Hey Florida? Here’s an idea: be bold and let him make his cheese. Nobody has gotten sick yet, have they? Make this a case study on why raw milk is the better milk for cheese.

ERNST PETERS | THE LEDGER

“Antonio Casamento got into the cheese business innocently enough.

Seeking a healthy hobby for his two children as an alternative to video games and other electronic fare, the Tampa man invested in water buffalo.

Now, to most of us, a nice Labradoodle, or maybe a cockatoo, would be exotic enough.

Not so for Casamento, a Sicilian who grew up in Florence, Italy, a country where domesticated Asian water buffalo exist as pampered creatures, prized for their protein-rich milk, which is essential to authentic mozzarella di bufala.

Domesticated water buffalo can be quite docile, and strong. A calf named Jelly, who continually escapes her mud-rich pasture, nuzzles a visitor and licks his hand. Nearby is Eros, an enormous bull with a gold hoop in his wet nose.

“This guy could pull a train,” says Casamento…”

via Cheesemaker Hits Wall With the Law | NewsChief.com.