Did you know that milk is priced not just by volume in litres - but also on the analysis of its fat, protein and other content? Many people don’t. But that’s how we buy it from a single Riverina farm, near to Coolamon where we use it to hand craft our cheese.
Today, like many other days, our Cheese Makers will go to the farm to do the milk pick-up. They will never admit it but they love it when they see the baby calves out & about and will stop to pet them if they can - as long as no one is watching of course!
The Cheese Maker must then pay attention to more important matters! They certainly have quite a routine to follow. There are loads of food safety compliance and quality “stuff” to pay attention to!
So MOOVING on over to the milk shed, the Cheese Maker begins a familiar routine. The cows will have been milked and have left before the Cheese Maker arrives there. The milk will also have been sampled and tested at the farm, immediately after milking the cows, so it’s ready for us to pick-up and transport.
The Cheese Maker has to review the test records to ensure the milk is of the quality that will produce the best cheese. Thank God, our Cheese Makers are pretty fussy! Though maybe that’s because their personal reputations are at stake, of course!
In comparison to the huge factories that manufacture, rather than handcraft, cheese, the Cheese Maker will only collect small quantities of milk as we only make small batches of high-quality cheese – all by hand, after carrying the milk back to our village of Coolamon to and completing the milk pasteurisation process.
No Cheese Maker complains about the short journey out to the farm – we know it’s because it’s on a road through one of the most exquisitely beautiful pastoral scenes in Australia!
