We know there is a sommelier for wine but have you heard of a dairy sommelier before? Well, Fonterra is creating one soon and psst, we may now how you can register to be one. Just continue reading this article!
The Programme
World renowned dairy manufacturer, Fonterra has always ensure quality in the manufacturing of their products.
However, they have come to realise that although dairy products are a crucial part of our everyday lives, there are many of us who are still unable to differentiate or even understand the difference in taste of the ingredients used.
Therefore, a pioneer dairy sommelier program is introduced and fortunately we were among the lucky eight selected by Fonterra!
Sensitive to Senses
Since the whole programme is all about using your five senses. Therefore, we were reminded not to take anything that may compromise the sensitivity to our senses since milk has such subtle differences.
Unfortunately, we had too many cups of black coffee before the programme started. But, we were good to go after 30 minutes. Phew, that’s a relief! Since, we have an hour of dairy introduction, all is good.
Learn the ABCs of Dairy
Before you imagine us in white coats, safety goggles and bubbling colourful liquids, allow me to clarify. The programme involves you tasting cup after cup of milk. So, if you’re not too tolerant of milk I suggest you take some pills first. Don’t want you rushing back and forth to the toilet!
Now, that’s out of the way, let me ask you one thing, how many types of milk do you know is available in the market? Keep the answer to yourself and check the answer in the next paragraph.
The main 5 types of milk are UHT (ultra high temperature processing), pasteurised, powdered, full cream and low fat milk. People have the general misconception that the difference lies with the type of cow the milk is taken from but actually, the processing and the contents of milk are the ones that gave it.
For example, pasteurised milk has a subtler aftertaste and pale in colour compared to UHT milk which has a natural sweetness and slightly yellow hued. The explanation is quite simple.
The milk for both UHT and pasteurised come from the same raw source but through different processing temperature and time, the two types of milk are produced. UHT milk is put under higher temperature at a shorter period compared to the pasteurised one. Interesting!
The Connoiseur of Dairy is Here
For many people, milk is milk, regardless the slight differences. However, to be able to provide great quality and an array of dairy selection for the public to consume, requires a lot more than proper manufacturing and thorough research.
At the end of the day, it is all about the taste and feel. After tasting many, many cups of milk, you would start to appreciate it!
