The Gifts Of Dairy This Christmas Season

The holiday season is built around traditions that we pass down. From the recipes that we repeat year after year to the flavors that we look forward to the most… so many of our traditions are built around dairy ingredients. While most use dairy for its nostalgic flavor, here are a few other gifts that dairy brings to the table.

This blog post was written in partnership with Better With Dairy

Traditions take center stage during the holiday season- recipes pulled from a classic cookbook, annual family Christmas caroling, and times of togetherness as family and friends that foster meaningful conversation. For most, these traditions are centered around familiar flavors and recipes that are handed down across generations to bring about sweet memories or create moments that will become the memories you look back on.

Woven between the recipe layers of grandmas nostalgic chocolate chip cookie recipe or a cold glass of milk left out for Santa, dairy ingredients can be found at the heart of most beloved holiday recipes and traditions. As a dairy farmer’s daughter, I love to see so many families and friends this time of year gather around ingredients that were produced by families like my own all across the country.

While most appreciate dairy ingredients for the flavor and texture that they add to holiday dishes and desserts, dairy brings more to the table than just deliciousness. In fact, here are 5 gifts of dairy to unwrap during the holiday season.

The Five Gifts Of Dairy This Christmas Season

1) A Gift Of Affordability

Dairy products are a nutrient-rich ingredient that fits most families’ budgets… affordability that feels like a gift during a season of extra expenses. Milk, cheese, and yogurt offer high quality protein, hydrating electrolytes, and health promoting vitamins and minerals at around 25 cents per 8 oz glass of milk.

Beyond its affordability, dairy also helps add satiating nutrition and volume to meals which can help stretch your holiday meals to feed more mouths and keep you gathering around the table any time of year.

2) A Gift Of Accessibility

Dairy has long been an ingredient that people all over the world can count on. You can find a dairy product for almost every person, every preference, every price point, and every perfected recipe.

From lactose free to A2, organic to conventional, no-fat to full-fat, shelf-stable to your favorite store brand, dairy products offer variety and reliability for different cultures, dietary needs, and flavor preferences.

3) A Gift Of Sustainable Nutrition

Dairy products not only add essential nutrition to our plates every day, but they do so in a way that is affordable, accessible, and environmentally friendly… key factors in the constant pursuit of sustainable nutrition.

With better cow care and genetics, advanced technology, and other advancements, dairy farmers are able to produce the same gallon of milk today using 30% less water, 21% less land, and with a 19% lower carbon footprint than it did even 10 years ago.

The best news? Dairy farmers, like my own family, continue to strive to learn more on how to give you the best high-quality dairy ingredients in a way that is better for the environment.

4) A Gift Of Versatility

One of the reasons why dairy has long been at the heart of most holiday recipes and traditions is because of its incredibly versatility. Butter is the base of most delicious cookies and decadent desserts. Cheese became a staple in grazing boards, appetizers, and family dinners. Cream adds delicious mouthfeel and flavor to soups and sauces. Milk for Santa or for your own personal hot chocolate topped with fresh whipped cream.

Whether you are making dinner for a crowd or whipping up a single serving dessert to end the night, dairy ingredients can be used in just about any way you need them to be.

Looking for a new recipe idea? Here’s one for you to try!

**Peppermint Hot Chocolate**

Get the recipe

5) A Gift Of Tradition

I want to end with the gift of tradition because this is the gift that sticks out to me the most during the holiday season. Growing up in a dairy farming family, I can’t help but see a resemblance between holiday recipes being handed down through generations and the way that many dairy farms are handed down through family generations as well.

95% of dairy farms in the United States are family owned and operated, and while there are plenty of first generation farms, many of these family farms have been handed down through family members. These dairies hold decades of memories, hard-work, expertise, and a respect for the land and the animals that makes it possible for farmers to hand their life’s work down to their kids and the kids to come.

The takeaway:

Traditions will continue to remain at the heart of the holidays just as dairy ingredients will remain at the heart of some of the traditions themselves. For me, using dairy in my recipes helps share my families story. These recipes not only fill me with memories from my childhood in the kitchen but they also fill me with memories from a childhood spent on the farm with my dad and siblings. It’s not just an ingredient that is purchased from the grocery store- it’s our story!

So set your dairy milk and cookies out for Santa knowing that you’re not just adding flavor to your holiday traditions, but supporting a hard working dairy farming family while enjoying the many gifts of dairy during the holiday season.

Liked this blog? Check out some of my other dairy content:

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