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In an age of pasteurisation, what is the role of raw milk in farmhouse cheesemaking and its importance in enhancing our gut microbiomes and maintaining gut health?

Raw milk has long been a fundamental liquid food and for centuries humans both drank it and made cheese, cream and butter from it. But all that changed with the invention of pasteurisation in the 19^th century. During pasteurising the milk is heat-treated and its bacteria destroyed. Yet even in an age of pasteurisation, raw milk cheeses are still made and sold: Camembert de Normandie AOC, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Pitchfork Cheddar, to name a few. So why do cheesemakers still want to use raw milk? And why should we be eating it? 

A panel of dairy farmer and raw milk purveyor Steve Hook of Hook & Son, microbiome scientist and former Senior Scientist at ZOE Dr Emily Leeming, and cheesemonger Andy Swinscoe of The Courtyard Dairy join food writer Jenny Linford to discuss raw milk, why it matters and why it should be valued.  

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Dr Emily Leeming MSc PhD RD is a microbiome scientist, registered dietitian and chef. Previously Senior Scientist at ZOE, she is a scientific researcher at King’s College London. Dr Emily Leeming has authored numerous academic research papers across nutrition and the gut microbiome. Dr Emily Leeming’s first book, Genius Gut: How to Eat to Superpower your Second Brain will be published by Penguin in July 2024. She has a popular Substack called Second Brain, on the gut-brain connection. She frequently appears in the media including BBC Radio 4, The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, and The Guardian. 

Jenny Linford is a London-based food writer and editor, and a longstanding member of the Guild of Food Writers. She is the author of over 20 books, among them Great British Cheeses and The Missing Ingredient: The Curious Role of Time in Food and Flavour. Through her books and journalism for papers and magazines, she has followed and charted Britain’s food scene for over 30 years. Jenny produces and presents the popular A Slice of Cheese podcast series for Food FM Radio for which she interviews cheesemakers, cheesemongers, chefs, food writers, and fellow cheese-enthusiasts around the world. 

Steve Hook and father Phil Hook farm organically on the Pevensey Levels in East Sussex, running an 80 cow grass fed herd selling their milk as raw milk, cream, butter and yoghurt, and raw ice cream at Borough Market. Steve worked with the Food Standards Agency in the 2014 Raw Milk Sales Consultation, after pioneering nationwide raw milk sales online. Demand for raw milk has grown significantly since with particular interest in raw milk and its claimed health benefits. The love for their cows and low input traditional farming methods are showcased in the acclaimed Sundance documentary film The Moo Man. 

Andy Swinscoe is owner of The Courtyard Dairy, set up in 2012 with the ethos to support and champion only the best cheese available from the British Isles; protecting and encouraging the few remaining independent farmhouse cheese-makers. Andy & The Courtyard Dairy are winners of numerous awards including ‘Cheesemonger of The Year’, 'Best British Cheese Shop' and are  frequently listed as The Best Cheese Shop in the UK  by the press (The Financial Times 2015, The Sunday Times 2024) but these accolades are only given due their commitment to encouraging quality farmhouse cheese production. 

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