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February 08, 2025

Your milk sourcing guide

Given our deep love for all things milk… …it’s a wonder we haven’t yet put together a sourcing guide. But lo and behold, grab a glass and get ready to sip on some wisdom. But first, let us set the scene: Imagine walking at dawn through dewy grass toward a barn. Inside, a calm Jersey cow munches hay as you gently fill a pail with warm, frothy milk. The scent is sweet and the liquid is alive: teeming with the same probiotic richness and creamy goodness our ancestors cherished. For millennia, before factories and processing plants, families around the world started their day with raw, unpasteurised, unhomogenised milk straight from the source. This guide invites you to rediscover that ancestral experience. The nutritional riches of raw milk Raw milk is a living, whole food, often poetically called “white blood” for its vitality. Unlike processed milk, raw milk comes straight from the animal with nothing added or removed, preserving a spectrum of nutrients in their natural state In short, raw milk is a nutrient-dense, enzyme-rich, probiotic powerhouse. It delivers a package of synergistic nutrition as nature intended,  a package that is partly unraveled when milk is industrially processed. To appreciate just how processing changes milk, let’s compare raw milk with its modern, treated counterparts. Homogenised vs unhomogenised In raw milk’s natural state, cream rises to the top: a luscious layer of butterfat that pre-industrial families would skim for butter or savour in each creamy sip. What is homogenisation? In blunt terms, it’s a forceful restructuring of milk. The milk is blasted at high pressure through tiny nozzles, violently shattering the fat globules into microscopic fragments. The goal is purely cosmetic: to eliminate the cream line and produce a uniform texture so the milk on store shelves looks consistently smooth and doesn’t separate. Homogenisation doesn’t add or remove ingredients, but it radically alters milk's architecture Structure influences function: those tiny fat particles in homogenised milk behave differently in our bodies. When milk fat is unnaturally fragmented, the normal digestion process is disrupted. Instead of being gradually broken down in the intestines, homogenised fat globules (and the proteins hitchhiking on them) are absorbed more rapidly or even pass through the gut wall partially undigested Pasturised vs unpasturised Pasteurisation, the process of heating milk to kill potential pathogens, was introduced to combat disease in an era of questionable hygiene standards. If homogenisation is a structural shake up, pasteurisation is a fire test. Named after Louis Pasteur, this process involves heating milk (usually to about 72°C for 15 seconds) to kill potential pathogens. But what does this blast of heat do to milk itself? Imagine the delicate emulsion that is fresh milk: loaded with active enzymes, tiny immune proteins, vitamins, and billions of friendly bacteria from the cow and environment.  Raw milk is alive in every sense, under a microscope it’s a bustling city of biochemical activity. When we pasteurise, we essentially sterilise this living food And beyond vitamins, there’s the matter of digestion and tolerance: pasteurised milk is one of the most common food allergens, known to trigger sensitivities in many people Consider lactose intolerance: the inability to digest milk sugar lactose. A remarkable thing happens with raw milk: it can “self-digest” to a degree, because it contains lactase-producing bacteria and other enzymes that aid in breaking down lactose. Many people who get cramps or bloating from a glass of store milk report no trouble drinking raw farm fresh milk Raw milk even contains compounds like immunoglobulins and lactoferrin, and diverse microbial flora that some studies suggest can prime the immune system and even correlate with lower rates of asthma and allergies in children A1 vs. A2 Not all milk is created equal, and one of the most fascinating divides is invisible to the naked eye, it’s in the proteins. Specifically, the casein proteins in milk can come in different forms, known as A1 and A2 beta-casein. This tiny genetic variation has big implications. Long ago, all domesticated cows produced A2-type beta-casein, a protein very similar to what’s found in human breast milk and other mammals. But thousands of years ago, a single genetic mutation occurred in European dairy herds, and A1 beta-casein was born This one change (a difference of just one amino acid in the protein chain) spread through certain breeds of cows. Today, most Holstein and Friesian cows,  the typical black-and-white cows of industrial dairies, produce a mixture of A1 and A2 casein (or predominantly A1). Meanwhile, old breeds like Guernsey and Jersey cows, and most goats, sheep, and water buffalo, still produce purely A2 casein. It’s a hidden diversity in our milk supply, and it might explain a lot about why some people tolerate certain dairy products but not others. Why does A1 vs A2 matter? The core issue revolves around how these proteins break down during digestion. When A1 beta-casein is digested, it tends to release a bioactive peptide fragment called beta-casomorphin-7 (BCM-7) As the name suggests, this peptide can bind to opioid receptors in the body, the same types of receptors triggered by morphine,  though of course at a much milder level. BCM-7 has been shown to potentially slow gut motility and provoke inflammation in the digestive tract A2 beta-casein, by contrast, does not break down into BCM-7. Its amino acid sequence remains intact, and our digestion handles it without releasing that inflammatory opioid fragment. This difference might explain why many people who experience discomfort with standard milk (A1/A2 blend) report no issues when drinking A2 milk. From a holistic perspective, A2 milk is simply closer to the milk our own species makes, and thus closer to what our bodies expect.  The perfect food in all of its perfect variations One of the most beautiful aspects of milk is that it’s a universal food with countless expressions. Each species’ milk offers a unique twist on the theme of nature’s perfect nourishment. Cow’s milk: The classic and most common milk on tables worldwide. Beloved by us, and hopefully you too, it needs little explanation. Goat’s milk: Tangy sweet and silky, goat’s milk has been cherished since Biblical times. If cow's milk has ever caused you discomfort, goat's milk may be the perfect alternative. Goat’s milk fat globules are naturally much smaller than those in cow’s milk, and because of its composition, it forms a softer curd in the stomach, aiding digestion. It’s also a touch lower in lactose.  Sheep’s milk: Rarely found in the average dairy aisle, sheep’s milk is the secret ingredient behind some of the world’s finest cheeses (think Roquefort or pecorino romano). On its own, sheep’s milk is decadently rich and ultra creamy.  For those lucky enough to get it fresh, it’s a heavenly drink. Sheep’s milk is arguably the most nutrient-dense of them all: it can contain nearly double the protein and fat of cow’s milk, and significantly higher levels of essential vitamins and minerals. A treasure trove of nutrients. It’s the perfect food in a very cosy, concentrated form. Buffalo’s milk: For an experience of pure indulgence, buffalo milk delivers. Water buffalo produce milk that is porcelain-white and dramatically creamy. In fact, buffalo milk typically contains around twice the fat of cow’s milk, we’re talking about 8% and upwards fat content. It’s also higher in protein and minerals like calcium and phosphorus than cow’s milk. Nutritionally, it’s a calorie-dense, vitamin rich drink, providing more Vitamin A (hence the brilliant white colour, as buffalo convert beta-carotene to Vitamin A) and calcium than cow’s milk The big question... is raw milk safe? Perhaps the most charged debate surrounding raw milk is not about taste or nutrition, but safety. After all, every benefit of raw milk doesn’t mean much if the milk could make you sick. So, is raw milk safe to drink? Most of the outbreaks on record trace back to milk that was never intended to be consumed raw in the first place:  the raw milk that caused deadly outbreaks a century ago in cities came from squalid stables, where sick cows were fed distillery waste, it was a far cry from the fresh, clean milk a farm family would drink themselves. Unfortunately, the legacy of those “bad old days” has coloured public perception of raw milk ever since. Yet when raw milk is produced with rigorous standards:  clean equipment and healthy cows, the risk of illness is extremely low, comparable to other common foods. You are statistically more likely to get sick from eating deli meats, seafood, or even fresh produce than from properly produced raw milk. Misconceptions about raw milk safety abound. One common belief is that raw milk is usually teeming with dangerous bacteria. In reality, high quality raw milk often has a robust population of beneficial lactic-acid bacteria that can inhibit the growth of pathogens. Raw milk, when clean, will sour naturally (think kefir or yogurt) rather than putrefy.  Raw milk is the product of a profound natural alchemy: grass, water, and sunshine transformed by an animal’s body into a silky nourishment for its young. In choosing to drink raw milk, we tap into that ancient cycle of life and health. We vote for a food system that honours tradition, flavour, and vitality over just shelf life and convenience. Every creamy, delicious sip is a connection to our ancestry and to the earth. Our Organised milk checklist:1. Know your source Source your milk from a farm you trust with impeccable standards. Look for grass-fed herds, clean barn practices, and frequent testing. Raw milk’s safety and nutritional superiority shine brightest when it’s produced by farmers who treat it like the sacred food it is. Don’t hesitate to talk to your farmer or vendor, transparency is a hallmark of quality in the raw milk world.  2. Trust your body's feedback Pay attention to how different milks make you feel. Some people thrive on cow’s milk, while others find goat or sheep milk more agreeable. If you’ve experienced bloating or discomfort with regular milk, try a switch:  perhaps to A2 milk, or to goat’s milk.  Give your body time to adjust, your body’s feedback is the best indicator of what suits you. Many folks are amazed to discover that what they thought was “lactose intolerance” was actually an intolerance to industrial milk. 3. As close to natural as possible That means unpasteurised, unhomogenised, and from animals raised on their natural diet. If raw milk isn’t accessible or legal in your area, seek low temp pasteurised, non homogenised milk as the next best thing.