This book is for anyone who loves dairy products – milk, butter, yoghurt and especially cheese.

You might know Nick Haddow if you watch Gourmet Farmer, the SBS series fronted by Matthew Evans. Nick, a regular on the show, has also co-authored books with Matthew and another foodie, Ross O’Meara. Nick founded Bruny Island Cheese Co., on the island of the same name off Tasmania’s south-east coast. He is passionate about cheese in all its forms and has travelled the world learning from and working with some of the world’s best cheesemakers.

In his new book, Milk Made Nick aims to educate the reader about how to buy dairy products and how to consume them. He starts with milk, looking not only at cow’s milk but also at the milk from sheep, goats and buffalo. He also takes us on a tour of Australian and international cheesemakers. He interviews people who make fresh cheeses, surface-ripened cheeses, blue cheeses, semi-hard cheeses and cooked curd cheeses. He also interviews a maker of yoghurt. It was interesting to learn that of the 800 existing dairy breeds, more than three-quarters of the 1.3 billion cows on the planet are from a single breed; we are losing our biodiversity through industrialised agriculture. Nick writes: ‘The ubiquitous black-and-white Holsteins (also known as Friesians) have suffered hideous fate’. These cows can produce up to 60 litres of milk a day compared to 12–15 litres a day from other breeds. This has made them a target for artificial and selective breeding. The cow of today is now very different from its predecessors of even a few decades ago.

Nick is a traditionalist but he doesn’t let that stop him from talking with people who are using modern scientific methods to make outstanding cheeses.

This is as much a cookbook and a coffee-table book – with its beautiful imagery from photographer Alan Benson – as a book to read for the information it imparts. There are 75 recipes, some of which show how to make your own cheese and other that include cheese. Try the roast beetroot and feta tart!

You might find yourself secretly planning how you could fit a cow, a goat, or a sheep into your backyard.

Reviewed by Rowena Morcom