“When I say the word ‘milk’, you probably think first of cow’s milk. This usually white liquid can appear decep­tively plain and innocuous. It can come across as dull, because it’s so ubiquitous; you can buy it everywhere, all the time, and it’s often cheaper than bottled water.”

This is a small extract from the start of Milk, a new book by Matthew Evans that delves into the fascinating subject of milk. Yet, what many people don’t realise is that milk is very much seasonal. Anyone that has a house cow, or goat, or sheep for milk, knows there may be times in the year when they won’t have milk. And even with commercial dairies, if you were able to regularly get your hands on milk from a single herd you’d notice seasonal differences. Changes in flavour and consistency fluctuate throughout the year. They are also affected by different breeds, the ages of animals, and by how long they’ve been lactating for in the season. So as ubiquitous as it is, it’s worth marvelling in the seasonality of that white liquid you pour in your tea.

Matthew Evans runs Fat Pig Farm with his partner Sadie and has been milking a very small herd of Jersey cows for several years. You can’t buy his milk, but if you were able to score an invite to his house, now is a very good time to visit. For, as Matthew delightfully explains in his latest farm newsletter, ‘they’re back on the Jersey cream’.

Fat Pig Farm, as many people know, is based near Cygnet. It’s a diverse, mixed farm with a restaurant that for many years was run by Matthew and Sadie. And despite not running the restaurant these days, there’s still plenty happening on the farm. There’s an upcoming farming conference and festival called GROUNDED, they share their land with other tenant farmers, including Keeley Bytheway who runs the market garden as her own business, and there are plans for the restaurant to be leased. And there are plenty of animals to be found, including chickens, goats, pigs and, of course, Matthew’s beloved cows.

Milk, as mentioned above, is the title of Matthew’s latest book. Billed as a ‘story of the original superfood’ it reveals so much about something people think they know, but really don’t. From genetic mutations to a city without babies, from swill dairies to baby formula, and from Tassie devil milk to plant-based options, it is a book that’s surprising, entertain­ing, and also important. At a time when we’re beginning to learn about the links between the health of our gut microbiome and mental health, and when cows are the poster animals for climate change, under­standing the benefits of milk and learning more about all the various forms of ‘milk’ feels timely.

Of course, not everyone has the option of a house cow. Or is lucky enough to sample Matthew’s Jersey cream in September. But Tasmania is home to some amazing dairies, and it’s worth appreciating and celebrating the wonder (and seasonality) of milk.

MATTHEW’S HOMEMADE YOGURT

This isn’t so much a recipe, as an homage to milk – it’s taken from the first page of Milk:

Yesterday I used a litre of this milk to make yoghurt. I heated it in a pan until soft cappuccino-like bubbles appeared at the edges, and then I stirred it often as it sat, just below a simmer, for a quarter of an hour. Long, slow heat changes the milk, making my yoghurt thicker, richer, more densely textured, and hence fuller flavoured. I took the saucepan from the flame to cool it, to just above body temperature.

This natural yoghurt is a living thing; the yeasts and bacteria essential to set and flavour it need warmth to thrive. I whisked in a tablespoon of a previous batch of yoghurt, inoculat­ing the milk with the good bacteria found in natural curd, then poured it into a glass jar and insulated it in a small cooler box.

The milk then sat on the bench for eight hours, after which it had set firm – though not as firm as it will become over the next week in the fridge.