We believe that natural, unprocessed food with a clear provenance is the best and healthiest kind of food.
In 2019 we installed our first two 24/7 milk vending machines - a great way for customers to enjoy farm fresh milk in reusable glass bottles. After being approached by several shops wanting a machine on their premises, Dan realised we would never be able to run so many machines ourselves so, in typical farmer fashion, he came up with a solution: the DDC Milk Refill Station!
We launched our first 50L refills in 2020 and they are now making their way into independent businesses across Southern England. Designed and built by Dan himself, these sleek machines do not use any single-use plastic, unlike small pergal machines, and give smaller shops the opportunity to be pioneers in the refill revolution. We are all about innovation so watch this space for our next invention!
Our milk vending and refill machines allow our local customers to buy fresh milk within days of the cows being milked compared to the dozen days, several processes, and hundreds of miles travelled by your average supermarket milk.
Unlike large milk processors, we do not homogenise our milk. We very gently heat it up to 65 degrees and hold it there for half an hour. This is how we extend the shelf life of the milk whilst preserving the taste of raw milk by not changing its structure.
Then, you can fill up one of our reusable glass bottles or any receptacle you wish with fresh, local milk. As our whole milk is not standardised to an industry-defined fat content, the butterfats range from 3.6% to 4.2%, varying with the seasons and the cows’ dietary changes as well as the weather.
Homogenisation was brought in by large milk processors for purely aesthetical reasons – to stop milk from separating. It breaks down the fat globules to such a point that it is thought they can be absorbed through the lining of your stomach and into your bloodstream. By bypassing normal digestion in the stomach, the protein molecules attached to these fat globules are not completely assimilated which can lead to intolerances and allergies. So, by not homogenising our milk, it is easier to digest and the cream with naturally rise to the top - just give it a shake to mix it back in.
At our two local milk huts, you can fill up any bottle with 500ml or 1l of milk and purchase our glass bottles, along with our yoghurt, butter and creams.
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