For a man whose two main food groups are meat and cheese, Alan Yegerlehner seems unusually happy to talk about his cholesterol levels: They happen to be perfect. Since I had only raised the subject to give him a hard time, I was taken aback. Good genes, I wondered? Born under a lucky food star? What else could it be? After all, even in this world of shifting nutritional certainties, don't we know that a diet high in animal fats is bad for us?

Apparently we don't. Yegerlehner, in company with a growing number of other grass-fed beef enthusiasts, believes that what counts in cholesterol is not what we eat but what our animals eat. And what ruminants such as cows should eat, according to these folks, is the food that they are especially equipped to digest: grass and legumes, not the far more popular grain.

I didn't originally go out to Alan and Mary Yegerlehner's Swiss Connection Farm in Clay City to talk about the dietary habits of cows. I went out there because they make cheese, and I love to watch people make cheese. Seeing the pale yellow curds slowly stirred in huge vats like a giant's portion of creamy scrambled eggs, watching the whey drain out and the curds cut and pressed — everything about the transformation of milk into a rich, buttery cheese is one of those miracles of culinary science that keeps me fascinated with cooking.

advertise here | advertiser directory

The Yegerlehners have only been in the cheese business since the summer of 2000. Alan had long been interested in finding a food that they could process on the farm that had been in their family since the original Jegerlehners, newly arrived from Switzerland, bought it in 1860. A visit back to Switzerland in 1996 gave him the answer. Every village they visited made its own type of cheese and it fascinated Alan, whose thinking had already been moving in that direction.

Even before the trip, the Yegerlehners had been switching their cows' feed from grain to pasture. Cheese making from the milk of those cows offered the perfect way to close the circle, to produce a complete food from the animals that grazed on the land — farmstead cheese production that could make their family farm a model of sustainable agriculture.

They came back from Switzerland fired up. A former cheese maker sold all his equipment to Alan and gave him lessons on how to use it. It's been a painstaking process of trial and error ever since. Some of the recipes have been great successes. Alan is pleased with the Swiss Connection cheddars and Colbys, but is, ironically, still tinkering with the more complicated Swiss cheese.

But while the Yegerlehners are committed to the philosophy of producing quality organic food, one of the main things that drives Alan is the health dividend that comes from eating grass-fed cattle products. And here's where we digressed to the subject of cattle diets.

Not a beef eater myself, I had somehow missed the latest rage in the food world. The Los Angeles Times calls it "boutique beef." Berkeley chef Alice Waters, a culinary purist, now serves only grass-fed beef at her restaurant, Chez Panisse. And Corby Kummer, the food columnist for the Atlantic Monthly, wrote a lengthy article on the many virtues of pastured beef that appeared in the May issue — just as I was writing this column.

So here's what I've learned. Fans claim that allowing cattle to eat only the grass that nature intended them to eat is not only good for the environment (not raising grain eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers and exhaust-spewing farm equipment), but it is better for the cows, and thus better for the people who eat them.

Most farmers, however, fatten cattle on corn before slaughtering them, a force feeding (think geese and foie gras) that produces richly marbled meat and sick, stressed-out animals that fall ill and require antibiotics to keep them alive long enough to be killed. The meat we get is consequently not only loaded with chemicals (antibiotics, hormones to promote growth, and pesticides from the grain) but it is full of the kind of fat that makes us sick too — raising our cholesterol levels and clogging our arteries.

Devotees claim that the grass-fed alternative is healthier not only because it is drug- and chemical-free but because it has less saturated fat and more omega-3 fatty acids, essential fats that actually lower cholesterol and promote healthy hearts. Furthermore, the health benefits of grass-fed beef extend to the cheese and butter made from the milk of grass-fed cows.

They also say it tastes better — the beef is a little gamier and beeflike, less fatty and soft. Because so many concur on its superior taste, some restaurants are having a hard time finding an adequate supply, and more and more are putting it on the menu, even though, because it is leaner, it requires careful cooking.

I can't verify the health claims of the grass-fed beef enthusiasts (though Al, Mary and their daughter Kate look like poster children for healthy living), but I can say something about the taste claims.

The cheddars and Colby cheeses the Yegerlehners make are delicious, and come with several added flavors: dill, caraway, and garlic and herb to name a few. We tried a macaroni and cheese with their black peppercorn jack that was smashing. Their cottage cheese is rich and satisfying, and the cheese curds — well, if you haven't tried cheese curds, you are missing a squeaky fun and tasty treat.

In addition to dairy products, the Yegerlehners sell frozen beef. A cheeseburger made with their beef and their cheddar (which can be found, by the way, on the lunch menu at Flora, 620 W. 5th St. in Bloomington) was a hit when we grilled it at our house. The consensus was that the beef was much more flavorful than grain-fed with a clean taste and less of a greasy "mouth feel." I also slow cooked a Yegerlehner arm roast and shredded the meat into a cinnamon-scented beefy pasta dish that made my husband swoon with pleasure.

The Yegerlehners sell their products at the Saturday Bloomington Community Farmers Market, as well as other markets in Indiana. Several of their cheeses are available at Mr. Ds. but they also have a farm store where, on cheese-making days, you can watch the whole process. And, when you go, be sure to ask Al about his cholesterol. He'll love to tell you all about it.

advertise here | advertiser directory

Further information on grass-fed beef can be found at www.eatwild.com and at www.westonprice.org.

Herald-Times FoodFare columnist Christine Barbour can be reached at cbarbour@heraldt.com. Next week, Food Fare partner Jennifer Piurek writes about grilling.

Alan Yegerlehner's Cheeseburger

Alan Yegerlehner, when asked for a recipe, offered this: "Slice a piece of cheese and slap it on a hamburger."

I can't improve too much on that. Remember always, when making hamburgers, to handle the beef as little as possible to prevent toughness.

Some people add butter to their burgers to make them moist, though that would counteract some of the good health benefits (unless you use butter from grass-fed cows).

I have heard (but haven't verified) that a few ice chips added to a burger will keep it moist while cooking. (Let me know if you give this a try.)

Our Swiss Connection cheeseburgers, cooked medium rare, were juicy and perfect without any additions.

Pot Roast Pasta

I worked out this variation of the Italian stracotto con pasta for this column, only to decide that it was not very summery. If you want the recipe let me know and I'll pass it on. I can't imagine a better cold winter evening dish, filling the house with warm smells of roasting beef, spices and garlic.