Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Where is the artisan milk market?

And what kind of animal got milked to make the cheese?

Milk: literally baby food.
Milk: literally baby food.

Dear Hipster:

Maybe you can help me out with this thing I’ve been pondering lately. It’s a question of hipster commodities. Why is it possible to get a nearly infinite variety of artisan cheeses, but there’s only like two options for fancy milk at the grocery store? Is this some sort of weird hipster oversight? The difference between milk and cheese is like the difference between beer and bread, i.e. little more than a shift in time and temperature applied to the same basic ingredients, and yet the two things have totally different presences on the hipster spectrum. Back when we used to go to restaurants all the time, I remember seeing menus that listed off half-a-dozen cheeses, and each one would come with a little legend that indicted where the cheese was from, what kind of animal got milked to make the cheese, what the animal’s name was, etc. etc. etc. But it’s not like you can go to a restaurant and get a glass of artisan ewe’s milk to go with your dinner. That’s weird, right? How come there isn’t a hipster milk market?

— Dan S.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The way I see it, there are two potential explanations for this one.

(1) Government regulations related to the production, packaging, transportation, storage, and sale of dairy products generally erect steep barriers to entry into the United States’ dairy market. These barriers to entry pose no threat to large, institutional dairy producers, who have no particular incentive to invest resources into products where there is going to be anything less than a robust, nationwide market. On the other hand, the kind of small producers who might target a niche market for artisan milk are effectively frozen out of the market because of excessive compliance costs; or

(2) Milk is for toddlers.

Talk amongst yourselves and decide which explanation makes more sense.

Dear Hipster:

Going through some of my stuff the other day, I found letters from my grandmother. She had really amazing handwriting. I don’t know anyone who can write like that anymore. Do you think elegant handwriting will ever make a comeback?

— Edye

I think the Millennial equivalent of having excellent handwriting is probably texting in complete sentences, but maybe there’s a movement brewing to revitalize the forgotten craft of penmanship, sort of like the “bring back typewriters” thing that’s always almost catching on. But this is sort of a different thing, because it’s not like writing by hand ever went away. People still do it all they time, it’s just that they aren’t any good at it anymore. Unlike, say, typewriters, pens and pencils didn’t go entirely out of production. That takes away one of the biggest draws to bringing back an obsolete medium because there’s no fun quest to the thrift shop hoping to score a vintage Underwood, or whatever. I suppose somebody could make an effort to bring back dip pens (or even quills) and blotting paper as a means of writing “old school,” but the charm wears off almost immediately after about ten minutes of ink spills and trying to decipher handwriting that has somehow become both spidery and blotchy at the same time. People usually quit this effort somewhere between having every letter turn into a blurry version of the alchemical symbol for vinegar of antimony and having the pen run out of ink so you end up forcibly inscribing ghost letters into the surface of your chosen medium.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tigers In Cairo owes its existence to Craigslist

But it owes its name to a Cure tune and a tattoo
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Milk: literally baby food.
Milk: literally baby food.

Dear Hipster:

Maybe you can help me out with this thing I’ve been pondering lately. It’s a question of hipster commodities. Why is it possible to get a nearly infinite variety of artisan cheeses, but there’s only like two options for fancy milk at the grocery store? Is this some sort of weird hipster oversight? The difference between milk and cheese is like the difference between beer and bread, i.e. little more than a shift in time and temperature applied to the same basic ingredients, and yet the two things have totally different presences on the hipster spectrum. Back when we used to go to restaurants all the time, I remember seeing menus that listed off half-a-dozen cheeses, and each one would come with a little legend that indicted where the cheese was from, what kind of animal got milked to make the cheese, what the animal’s name was, etc. etc. etc. But it’s not like you can go to a restaurant and get a glass of artisan ewe’s milk to go with your dinner. That’s weird, right? How come there isn’t a hipster milk market?

— Dan S.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The way I see it, there are two potential explanations for this one.

(1) Government regulations related to the production, packaging, transportation, storage, and sale of dairy products generally erect steep barriers to entry into the United States’ dairy market. These barriers to entry pose no threat to large, institutional dairy producers, who have no particular incentive to invest resources into products where there is going to be anything less than a robust, nationwide market. On the other hand, the kind of small producers who might target a niche market for artisan milk are effectively frozen out of the market because of excessive compliance costs; or

(2) Milk is for toddlers.

Talk amongst yourselves and decide which explanation makes more sense.

Dear Hipster:

Going through some of my stuff the other day, I found letters from my grandmother. She had really amazing handwriting. I don’t know anyone who can write like that anymore. Do you think elegant handwriting will ever make a comeback?

— Edye

I think the Millennial equivalent of having excellent handwriting is probably texting in complete sentences, but maybe there’s a movement brewing to revitalize the forgotten craft of penmanship, sort of like the “bring back typewriters” thing that’s always almost catching on. But this is sort of a different thing, because it’s not like writing by hand ever went away. People still do it all they time, it’s just that they aren’t any good at it anymore. Unlike, say, typewriters, pens and pencils didn’t go entirely out of production. That takes away one of the biggest draws to bringing back an obsolete medium because there’s no fun quest to the thrift shop hoping to score a vintage Underwood, or whatever. I suppose somebody could make an effort to bring back dip pens (or even quills) and blotting paper as a means of writing “old school,” but the charm wears off almost immediately after about ten minutes of ink spills and trying to decipher handwriting that has somehow become both spidery and blotchy at the same time. People usually quit this effort somewhere between having every letter turn into a blurry version of the alchemical symbol for vinegar of antimony and having the pen run out of ink so you end up forcibly inscribing ghost letters into the surface of your chosen medium.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

NORTH COUNTY’S BEST PERSONAL TRAINER: NICOLE HANSULT HELPING YOU FEEL STRONG, CONFIDENT, AND VIBRANT AT ANY AGE

Next Article

Southern California Asks: 'What Is Vinivia?' Meet the New Creator-First Livestreaming App

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader