Page 29 - Food Service Magazine March 2019

TRADE TALK
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for your application is the
cow's diet. Up to 65 per cent of Australia's total dairy cattle's feed requirements are met with grazing on open fields, with the remainder made up by grains and hay.
“Cows, like humans, need variety in their diets. Too much of one thing and they fall sick,” says founder of Australian butter brand Pepe Saya, Pierre Issa.
A cow fed on a wide range
of grasses will produce a more typically “milky” flavour, while predominantly-grain-fed cow’s milk has fewer essential fatty acids (like alpha-linolenic acid and omega-3), will appear more yellow in colour, and has a milder and less-balanced flavour overall.
In one day, a single cow can eat up to 100kgs of wet grass and drink 100 litres of water in order to produce just 20 litres of milk. Cow’s milk is made up of protein, sugar and fat, as well
as a number of vitamins and minerals, so naturally, the cow needs to get all those from its diet for them to be in its milk.
One of Pepe Saya’s suppliers is Country Valley in Picton, NSW. Owner John Fairley feeds his herd of around 145 Friesian- Jersey-cross on rye grass and clover (high in protein) in the mornings, and harder grasses (high in fat) in the afternoon. The quality of the cow's
feed – lush pastures for most
of the year and grains in the
dry months – is constantly monitored to ensure the cow gets all the nutrients required to produce balanced milk.
And you can taste if it's fresh. “Milk is a bit like fruit, it bruises easily, and the quality can be lowered if it is not treated carefully,” says Fairley, whose cow’s milk has a 48-hour turnaround from udder to shelf.
A cow's environment also plays a major role. Mastitis, the inflammation and infection in the udder, can be transmitted cow-to-cow – sadly not uncommon in large herds. The primary habitats of the bacteria that cause mastitis are on the milking machine, the milker's hands, the sponges used to wash the cow's teats, or in feces, soil, bedding, or water,
so a cow’s home must be clean and natural.
“80 per cent of the diverse flora responsible for producing flavour in a cheese is introduced at the point of milking, from the skin of the cows udder,
and this is influenced by the environment,” says Studd.
A balanced diet promotes the growth of good bacteria in the digestive tract and udder, which prevent mastitis and help produce full-flavoured milk.