Meet the producers of the crème de la crème of Australian full-cream milk.
What Alexandrina Cheese Company Pure Jersey Full Cream Milk, Mount Jagged, South Australia.
Who Dan and Krystyna McCaul, having established their dairy farm on the Fleurieu Peninsula 40 years ago, developed Alexandrina Cheese Company in 2001 as a means of saving their Jersey herd and staying independent rather than selling out to big milk conglomerates.
How About two-thirds of the fresh milk from the McCauls’ 89 Jersey cows goes towards making cheese, and the remaining third is sold as full-cream and skim milk. While Alexandrina Cheese produces only about 8,000 bottles of milk a month, the McCauls entered the 2014 Australian Grand Dairy Awards as a benchmarking exercise and were shocked to be awarded Australia’s Champion Milk. Judges praised the milk’s full flavour, a product of high butterfat and protein, and its rich colour.
Why The quality of Alexandrina’s pasteurised, unhomogenised milk and range of cheese (its vintage cheddar also won a silver medal at the 2008 World Jersey Cheese Awards) starts with the cows. The pampered Jersey herd feeds on pastures of clover grass on the McCauls’ 111-hectare property, with milk and cheese processed onsite.
Stockists Milk is available from the Alexandrina Cheese Company farm retail shop, which sees more than 36,000 visitors each year. It’s also sold at the Willunga and Adelaide Farmers’ Markets and in select delicatessens and food shops throughout the Fleurieu, Adelaide Hills and Adelaide area. (08) 8554 9666.
