National Finalist in delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards

Earlier in the month we found out that we were National Finalists in the Dairy category in this year’s delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards.

What an honour!

As most of you know by now, our philosophy is simple – happy cows means delicious milk. This is at the heart of everything we do, from soil health and pasture management, to the daily (often hourly) gentle love and care of our cows. 

We work hard to make real dairy products that are simple and pure, and are thrilled to be recognised by delicious. for doing something we love every day.

This year the delicious. Awards took a more holistic approach with judges taste testing the full Schulz Organic Dairy product range from our hallmark Full Cream Milk through to our luscious herb infused Organic Quark. This year’s judging panel included the culinary expertise of  Alla Wolf-Tasker,  Andrew McConnell,  Jo Barrett,  Josh Niland,  Lennox Hastie,  Matt Moran,  Matt Stone and Peter Gilmore.

We would like to acknowledge the other great dairy producers in our category and wish everyone the best of luck. 

Winners will be announced in the September issue of delicious. 

Schulz Shorts: Shari Armstrong, Trainee - Farm Operations

Tell us what you do at Schulz in 25 words or less.

A bit of everything honestly! I’m completing a Traineeship in Agriculture (Dairy) and learning how to take care of the animals and the land at Schulz Organic Dairy. At the moment I am helping with milking and calving, and also establishing a happy colony of bees. It’s great I can bring this passion with me onto the farm and incorporate it into my job.

If someone was making a movie about your life, who would you want to play you?

I wouldn't want a movie made about my life! I’m much more inspired by other people’s lives and ideas. 

What’s your earliest dairy memory?

When I began working at Schulz Organic Dairy, I wondered if I’d be cut out for farm life. I have a retail background so farming is a very different job! Some days it is hard, physical work but it’s always very rewarding. And there is definitely more cow poo than I had ever imagined!

What’s the most unusual way to use a Schulz product?

Well, the most unusual way I’ve used Schulz in the past is by reusing one of the returnable Milk in Glass bottles as a vase!

If you were stranded on a desert island what three things would you take with you? 

I would take my partner for good company and good conversation. My dog, as she is the sweetest thing, and a beehive because keeping bees is fascinating. 

Shari's Bees on the Schulz Farm

Tell us your favourite anecdote of life on the farm.
The typical farmer comment: “She’ll be right!” Rarely do days on the farm run to plan but we always get there in the end. 

What would your last meal be?

Homemade pizzas made with friends. 

What is your go-to knock off drink? 

I’m not much of a drinker, but I do like an icy cold cider on a hot afternoon. 

Milk in Glass: Our Three Year Report

Well, would you look at that – our Schulz Organic Dairy Milk in Glass project is celebrating its third birthday. They say time flies when you’re having fun, and for the team here at Schulz fun looks like keeping as much plastic out of our business as possible!*

(*More on this later…)

Our Milk in Glass story started back in October 2017 when we first started providing milk in returnable, refillable glass bottles at our Farmers Markets. Why? Well, as our founder Simon Schulz said at the time: “I'm mindful of how bad single-use plastics are for our environment and I feel really uncomfortable that as a business we contribute to the problem.”

“I trialled glass-bottled milk at our stand at Farmers Markets,” he recounts. “We accepted returns of these same glass bottles to clean, refill and resell them. On our first week we sold out within thirty minutes, and the demand just kept growing.”

So you could say we were onto a good thing.

In August 2018 we launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund the equipment needed to release 3000 glass bottles a week to our retailers. We overshot our funding target, and voila! Milk in Glass was released to the world. We had a wonderful cohort of founding retailers join us from day one, as well as many loyal customers who quickly converted to the new way of buying (and returning) their bottles of milk.

The challenges of Covid have meant that bottle return rates have slightly dropped over the last three years – the average return rate is currently 74% – but we also know that there’s a lot of love out there for our bottles and they are somewhat of a collectors’ item! For those of you who are regularly returning, congratulations on your cleanliness and preparation. For the best results, we need your returned bottles to be sparkling clean and free from lids and collars. More often than not, this is what we receive – thank you.

In 2021 we upped the environmental ante when we introduced a pilot partnership with Rethink Recycling Co-op to help recycle the plastic lids and collars. Although our lid collection collaboration with Rethink Recycle is currently paused due to to a processing issue, stay tuned for the next phase of the pilot program. We also won a whole bunch of awards last year – some for the milk and some for the glass – which reminded us just how valued this product is by both consumers and the industry.

But while all the awards are nice, it’s the plastic-saved results that really do the talking: over the last three years we have diverted 26.8 tonnes of plastic from landfill. That’s the equivalent weight of two massive farm tractors, or 60 Jersey cows!

Thank you to EVERYONE – customers, retailers, staff, supporters – who have helped us build to this result. It’s a brilliant effort, and it is still only the beginning of what we can achieve. Onwards and upwards for Schulz Milk in Glass!

So, what are we doing next? Well, with Milk in Glass flourishing we’re hoping to add more Victorian retailers to our stockist list in 2022. And our drive towards packaging innovation certainly hasn’t stalled, as we’re about to launch a brand new product in fully compostable packaging!

Keen followers of our social media accounts will know what we’re talking about… and for everyone else, stay tuned for a tasty new Schulz Organic Dairy product that is due to launch very soon!

Schulz Shorts: Rodney, Our Head Butter Maker

Tell us what you do at Schulz in 25 words or less.

I’m the Production Manager and Head Butter and Cheesemaker at Schulz Organic Dairy in Timboon.

If someone was making a movie about your life, who would you want to play you?

Keanu Reeves. While the appearance and fame may be less obvious - the age is identical! We share the same birthday, the second of September.

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A post shared by Keanu Reeves (@keanureevesofflcial_)

IG: @keanureevesofficial_ 

What’s your earliest dairy memory?

I was only four years old, my dad used to work at a butter factory in Chilwell, Geelong. It was right around the corner from where we lived at the time and I remember walking through with my parents, it was amazing!

How do you have your coffee?

I’m not too fussy. I start the day with a strong coffee with Schulz Organic Milk and no sugar. 

What Schulz product can you never say no to?

I’d have to say leftover whey and buttermilk. Drinking the whey helps me to stay hydrated during production and I save the leftover buttermilk for a stack of fluffy pancakes on the weekends with my wife.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you take with you? 

If I was stranded on a desert island then it wouldn’t have been planned… 

Tell us your favourite anecdote of life on the farm.

The freedom you have and the freedom you don’t.

What would your last meal be?

A slow-roasted leg of lamb with butter slathered over the spuds (maybe even a dollop of Schulz Organic Quark).

What is your go-to knock off drink? 

An ice-cold lime soda goes down a treat. 

PRODUCT FOCUS: YOGURT

Our approach to our products is always the same – produce the best milk and make the purest products possible. And our yogurt is certainly pure.

We start with our Certified Organic Milk and then simply add probiotic cultures, acidophilus, Bifidus, and L. Casein. And as is the case with all of our products, we prefer not to homogenise the milk we use in our yogurts, as we believe that when it comes to great dairy, less is more.

How do we create our delicious yogurt?

We make our yogurt by 'milking and making' at the same time. This technique guarantees that the milk used is the freshest it can be so the yogurt has a richer flavour and a uniform texture. 

First, we pasteurise our certified organic milk for a few minutes at 80C. This denatures the proteins, enabling them to bind and form a firmer yogurt.

Then we chill it to a more temperate temperature and add our culture strains: probiotic cultures, acidophilus, Bifidus, L. Casein, and traditional Greek culture (for our Greek Yogurt). After around 20 minutes of inoculation, it's time to pour, pack, seal, date, and weigh! 

Once packaged, the yogurt is placed in an incubator and kept at roughly 40 degrees overnight before being progressively lowered to a usual refrigerator temperature of 3-4 degrees Celsius over the course of a 24 hours.

Because we don't use any stabilisers or gelatine in our products, each yogurt is tub-set and topped with a thick layer of cream.

Natural or Greek: What’s the difference?

The main difference is that we add different bacteria cultures between Natural Yogurt and Greek Yogurt. Natural yogurt is a pro-biotic yogurt that is lighter and milder in flavour. The different cultures transform the Greek Yogurt texture and change the way it tastes, this means that it is a heavier and tarter yogurt.

What makes our yogurt the best?

Our nutrient-dense pot-set yogurt is an excellent source of protein and calcium. Vitamins, potassium, and magnesium are also present. And it doesn't stop there! Yogurt may also boost metabolism and help with muscle rehabilitation. You read our rundown of Five Health Benefits of Eating Organic Yogurt for more tips.

Our creamy organic yogurts are a favourite staple among our customers like Kay, “We always use plain yogurt instead of sour cream or cream to go with curries, tacos, baked potatoes and cakes. Also mix yogurt into whipped cream to go with desserts, even on pavlova. Also, use yogurt instead of buttermilk or sour cream in cake baking. Works a charm!” - Kay, Schulz Customer and Devotee.

We've had a lot of positive comments regarding our yogurt's wonderful flavour and adaptability for both sweet and savoury recipes. Like our Fig and honey yogurt cheesecake, Schulz Natural yogurt Dip for Zucchini Fritters, Upsidedown Rhubarb Yogurt Cake. You can also check out our Summer Yogurt Recipes for Yogurt Lovers. 

(Pictured Julia Ostro’s Upsidedown Rhubarb yogurt Cake)

PRODUCT FOCUS: FETTA

Why Our Fetta is Better

Here at Schulz Organic Dairy, our Fetta is handmade on-site from our gently pasteurised, fully certified organic full cream cows milk.

We did a lot of product testing when making our fetta to get just the right amount of softness. Our fetta isn't crumbly or rubbery, but it still holds its form. This makes it perfect for baking and cooking, as it keeps its shape without losing flavour or softness. 

Schulz fetta is smooth and creamy, with tangy delicious flavour from the added cultures. We love serving it on our cheese platters at our on-site Creamery & Cafe topped with a bit of olive oil and herbs or mixing it into fresh summer salads. It's also a creamy addition to the veggie toastie too (drool🤤). 

How we make our Fetta

Our fetta cheese starts with organic milk directly from the farm. We then add lactic acid and bacteria cultures to sour the milk and trigger fermentation. The cultures are what gives the cheese its delicious, tangy flavour. Next, the milk is treated with non-animal rennet enzymes to separate the solid milk curds from the whey.

Once the curds have been entirely separated from the whey, they are chopped into little blocks and put in our specialised moulds. ​​After 24 hours we add salt, and then transfer the blocks into containers to age and enhance the flavour.

After a few days, the fetta blocks are ready to be sliced into smaller pieces and packaged in containers with either our liquid salty brine, or our spice-infused oil flavoured with dill, onion, garlic, bay leaf, peppers and chilli flakes (which is only available at our Creamery & Cafe!).

What’s so good about fetta?

Not only is fetta delicious, it's a great source of calcium, iron and folate too. All these minerals in fetta help build and maintain strong bones. Fetta also has a lower calorie and fat content than other aged cheeses, making it the perfect cheese for those who are watching their waistlines.

Fetta is incredibly versatile and can be used in a variety of dishes. Here are just a few ideas:

• Serve as a great entertaining entree in this broad bean and feta dip. 

• Present it beautifully atop roasted and steamed vegetables like in this spinach, olive and fetta salad with oregano and salsa verde. 

• Serve it in a wholesome and filling family dinner like Julia Ostro's traditional spinach and fetta tart. If you are feeling a bit adventurous in the kitchen you could try it in this fetta cheesecake with muscat jelly and almond crumble. 

Let us know your favourite fetta recipes below!