Early each morning fresh Jersey milk is delivered to Stapleton.
First the cream is separated from the skim milk which is then pasteurised. We then cool the skim milk so that it is just warm. At this point we add our special cultures (Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptocococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Bifidobacterium bifidus) before it is filled into small containers for fermentation.
We still make yogurt in 30 litre containers, instead of large industrial vats. Unfortunately, in these days of mass-produced food, yogurt is usually made in a mechanical way, pumping it through pipelines from one stage of the process to the next. This breaks down the natural curd, which is then compensated for by the addition of thickeners such as gelatine or modified maize starch to conceal the effects of over-processing. We do not do this. Yogurt is still made traditionally at Stapleton.
The following morning, the finished yogurt has the prepared fruit gently stirred in, before it is filled into pots and labelled. We believe it is vital to know what is in the food we produce, so we start with raw ingredients whenever possible to produce top quality products. This makes us very different from most producers, who buy their fruit already processed. For instance, when we make toffee sauce, we begin with fresh jersey double cream and dark muscovado sugar. For blackberry yogurt, we take blackberries (which have been harvested and immediately frozen to retain their flavour) and poach lightly with unrefined sugar, in open pans. Our philosophy is simple; we believe that additives like flavouring and colouring are poor substitutes for wholesome raw ingredients, used with respect.