

 

The cats know when the hay truck is coming and you can tell because they all leave their beds and go by the back wheels of the truck. When is the hay is taken out of the truck, the cats chase after the mice and eat them. Sometimes they catch garden snakes and birds. Craig does not like when they catch birds because there are feathers all over the place.

I think it was an honor to go there and I think I will remember this trip for a long time! Thank you Craig for having us!!!

 

 

WRITING & VIDEO GUIDELINES

 

 

FOR INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS:

 

 Text: Try to keep the word count to 400 words, max. Of course, your blog can be much shorter -- even just a couple of sentences are great! Please make sure your blog is in either a Microsoft Word or Text-Only format.

 

Photos: Submit one to three great photos! If your parents don't want you to show images of your face on the internet, just take pictures of the ingredients, techniques, scenery -- or whatever else you'd like.

 

Videos: Your videos should be no more than 2 minutes long – and shorter is fine! To submit, you'll need to post them on YouTube, then send us the link in your email submission.

 

 

 FOR TEACHERS OR GROUP LEADERS:

 

 Text & Photos: Since you'll be uploading directly to the Green Ribbon Schools website, please free to create a blog with as much text and as many photos as you like. You can write a group blog by the entire class—or have individual students write their own brief blogs with bylines.

 

Videos: Please note that the maximum size video file that can be uploaded directly onto the Green Ribbon Schools website is 20MB. If your video file is larger, please upload it to YouTube, then post the link in your project file on the GRS website. Here's an example!

 

 

 

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK

 

 

 FOR INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS:

 

Please have your parent, guardian or teacher email your blog and photos to Laura Martin Bacon at kidsfoodblog@gmail.com.

If you're submitting a video, please post it on YouTube and email the link.

Entries also need to include your first name, age and your parent or guardian's permission to be part of this project.

 

 

FOR TEACHERS OR GROUP LEADERS:

 

-To get started, register on the Green Ribbon Schools website by clicking here.

- Choose "Teacher" from the role pulldown.

- In the School/Org blank at registration, please enter your school name, city and state. If you can't locate your school or organization, please contact Green Ribbon Schools here and they will add it for you.

- Complete registration, and you will automatically be logged into the GRS website. 

- Once you are logged in, you're on the MY PROJECTS page, where you will see the JOIN PROJECT box. 

- Enter the following "Invite Code" into the JOIN PROJECT box:   qe5500-3041-5  

 - Presto: You are now joined to the IACP Kids Digital Kitchen project!

 

 

TEACHERS' GUIDE: BUILDING YOUR PAGE

 

Please build your page using the RESULTS PAGE BUILDER inside the IACP Kids Digital Kitchen project.

Be sure to upload your photos and videos using the UPLOAD IMAGE/VIDEO button on the right side of the project page. 

After that,  you can enter text, images and videos into the results builder.

When everything is complete, click the PUBLISH PAGE button and then SUBMIT FOR APPROVAL button to send it to IACP Kids to post for you.

If you have any technical questions about how to upload and post, Green Ribbon Schools will be happy to help -- just click here to contact a GRS expert!