DAIRY GOATS
Udder Delights... yesterday's cheese for today's people.
Cheese can only ever be as good as the milk it is made from. While the concept of cheese making is quite simple the practicality of cheese making is quite complicated due to the seasonal nature of milk and its' ever changing complex composition. The Udder Delights cheese makers produce consistent and high quality cheese by recognising these milk changes and adapting the cheese making procedure accordingly.
MacFarlane Hill Goat Dairy supplies Udder Delights with beautiful goat's milk that is milked twice daily on their Middleton property. Carol Pennington continues to build their dairy with a strong line of good milkers, particularly focusing on the Saanen breed of dairy goats. Saanen goats are a large white goat (and occasionally brownish in the muddy times!) with a calm and good natured temperament. They are of Swiss origin, probably arriving with the early Australian settlers. An average Saanen milks 4.5 – 5.5L a day.
As opposed to popular belief a dairy goat does not eat anything and everything. On the contrary, they are quite fickle and require many additional nutrients and minerals not usually found in green pasture. As a result, they are often climbing (and eating) trees to obtain the nutrients and minerals that they know they need.
Also contrary to popular belief - goat's milk does not smell! Fresh goat's milk is pure white and should have no unpleasant aroma at all. However goat's milk is easily tainted and correct animal handling, particularly keeping the Bucks separate from the Does to avoid the ‘bucky' smell, is a must to ensure high quality milk.
Goat's milk is said to be naturally homogonised meaning the cream is already dispersed throughout the liquid milk and a layer of cream does not form on top of the milk like that of cow's milk.
The molecules in goat's milk are much smaller than that of cow's milk, and the bonds between the molecules much weaker. As a result goat's milk is much easier to digest and it is for this reason that goat's milk is often consumed by people who are allergic to cow's milk.
Dairy Goats are beautiful animals, with an inquisitive nature and a friendly disposition. A kid loves nothing more than a nurse and a bottle, while an adult loves nothing more than a scratch under the chin and a nibble on a Lucerne branch. A bit like us really….except we'll exchange the Lucernce branch for a piece of Udder Delights goat cheese!
