Cheese, yoghurt, icecream ... nature's white gold is a star in the kitchen.
It is amazing what feelings and memories the smell of milk can conjure up.
As a child, my girlfriend's parents had a goat farm in rural Albany, and her job was to milk the goats. The only problem with that is that goats tend to urinate on themselves. As a result, to this day the smell of goat's milk will always, for her, be associated with urine, which is rather unfortunate.
And it's become a much bigger issue these days when we eat out, as delicious and very trendy goat cheeses are on menus everywhere.
On the upside, she has discovered delicious buffalo milk products to eat instead. We are fortunate to have our own produced here in New Zealand by the Wills family, who run water buffaloes on their Dairy Flat farm. Pam Wills is adamant there's nothing quite like it - and particularly none of the aftertaste associated with goat's or even cow's milk. It's also low in cholesterol and high in calcium.
At the La Cigale Market in Parnell on Saturday mornings or Clevedon Farmers Market on Sundays you can buy fresh Clevedon Valley Buffalo Company ricotta, mozzarella and yoghurt. The yoghurt, particularly, is an outstanding product, and we can't resist dropping a generous dollop on a wood-fired creme brulee pizza with candy apple and basil seeds.
Sheep's milk is typically used for producing feta, ricotta, pecorino romano, manchego and the French Roquefort cheeses. It is naturally homogenised and has smaller fat globules, making it more easily digested. It is also rich in vitamins and minerals and has up to twice as much calcium as cow's milk.
In the picturesque Upper Moutere hills near Nelson, the Beuke family turn this delicate milk into award-winning cheeses ranging from firm French Pyrenean style to the orange wash rind oozing with caramel notes.
Good old cow's milk has myriad culinary uses, too. It is fantastic for soaking lamb sweetbreads and wild venison as is a natural flusher of odours.
I have always been an avid fan of Aussie yoghurt, and for years the only yoghurt that resembled this for me was the Mahoe organic yoghurt made with certified organic milk from Puketona and, more recently, Piako Gourmet Yoghurt. Its surface is layered with fruit, offering a real taste and textural sensation.
All this talk has made me peckish, so I'm a off for a little goat's cheese, runny honey and almonds.
