DRINKS // Milk
Market Lane Photography by Amelia Habib
Got milk? When push comes to shove, what separates one milk from the other? WORDS Madeline Woolway
WANDERING DOWN THE milk aisle in
have more dry matter in their diet,
Sungold [milk], a fantastic product that
plethora of options. A memorable ad once
have a lot of green grass, the butter is
recipes. Bigger producers have access to
a grocery store, it’s easy to see there’s a asked, ‘low fat, no fat, full cream, high calcium, high protein, soy, light, skim,
the butter is usually paler. When they more yellow.”
The fat and protein content can also
omega 3, high calcium with vitamin D
fluctuate, with processing playing an
out, there’s much more to it than that —
homogenised product, you expect it to be the
and folate, or extra dollop?’ As it turns
especially when it comes to choosing the best option for foodservice.
“For milk to be called milk, you need to
have a minimum of 3.5 per cent fat, but you can put permeates, powders or add
has seasonal changes, you change your
more farms and they can do the work on their end.”
important role. “If you’re buying a super
There’s no wrong or right, just preference,
same all year round,” says Issa. “If you buy
The two key things to consider are fat and
unhomogenised milk, sometimes you have
a higher or lower fat content; it depends on how much dry matter the cows eat.”
at least when it comes to making coffee.
protein content. “The fat in milk tends to make the coffee taste a bit weaker,” says Scheltus. “If you have skim milk or low-
fat milk, they’re a bit more watery so the
things to it,” says Pierre Issa, owner of
Coffee roasters Market Lane source their
there has to be a minimum fat content of
Dairy, which is located three hours by
texturing milk through steaming. “The
Simon Schulz does, like pasteurising
Crowl. “That’s why Sungold and Country
Pepe Saya. “For cream to be called cream, 35 per cent, and they can load the rest up with permeates, powders, thickeners or whatever they want.”
Then there are the variations in cattle
breed and feed, as well as processing methods such as pasteurisation and
homogenisation to consider. Changes to any or all of these things will result in a
different end product, and not just when
it comes to the milk itself. Expectedly, the attributes of milk will affect derivatives
including cream, butter, buttermilk and crème frâiche to name a few.
“With natural cream, the colour of the
butter will change according to what the cows are eating,” says Issa. “When they 16 | Hospitality
milk from local producer Schulz Organic car from Melbourne. “Some of the things at very low temperatures and not
homogenising the milk, really contribute to
coffee tends to cut through and stand out.” Protein is important when it comes to
higher the protein, the silkier the froth,” says Valley make fantastic steamed milk.”
High fat and protein content may be a
the taste,” says co-founder Jason Scheltus.
plus for mouthfeel, but achieving the right
in his herd, whereas commercial dairies
an acidic coffee [high fat and protein], it
“He also has a generous mix of Jersey cows will have more Holstein Friesian. Jersey
cows tend to have more fat and sweetness in the milk, so it has a richer taste.”
Just as homogenisation can iron out
flavour is a balancing act. “If you have
probably won’t work,” says Crowl. “You
could get sour flavours coming through.” So, what’s a barista to do? “When we
variations, so too can the size of the
first tested, we had eight different milks
the greater the fluctuations,” says Sam
expensive milks, less expensive, bigger
producer. “The smaller the producer,
Crowl of Sydney-based gelateria and
café Cow and the Moon. “If you’re using
on the table: high protein, high fat, really companies,” says Crowl. “We ended up
falling in the middle because it matched
