Today, milk is collected and transported in bulk tankers and the manufacture of dairy products is carried out in very large factories by mechanised and often fully automated processes. There is no more need for the dairy farmer’s wife to set the pans for the cream to rise, or to churn her own butter. She no longer coagulates milk with rennet, or strains the cheese curd through a cloth, setting aside the whey to feed the pig. The art of making dairy foods on the farms or at home has almost died.

But in recent years a strong trend has emerged, particularly among young people, towards ‘natural’ foods. In the case of dairy products this means – milk your own cow or goat. If this is not possible, buy the milk and make your own yoghurt, sour cream or even your own challenge to Stilton! But how?

Margaret Barca’s book provides answers. The author has diligently compiled from scattered authoritative literature, from practical cheesemakers, and from her own experience, the necessary information. The text of her book is clear and well-illustrated. The equipment recommended is simple and within the means of dedicated ‘do-it-your-selfers’ who are also advised how to improvise.

All this deserves praise.

There are, however, some inconsistencies and some minor errors. In the first chapter the author very wisely recommends the use of pasteurised milk, but does not insist on this practice in later chapters. Raw milk, or cream, even after ripening to develop ‘natural’ bacterial flora, may still carry pathogenic microorganisms when converted into dairy products. Such products may therefore present a health hazard, particularly to children.

Contrary to popular belief pasteurisation, if properly done, does not diminish significantly the nutritional value of milk. The advice should therefore be: use pasteurised milk or cream, or, if the milk is raw, pasteurise it yourself.

Still on nutrition, a correction is needed on page ninety-one. It is not true that butter ‘is an excellent source of proteins’. It only contains a trace of them. Butter is an excellent source of butterfat, and vitamins A and D, stop!

And a last small point. On page 102 Ms Barca says ‘the yoghurt bacteria is easily destroyed’. ‘Bacteria’ and ‘media’ are Latin plurals.

Margaret Barca’s attractively designed little book is a valuable and timely guide for all people who are keen to make their own dairy products.