Crème De La Crème

Cream-on-top (or affectionally called crème de la crème here at Made By Cow) is not something you see often in milk these days…but those that grew up with milk from the milkman will remember it well.

So, what happened? We started processing milk, so much so that the texture of milk changes, and the delicious cream-on-top is lost. This process is called homogenisation, which basically heats the milk to melt the fat globules (AKA cream), changing their size from up to 18 micrometres (one millionth of a metre) to less than 2 micrometres, that’s an 88% difference in size. The milk is then pumped through a homogeniser, which disperses the fat evenly throughout the milk. This makes the milk even and consistent, like the milk you’re probably used to these days.

The homogenisation of milk has been around for a long time and has become a standard practice for many of the milk producers we know today. But here at Made By Cow, we don’t like to change things too much. We like to keep milk in its most natural form as that’s how nature intended…that means less processing and no homogenisation, which maintains the natural texture of the milk, cream and all! 

This means that when you open a bottle of our milk, you might notice a smooth layer of cream-on-top. This is how raw milk is meant to be, straight from the farm. Because our milk has not undergone homogenisation, over time the fat separates from the milk, allowing a layer of cream to rise to the top of the bottle. This cream layer is a sign that our milk is in its most natural form. 

So, what do you do with the cream – well that’s up to you! You can scoop it out and eat it, mix it back through the milk, or some people even pop the cream into their morning coffee. The longer you leave your bottle untouched in the fridge, the more delicious cream you will have, as you will notice it thicken over time. But if you want less cream-on-top, shake the bottle regularly and shake it well. How you enjoy your cream is up to you, we’re just happy to have real milk back in our fridges!