Milk is certainly hitting the headlines currently with many dairy farmers being squeezed to the edge. What appears to have been lost in the arguments of the price of milk, however, is the differences in quality and types. Most supermarket milk is all homogenised and, of course, pasteurised. Long gone is the delicious milk we all remember on our doorstep with the creamy top. Whilst that milk was pasteurised to eradicate nasty bugs, it was rarely homogenised. This additional process was developed with the introduction of semi-skimmed and skimmed milk to eradicate any cream layer by simply blasting the remaining fat molecules into a smaller size to be distributed throughout the milk.

Some studies suggest homogenisation has led to an increase in heart disease as the fat globules are too small to be digested but, instead, they clog up arteries. Others believe homogenisation has led to increased milk intolerances and even eczema in children. Counter studies do not always support these effects but whatever may be true, it is undeniable that the taste of milk has changed through the homogenisation process. Non-homogenised and single farm milk is still available from specialists food shops and just one of the supermarkets. It is well worth rediscovering – on it’s own, in tea and especially in coffee and worth every penny more than the mass produced multi-farm milk so abundant on the shelves. There is even a comeback in raw, unpasteurised, milk but this remains illegal to sell other than directly by the farmer.

Come and try our non-homogenised, LOCAL milk – it’s direct from Downsview Dairy and at a fair price to the farm yet still great value.