The Dairy Blog

There are a few questions that Consumer Affairs receives from our customers on a regular basis, so my next few postings are going to be dedicated to answering the top five.  In the tradition of “The Late Show” I’m counting down to number one.

Believe it or not something we are asked repeatedly is whether or not Scottie Mayfield is a real person, does he really work at Mayfield Dairy and do we ever get to talk to him.  The answer to all is YES!   That is really Scottie you see in our commercials and hear on the radio.  He is based at our company headquarters in Athens, Tennessee and we do see and talk to him, just not on a daily basis.  He checks in with our department periodically to see what you all are calling and e-mailing us about, and sometimes he will talk about an issue with a consumer (like the Sour Pops he mentioned in his latest posting).

Stay tuned for Question #4...

Jan

For many people, drinking Buttermilk is a learned trait.  My job included tasting every vat of Buttermilk and approving it for packaging.  I soon became a Buttermilk lover.  Originally, Buttermilk was the by-product of churning butter.  Today, we simply add pure strains of cultures to pasteurized low-fat or whole milk.  We incubate the milk at 70 – 72 º F for 14 – 18 hours until the lactic acid and Buttermilk flavor develops just right.  Many old-timers say the best Buttermilk cultures were lost in the 1950’s as cows were treated with penicillin.  Today’s cultures are much improved from the 1970’s, and our Buttermilk is the best I can remember.

Many people use Buttermilk for baking.  Buttermilk contributes water, fat, proteins, lactose and lactic acid to a recipe.  Water adds moisture.  Fat gives mouthfeel and enhances the flavor.  Protein is going to set or coagulate to give structure.  More protein will cause bread to rise higher.  Protein also stabilizes fat emulsions.  Lactose undergoes caramelization to help bread brown.  Lactic acid adds tender crumb.  Thus, Buttermilk is a key ingredient for not only cornbread but biscuits and breads.  It offers the perfect balance of flavor, browning, structural support and moistness to yield tender, fluffy and tasty bread.   

Mayfield Dairy has two Buttermilks:  Whole (3.25% butterfat) in a paper half gallon and Reduced Fat (1.5% butterfat) offered in a variety of sizes:  plastic gallon, half gallon, quart and pint.

My blog last week wasn’t very good, and I apologize.  I did explain that I was waiting to talk about my daughter’s wedding.   It was great!  The best part was that Mariah and Alex really enjoyed the entire weekend.  It was filled with family, friends, food and fun, but we were never rushed.  We did not have any crises.  And, we were blessed with wonderful weather.

The wedding really lasted three days.

Thursday was decoration time at the church, tents and barn.  Thursday afternoon was the rehearsal at the little church at Mouse Creek Nursery in Riceville, Tennessee.  (They have fabulous perennials – great quality and variety.)  After the rehearsal, we had a nice, small dinner hosted by the Woods at the Keith Mansion.  (It is a fabulous Bed and Breakfast in Athens, Tennessee with a rich heritage going back before the Civil War.)  Mostly family and a great opportunity to meet extended family.

            Friday morning involved a more organized decorating party of Mariah and her friends and my wife, Lisa, and her friends.  They put the final touches on decorations.  Michael, Charles (Mariah’s brothers) and I went to our cabin at Watts Bar Lake, where we prepared for a welcome party for the out-of-town guests.  Mariah went to college in Montana so she had friends from Oregon, Montana, New Mexico and Maryland.  We had other family and friends from Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and England.   The welcome party was fun and very casual (ribs, chicken and the fixings), with skeet shooting on the point and Bluegrass Music by Hiwassee Ridge.  We capped the night off with a big bonfire on the point after the sun went down.

            Saturday morning was filled with final touches on the decorations around the tent, barn and house.  The wedding started at 3:00 and it was great!  The little church would not hold everyone, so the plan was to let the children stand on bales of straw and peer through the windows.  Talk about cute!  After I gave Mariah away and went to sit with Lisa, I could see three little heads in the window to my left totally engulfed in the ceremony.

            The most important and most impressive part of the entire weekend was that it was all about Mariah and Alex and they experienced and enjoyed every minute.

            In closing my blog on the wedding, I must tell you about the wedding photographer - Melanie Nashan.  She is from Montana.  Mariah met her at a friend’s wedding.  She travels anywhere and she is really good and surprisingly more affordable than you might think to travel so far.  She became a member of the family.  Her website is www.nashan.com.  If you will go there and click on her blog, she has a posting about the wedding.  After reading it, I almost did not write mine blog because her blog is really good.  Melanie and Taylor Monen practically lived with us for two days.  I need to mention Taylor Monen.  She was our wedding coordinator and her business name is Soiree’s (taylor@soireesonline.com).  Mariah met her in Chattanooga.  She was very good.  I have never seen so much useful organization.  She was persistent but nice and she really helped things come together without a hitch. 

            Best of all, we have a very happy married couple.  We are thankful.

            Change the channel for a minute.  I have a little business I need to discuss.  I had a consumer call today with a problem.  We welcome people to call with problems, because it gives us a chance to solve them.  In this case, I realized we are not perfect.  It involved our Sour Pops 12- pack.  The consumer had purchased numerous boxes over time and was disappointed when the box did not contain 4 Cherry, 4 Lemon-Lime and 4 Blue Raspberry. It seems to me that research was needed so I opened a number of boxes.  I also talked to the folks on the production line and came up with two facts.  First, I was reminded how good Sour Pops are.  I felt like I should taste test each flavor and did.  I liked all three flavors, but I think Cherry was my favorite.  Second, I found out that it is very common for there to be

5 of one flavor, 4 of another and three of the last flavor.  In under- standing how they are packed, all I can say is that if someone buys a box of 12 and they get five of a flavor, I only hope it is their favorite flavor, because we cannot guarantee each box will be 4, 4 and 4.  I can guarantee they are not too sour; they are a real treat.

One last point and you may hear this from me again.  We want to be perfect, but we cannot always be perfect.  When I was sampling all the boxes of Sour Pops, I found one box with one Sour Pop that was broken.  That is not what we want you. the consumer, to get.  If you ever have any problem with one of our products, I hope you will call our Consumer Affairs folks at 1-800- MAYFIELD (800-629-3435) and allow us to send you a FREE coupon and also learn about the problem.  Hopefully, we can prevent it from happening again.  If not, we can at least make sure you got what you paid for.

Thanks again for checking out our blog.  I hope you have a great day. 

Scottie

At last, our four 2007 feature flavors for the Mayfield Select line have been chosen! Although I’m not allowed tip you off on the winners just yet, it was again a difficult decision, but we believe you’ll like our choices when they debut in March.

Almost 700 consumers, employees and visitors tried each flavor that made itself into the round of 12, and gave them a score of 1-10. There were a few suprises, but that happens every year. Of course it’s impossible for you to taste them now, but based on their names what marks would you have given them? Your choices are:

1. Coconut Crème Pie
2. Chocolate Caramel Toffee Cheesecake
3. Key Lime Pie
4. Chocolate Cream Pie
5. German Chocolate Cake
6. Double Cone Crunch
7. Boston Cream Pie
8. Baked Apple Pie
9. Peanut Butteriffic
10. Coconut Cake
11. Olde Savannah Caramel
12. Apple Brown Betty

If you didn’t get a chance to taste these contenders in September when we sampled them at our Athens and Braselton Visitors Centers, make plans to do it next year. Eating free ice cream is a great way to spend a day!

Alan

Have you heard about the Segway?  The manufacturer refers to this as a “Personal Transporter” (http://www.segway.com/).  What’s a personal transporter?  It’s a rather cool looking device that looks like an adult version of a scooter. It runs on batteries, and has a top speed of about 12 miles per hour. The manufacturer promotes it as a “green” alternative for commuters, commercial applications, police and security, etc.  They even make an off-road version (I guess it’s for those like the idea of mountain biking but don’t like to sweat or exert themselves).  I have to admit, I LOVE technology, and as a technology lover, I think this thing looks really cool.  It’s self-balancing, so it requires no skill to ride (as someone who has had many bruises and lacerations from mountain bike accidents, I guess that part sounds pretty good). 

So, what’s the problem?  I began thinking about the Segway a few weeks ago, when I read an article in the Knoxville News Sentinel (Knoxnews.com) featuring the use of the Segway scooter by meter readers for a gas company.  These devices range in price from around $4,000 to around $5,500, so the gas company was clearly being kind to its employees in investing so much in their welfare.  This got me wondering….would I spend $5,000 for a device that took most of the effort (and calorie burning) from everyday life?  Just think, I might never have to exert myself again!  This would have its advantages, of course. For example, I could subsist on many fewer calories!  But wait…I LIKE TO EAT!  I don’t want something that will reduce my need for calories (and I certainly don’t want to spend $5,000 for the privilege). 

It’s tough to maintain energy balance (i.e. balancing our food intake with our physical activity) in our modern society, and the last thing we need are more devices to reduce our physical activity.  We know that it is easiest to balance our calorie intake with calorie burning when our level of calorie burning (physical activity) is high, and that it is very difficult to reduce our calorie intake to match reduced physical activity,  Giving up one of our last vestiges of physical activity can only serve to accelerate our obesity epidemic.  Two thirds of American adults are already overweight or obese; take away the small bits of walking that remain in modern society, and we could easily reach 100%. 

Let’s be clear.  I’m not against Personal Transporters.  I routinely use my set of personal transporters (they’re called feet!).  Now I acknowledge that my feet can’t move me along at 12 mph, so I might need a bit of help if I have more ground to cover.  I imagine this must be the situation encountered by the gas company as they purchased Segways for their meter readers. However, there is an alternative.  How about a bicycle?  A decent commuting/city bicycle can be had for about 1/10 the cost of the Segway, requires no batteries, can surpass the speed of a Segway, and provides the opportunity to increase, rather than decrease, physical activity on the job and contribute positively to employee health and welfare…..something to think about!

-Till next week!

Wow, what a busy summer for the Visitor Center. Out of the 39,000 visitors, who have toured the factory this year, 22,000 where from June to mid-October. That's not including the folks that just come in for ice cream or for a break from the interstate. But that is what makes this job so much fun, every day is different. You meet different people every day from all across this great country of ours, plus people from nations around the world. I've had the opportunity over the years to take people on tour from Italy, Czech Republic, Russia, and just finished a tour today with some gentlemen from South Africa. I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to work for Mayfield, a company known around the World.

On a personal note, I just got back from my annual vacation trip to the Ducktail Run car show in Gas City, Indiana the last weekend in September. I've gone to this car show for many years now and have had so much fun seeing some of the best looking custom cars around. The folks who put on the car show along with the town of Gas City go out of their way to welcome the car enthusiasts and visitors for the weekend. My wife and I go along with three other couples and it's just over a 450 mile trip, but it's worth it. I've been involved in old cars and car shows for over 18 years now and have been building on my 1950 Mercury for 15 years. I used to drive an all original 1957 Chevrolet 210 2 door, 6 cylinder car. It was my great aunt’s car and when my dad decided to sell it about 5 years ago it still only had 33,000 original miles on it. Oh how I miss that car. The most fun I had going to car shows was going to the Ducktail Run driving the '57 a couple of times. If you like custom cars and rods, you really should go to the Ducktail Run next year. It is held during the James Dean Weekend Festivals in the area. You’re just about 7 miles away from where James Dean grew up and went to high school. The dates for next year are September 27-30, 2007, www.ducktailrun.com

The '57 Chevy

Me and my Mercury

Recently MilkPep hosted a conference in New York City to explore a mother’s impact as a healthy behavior role model to their daughters.  After reading about this article, it sparked questions within our company to ask….do our kids really pay attention to what we do.  I would say “yes” they do!  I think they pay more attention to what “we do” than what we “say”!!!

For instance, my daughter (Aisha) and I have been working out together!  She is 14; soon to be 15 in 20 days (as she reminds me daily). She plays on the junior varsity basketball team at her high school; therefore she is very active and health/weight conscious.  In this instance, I think she encourages me more than I encourage her!  But.....because she is interested in being and staying healthy.........I take a GREAT interest in that.........so I walk with her and work out with her!  She has even posted a "Steps to a healthier you" Food Pyramid on our refrigerator so that my husband & I are reminded of it daily!  When I was Aisha's age I played basketball and stayed active in school activities as well; therefore it warms my heart to see her following in her Mama's footsteps!  So I am determined to do all that I can do to keep her active while she is interested.  So whenever I say something about needing to work out or watching what I eat or drink; she is very aware of how I respond to what I “say” I am going to do.  Therefore, it is my goal to not only teach her how to be healthy, but allow her to see my personal efforts to “practice what I preach”!

Working in the milk business is another incentive to make sure my kids drink plenty of milk.  My son (age 18) loves milk and drinks it on a regular basis; however, my daughter is not a milk lover but will drink chocolate milk!  One advantage to her drinking Mayfield chocolate milk is that it has the same vitamins and nutrients as our white milk so either way, they are both getting the vitamins they need.

So after reviewing MilkPep’s article and thinking about my family; I would like to encourage other mothers out there in the blogging world to remember…”your kid’s are watching you!” ………do the right thing! 

Visit the site at www.2424milk.com

Until next time,

Lisa

The challenge with having a blog is like mowing a yard.  It is enjoyable and relaxing when you “get to” mow the yard.  It is not enjoyable or relaxing when you “have to” mow the yard and there are other things you would prefer to be doing.

Our family has a big event this week, so this entry is going to be brief.  More about the event later.

In the past few weeks, we have received some very positive feedback about our blog.  I will not waste time telling about the positive publicity, but I will say we are pleased that our blog is being well received.  However, I do want to mention the Atlanta newspaper.  The Atlanta Journal Constitution had an article about blogs in the Sunday business section.  It was interesting that the photograph accompanying the article was the home page of our blog, “The Dairy Blog.”  It was interesting because our blog was not even mentioned in the article.  I guess it was positive publicity.  We always get excited when we get publicity.  Many people think we are this great big company, but we certainly don’t feel like it.  When we make the front page of a business section, we get excited.

Since our home page was featured, we are obviously having more visitors to our blog.  This leads me to the reason for this posting.  The purpose of our blog is to become friends with more people.  Oh sure, we also hope that you will learn about our milk and/or ice cream and become a customer,  but we don’t see a blog as a hard selling tool.  If you have questions, we want to answer them.  If it is my turn to post a blog, I am going to post whatever comes to mind, whether it is something personal or something about Blueberry Cream Pie ice cream, NuTrish milk or any other product. 

I am supposed to post something the first week of every month.  So, why am I late?  Predisposed?  Yes!  Waiting on something? Yes!  So what is the deal?  Well, my daughter is getting married Saturday.  My plan was to post something after the wedding.  I was traveling Monday and Tuesday of this week and, as soon as I finish this blog, I am focusing on the wedding.  Since my wife and daughter are doing most of the decorations, I believe I had better get home so I can help. 

Thanks for visiting our blog.  Let us know if you have something specific you want to hear about. 

Scottie

Us Mayfield Moms get to meet a lot of people as we are out in the grocery stores sampling the yummy Mayfield ice cream flavors. This summer, during Flavor Decision ’06, we were able to categorize the samplers we met – what are you?

The categories for our samplers are:  

The three second quickies 

The smackers and MMMMMs 

The lets not be hasty, I think I need another cup. 

Now the quickies know after just a little taste of each.  The smackers will MMM after each little bite and when they get to the one they like it is a louder MMMMM (and that is usually for the Blueberry but not always).  The let's not be hasty group take their time and say MMMM it's so hard. I've narrowed it down to these two, let me see maybe I need another cup to be sure and then we get them to choose.

I am from Scotland and don’t have the typical Southern accent you here down in Atlanta so I usually get asked where I’m from and I tell them Scottie had me come all the way from Scotland so you could sample Mayfield Ice cream.  You would not believe how many people I have met in the stores from Scotland, England and Ireland.  I am wondering if we left any one over there.

Well, I have rambled on and I have not told you the half of it (aren't you glad).  Oh! I have to share this with you though.  One man asked me if I was Scotties wife!!!!!  Now that's a first. I got so tickled.

Got to go.  Have a great day everyone and look forward to seeing some of you in the grocery stores. Now, you can try to catch me at a Williams-Sonoma in Atlanta. We will be teaming up with Williams-Sonoma at Phipps Plaza, Lenox Square and the Mall of Georgia – we’ll see what category you fall into!!

Pamela Burdell.