My great grandmother's roast and the importance of asking why.

Have you heard this story?

I asked my mother, "Mom, how do you cook a roast? I want to make it just like I remember it growing up." She replied, "Well, first you cut it in half, and then you put it in the pan..." I interrupted, "But wait, why do you cut it in half?" My mom said, "I don't know, ask Grandma. She's the one who taught me how to make it."

So I quickly dialed my grandmother and asked, "Grandma, how you you cook a roast? Your roasts are just so delicious." My grandmother replied, "Well, first you cut it in half..." And there I went interrupting again, "But Grandma, why do you cut it in half?" My grandmother replied, "Honestly, I don't know. It's how my mom did it. Why don't you call Great Grandma?"

So onward I went. I called my great grandmother and asked, "Great Grandma, how do you cook a roast?" She started out as expected, "Well, first you cut it in half..." And of course I interrupted, "But Great Grandma, why!? Why do you cut it in half!?"

She replied, "Well, because the ovens back then were so small a whole roast couldn't fit. So, I had to cut the roast in half, and I've been doing it that way ever since." 🤦‍♀️

This is a folk tale, but it holds so much truth.

We often do things a certain way simply because that's how they've been done or we've been doing them for a long time. You absolutely do not need to cut a roast in half when using a big modern oven! In fact, a larger roast is better since it's more forgiving and cooks more evenly.

We were all born curious. Think about how many times a fiery 3-5 year old asks "why" in a day. But somewhere along the path of becoming a grown-up, we lose that curiosity. The system trains us to do as we're told, believe what we're told, to fit in and find our place. Our fire dims, and maybe we even lose a piece of ourselves in that process.

At Miller's Bio Farm, we say no. We have to ask questions, and we do it all the time. It's the only way to work towards a better food future. We can't be satisfied with what's handed to us. We have to fan them flames of curiosity back to life.

It's a big reason we don't get certifications like "grass fed" or "regenerative" or "certified organic". We want to be able to ask why and figure out the best way forward ourselves, not just because a certifier says so.

All that being said, asking why is one thing, but coming up with an answer to inform a decision is another thing. So, how do you find those answers? Well, research of course. 

That's why Miller's Bio Farm provides you with so much info on our website and goes above and beyond to answer questions. If we don't know, we'll do everything we can to find out.

And, honestly, some answers you may not want to know. Do you know how disappointed I was to find out that there are trace amounts of lab-produced additives in our cheese cultures and that there aren't any other options out there? What was the farm to do? Ignore it? Nope, we added that to the honest disclosure on every cultured cheese we offer.

This is how we enable and empower you to be a smart natural food shopper. We want you to ask why, too!

So, anything on your mind? What are you wondering about lately? I'd love to hear from you!