Italian buffalo airlift turns once-in-a-lifetime dream into reality

It’s not every day that you sip coffee topped with buffalo milk. But that’s exactly what I enjoyed on a recent sunny morning at the Buffalo Farm in southern Israel with Natalie, ISRAEL21c’s social media coordinator.

The picturesque Moshav Bitzaron Farm is a family business run by Chanoch Trister, whose father brought buffalo from Italy to Israel in the early 1990s, and whose grandfather was one of the founders of the farming community in the early 1930s.

“We have always had cows,” Chanoch Trister tells ISRAEL21c. “But we started the buffalo farm in 1993. My father had a dream and he woke up one morning and said, ‘I’m going to bring buffalo here.’ That’s the kind of person he is.

Bringing the buffalo and getting Israelis used to the idea wasn’t easy, he says, but his parents persisted.

“The journey was difficult, we had to build buffalo stables for them, teach them as animals and try to market mozzarella. In the 1990s people thought it was a hard yellow cheese.”

Three decades later, Buffalo Farm is the go-to – if not the only – place in Israel producing premium artisanal products from buffalo milk.

These include mozzarella and burrata balls, a range of hard and aged cheeses, flavored yogurts and labneh.

Those who visit the on-site store can also purchase delicious buffalo milk ice cream.

The wide range is quite different from the buffalo milk products traditionally found in Italy and elsewhere in Europe, but Trister says they have expanded to meet local tastes.

“Today we are also present in supermarkets, but we are still very small,” explains Trister. “Our quantity of milk is limited, so we only sell what we have. »

In addition to a few select supermarkets, Buffalo Farm products can also be found in delis, restaurants and pizzerias across the country.

The path to people’s hearts, Trister notes, was won when top Israeli chefs bought their products, and from there they spread elsewhere.

They love to be petted

The buffalo farm has around 500 buffalo, who appear to be happy animals living in spacious environments with two spray showers per day to keep them cool in the heat.

Trister walks around petting them as they all gather around to greet their visitors.

“The buffalo is a very friendly animal. They love to be petted, they are very calm and curious. When you reach out to pet them, they return their love like a puppy. I love them,” he said.

The buffaloes are sorted according to their age and social group. Trister explains that they are incredibly social herd animals.

There is even an area reserved for retired buffaloes that no longer produce milk. “They have ensured my livelihood for years. The least I can do is let them age gracefully,” he notes.

Speaking of aging gracefully, the Trister parents are still the active minds behind the business.

“I love the peace and quiet of working with my family,” says Trister.

“You can see something that was milk in the morning and ends up in the afternoon on a plate. It fills me with pride – it’s far from an easy life, but it’s a blessing.

Dairy delights

Being a farmer in Israel, especially on a small scale, is not an easy affair, subject to a wide range of policies and, of course, war.

“Some time ago a rocket fell right next to the buffalo sheds. Two of my employees left because they were afraid, and people didn’t come here because they were worried, not to mention the restaurants were closed. It was a difficult time.

In fact, because it is located near Israel’s southeast coast, the farm has been exposed to the threat of Hamas rocket fire for years.

However, on the calm and leisurely morning of ISRAEL21c’s visit, happy customers were walking around the store and sitting at small tables in the beautiful garden sampling the goods.

“In the past, we would do tastings, and when we said it was buffalo, people would spit it out,” Trister recalls. “Now people love it. Our bestsellers are mozzarella, burrata and yogurt.

As the Jewish holiday of Shavuot approaches, during which many people eat dairy products, Buffalo Farm is introducing a Gouda cheese. “In the past, we produced a tomme that people really liked,” says Trister.