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Frequently Asked Questions
The Milk
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Are the cows pasture fed?
Yes the cow’s are pasture fed and we would not have it any other way!
What kind of cow breeds do your farmers milk?
Predominantly Jerseys because they are known to produce the richest milk of all dairy breeds.
Jersey cows were bred on the island of Jersey located in the English Channel. They are smaller than other breeds and their milk has one of the highest butterfat content, making it rich and creamy and some would say much more delicious than other cows' milk!
There are also a few Swiss Brown and Holstein in the heard.
Are the cows happy?
We like to think so! The farmers are hands on and they know their cows well, they strive for and environment of comfort and well-being for the cows. The cows are in the pasture in the beautiful midlands climate so what’s not to like? And remember a happy cow makes more milk.
Are the cows treated with antibiotics and is there antibiotics in your milk?
Just as we treat ourselves and our children, if necessary the farmer will treat his cows with antibiotics. They are often similar medications.
The farmers discards any milk that comes from a cow treated with antibiotics.
We test the milk to ensure there is no antibiotics and the Cheese process will not work if there are antibiotics So of course there is not!
Do you remove the calves from their mothers?
They spend a few hours or longer with their calves (calves are up and walking almost immediately) and then the calves are placed in their private pen next to other calves so that they will not be exposed to dangers. This prevents a strong bond being formed with their mothers which makes it much worse for the calf and mother to be taken away at a later stage. The private pen provides the best way to monitor the calves to make sure they are eating and drinking. They are monitored for about 45 to 60 days when they are moved to group pens with other calves their age.
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The Cheese
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Is our cheese & yoghurt vegetarian?
Our cheeses are made with a non-animal rennet and we do not use any animal products in our cheese and yoghurt.
Is our cheese & yoghurt Halaal / Kosher?
We do not currently have Halaal or kosher certification. We can assure you that we use a vegetarian rennet/ Halaal & Kosher approved cultures and that there are no other animal product ingredients apart from milk in our range of cheeses and yoghurt. So there is no current reason why we can’t be certified. We definitely plan to look into in to certification in the future but being a small family business these things take time.
What is farmhouse, artisanal, handcrafted cheese?
Farmhouse has much to do with scale. In theory, farmhouse artisan cheese should be made by small-scale producers using milk from a known supply, a small farm, and with true connection to the land. When cheese-makers, for example, collect milk from 50 plus different farms and produce hundreds of tonnes of cheese a year. That’s not ‘farmhouse artisan cheese’ as far as the Gourmet Greek is concerned!
Farmhouse artisan cheese is made with milk from small producers who know their source of milk intimately, they know how it is produced, and they know it hasn’t travelled great distances to get to them. The Gourmet Greek champions the ideals of small farmhouse production – the smallest farmer we work with has 23 cows. The cheeses are made on our farm with great quality milk and using the traditional methods (hand working the curd, hand straining, etc.) that help to give the cheese and yoghurt greater depth of flavour and create a product unique to the farm.
