The raw milk debate

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For many months we have followed the raw milk debate in USA. We have followed the law suits and E.coli warnings. But what about the British Scene? How does raw milk work in the uk?

At the beginning of January 2007 Hook and Son delivered a single pint of milk to one customer. It was the start of their raw milk delivery round, and over the past two years the growth has been amazing. They now deliver to over 400 customers with new enquiries coming in daily – some from as far afield as Scotland and even abroad.

The Hook family has farmed in Sussex for 250 years, with Phil’s father finally settling at Longleys Farm, Hailsham as a farm-worker in the 1930s. He stayed on the farm when it changed hands in the ’50s and Phil and his brother took over the tenancy in 1972. Phil went to Plumpton Agricultural College, returning to manage the farm when only 21 and for years the farm ran a herd of Holstein Friesians supplying milk to the big dairy companies.

Phil started the Hailsham Herd in l959. He says: ‘The Friesian Holstein herd has several cow families, some still going strong today such as the Kate, lda, Teena, Biddy and Rowena families. They all have their own character, some are very quiet, and some are really bossy! Within the herd, the cows have their own social structure, and pecking order. We know the cows individually, who their mother was, at what stage the cow is in her lactation, how old she is and so on. We can even recognise each cow purely by its markings! The herd is a closed herd which means we rear all our own dairy cows from our own cow families, and do not buy in replacement heifers (young cows) or cows from other farms.”

The farm currently has 65 cows and 60 youngsters. As Phil says, they operate a closed herd and this allows them to control the lines they have, giving them the ability to select for certain attributes. The adults are milked twice a day in the parlour. This is laid out in a herringbone pattern, and allows 10 cows to be milked at a time. The bottling is done on site, with Phil’s grandchildren often lending a hand before school. The Hooks opted for glass bottles as being the most environmentally friendly, and healthier too – no chemicals from plastic bottles here! Each bottle has a named cow on the back and a little potted history of her, as well as the warning required by law: “This milk has not been heat treated and may contain organisms harmful to health.”

There are two delivery rounds, one in and around Hailsham, and the other in nearby Eastbourne. Phil tells me that on Fridays he covers 80 miles doing the Eastbourne round! He laughs as he recounts that many new customers (of a certain age), when they first taste his raw milk, smile and say: “It’s just like I had when I was a child!” And it is, but probably safer. The testing that the Hailsham Herd undergoes is rigorous and frequent. The historic concerns of TB and Brucellosis are no longer a worry as Brucellosis was eradicated in the UK in the1970s, and there has never been a case of TB in the herd.

The Hooks consider the cows’ welfare and health to be paramount. Cows in a conventional herd produce nearly 50% more milk than those farmed organically. This means their cows are not under so much pressure and stress as those in a conventional herd. The cows benefit from this lower yield and lower stress by not being prone to stress-related cattle health problems, such as mastitis and lameness. In fact, the Hooks’ cows on average live to be eight or nine years old, compared to the national average of six and I met one, ‘Kate 90′ who is 14 and in calf!

Vision

The eldest of six, Steve joined his father in 1991 and has been instrumental in moving away from the dairies, becoming organic and now supplying raw milk. As a family, the Hooks, like many other farmers, have always drunk raw milk and are firm believers in the health benefits it brings. Steve says that the idea first reared its head in the early 2000s. The de-regulation of the milk industry in 1994 had led to good milk prices and the large dairies were attracting farmers away from the co-operatives. The milk price then dropped and times got tougher. Steve spotted an opportunity and in 1998 he started the conversion process which would lead to the farm becoming Soil Association-certified as organic in 2000.

In 2006, Steve started researching the legal position of selling raw milk, investigating the health benefits and became more and more convinced that there would be a market for this wonderful, and very traditional, product.

What is ‘raw’ milk

Raw milk is simply milk which has not been pasteurised. Pasteurisation was only developed in 1864 — before that all milk was raw and there were certainly issues around how dirty it was. Tuberculosis, brucellosis, and bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter were present in the milk.

However, the process of heating the milk then rapidly cooling it, de-natures not only these potentially harmful things, but also the beneficial bacteria, proteins, vitamins, and enzymes that it contains. The biggest irony of pasteurisation is that milk contains lactose and lactase. You need the latter to digest the former.

Pasteurisation destroys lactase, rendering milk indigestible to a not insignificant number of people. Steve also believes that homogenisation is not a good thing, bringing with it health implications as the fat globules are smashed into small pieces, able to pass through the gut walls without having been affected by the normal digestion process, and so his milk comes as I remember it from my childhood — topped with a thick layer of cream. As he pointed this out it occurred to me that mass-homogenisation had sort of crept up on me. At what point did the supermarkets dislike of the ring the cream leaves on the containers as it settles, become such a bargaining tool that all milk is now beaten into a homogenous mass?

Benefits

Legally, raw milk can only be bought direct from the producer, either direct from the farm, or as in this case, from a delivery round. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) tests that the herd and its milk go through are more rigorous than for a normal dairy herd, and Steve is meticulous about the overall health of his herd, and cleanliness in the milking parlour. lt’s about good practice. “We hand strip the teats before milking, which removes the fore-milk which may have been exposed to bad bacteria and dirt. We also let the cows stand out for 20 minutes after milking, to allow the teats to close up.” says Steve. This reduces the risk of g the teats being contaminated by anything they may come into contact with while still open.

Anecdotally there are tens of thousands of reports on the benefits of drinking raw milk. It is claimed to have cured asthma, eczema, allergies, hay fever and skin complaints, as well as lowering blood cholesterol and helping to fight infections. Not only that, it tastes good tool

Future plans

Early next year Steve plans to start producing raw butter and cream. As things stand, not all the milk they produce is being sold, and diversifying into other products will provide a neat solution. Surplus milk can be used for cream, and any excess cream can be made into butter.

Offering a mail-order service is an exciting move r too, with customers already asking for his milk from far and wide. Scotland has banned raw milk, so it will be interesting to see how many orders come from there! Demand is definitely increasing as public awareness grows, and Steve is looking at taking his milk to the London markets which will require investing in a state-of-the-art dispensing machine. That the Hooks are even thinking of this is testament to their conviction that raw milk is on the up. As Phil says: “Ten years ago, this just wouldn’t have happened. People wouldn’t have bought it. As they become better informed about their food and where it comes from, with the whole real food’ movement, the public is now open to trying and appreciating things like this.”

Recipes using raw milk

Raw milk makes delicious puddings. lt’s rich and creamy and perfect for this dish.

600mI (1 pint) raw milk
50g (2oz) pudding rice
15g (1/2oz) butter
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon,
nutmeg or mixed spice

METHOD
Pre-heat the oven to 170°C (325°F, gas 3).

Butter a 1.11 (2pt) oven-proof dish and add the milk, rice, butter and sugar. Put into the oven and bake for 2-21/2 hours. Stir 2-3 times during the first hour of cooking. Sprinkle with the spice and continue cooking until a golden brown crust has formed. Serve hot or cold.

Raw Milk Yoghurt

Making your own yoghurt is very easy. Raw milk makes runnier yoghurt, but a lot will depend on the starter you use. The easiest way to make yoghurt is to use a wide-necked Thermos flask. Measure the capacity, and this is how much milk you’ll need.

Raw milk
2-3 tbsp live plain yoghurt

Method

Measure the capacity of your Thermos flask and use this much milk. Put the milk into a pan and heat to 82°C (180°F). Allow to cool to 43°C (110°F) and stir in the yoghurt. Tip into the warmed Thermos
and leave for 6-8 hours or overnight. The longer you leave it, the tarter it will be.

Pour out of the Thermos (you may need to shake it) and into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate. You can use this to start your next batch and need never buy yoghurt again!

Tip. If you don’t have a thermometer, heat the milk until it is about to boil over, then cool it until you can keep your finger in it for 10 seconds without burning it.

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