Assorted travel writers have touted the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz as the Switzerland of Mexico. And in common with Switzerland, Los Tuxtlas also has abundant herds of milk cows.
But in beautiful downtown Catemaco, milk comes in a bricklike cardboard carton, guaranteed to withstand 140 degree temperatures, last for 6 months, and possibly survive being dropped by a helicopter. Fresh Milk is udderly absent despite thousands of happy cows grazing on what is left of the surrounding landscape.
There is fresh pasteurized milk available in Veracruz City and other towns are known to even have fresh milk delivery, but those bricks are generally a staple in Mexico and most of the world. I used to think that was related to international lack of refrigeration, but, no, the Europeans also like their bricks of ultra high pasteurized milk.
Ultra high pasteurization kills most vitamins, so naturally, those are added back into the bricks. Assorted enzymes are also missing, but what is really beneficial is the absence of all those cow diseases transmittable to humans.
I have abandoned my habit of an occasional glass of milk and usually only splurge after a trip to Walmart where fresh milk is stocked. The reason is probably purely psychological, because I am now perfectly happy to drink my orange juice poured from a brick.
Maybe a retired US dairy farmer or juice bottler could show the locals a few tricks to supplement their survival on government handouts.
