Here you can buy creamy soft, fresh homemade milk in Baranya County!

One of the most important farms in Baranya dealing with fresh milk is the Tejhely (Milkhouse) in Szilágy. Viktor Bachesz and his wife, Dia Ratting, are primarily involved in Hungarian spotted dairy cattle farming and secondarily in crop production. On their organic pasture, 50 cows graze from early spring to late autumn; 22 of them are milked every day. The milk is heat-treated by gentle pasteurisation, which does not damage the structure of the milk as much as traditional pasteurisation. Heating at a lower temperature preserves the valuable vitamins and nutrients in the milk. It is also worth saying a few words about the Hungarian spotted cow: although they produce less milk, their milk is more digestible, fattier, creamier and has a better casein content.

In Szilágy, they also produce their own high-quality fodder, thanks to the crops they grow. It is clear that Tejhely is an ecological farm, where sustainability is a priority. In this spirit, it is possible to buy their milk in returnable bottles from door-to-door, but you can also find their products in the Pécs market hall. You can even buy raw milk, which has been milked, filtered and cooled the day before.   

Gábor Illa started keeping goats on his Mecsek farm in 2011, and in just a few years, the three animals became a dairy herd of 30 Alpine goats. He has a personal, friendly relationship with all animals, and it shows in his milk (at least we think it does). Gábor and his wife, Kamilla, base their successful business on the fact that they keep their animals on fallow land, which gives their milk a unique taste typical of the Mecsek climate. The goats are fed a semi-controlled diet of mixed herbs and forage.

The Alpine goat is a breed that is widespread from France to central Europe, milks for a long time and has a very high milk yield. As they say, it is a misconception that goat’s milk is too fragrant or too fatty.

“The characteristic smell, which may be disturbing to many, can be transferred from the billy goat to the product (cheeses and milk), which is why the males live separately from the females on the Mecsekecske farm. Another interesting fact is that goat’s milk has half the molecule size of cow’s milk, making it much easier to digest. And thanks to fallowing, goats can also select plants that other animals are unable to consume. Thanks to this, its immune system is highly developed and its resistance – and ultimately its milk will be healthier,” adds Gábor.

The Mecsekecske farm produces 10 litres of fresh milk a day, which can be collected at the Pécs market hall, through the Pécs Basket Community or by home delivery. Their raw goat’s milk is labeled as ready to drink after boiling, but they add that if you prefer it that way, you can sip it without. At the Mecsek-side farm, you can also see how milk is made and learn about the secrets of permaculture farming.

The Mülner family has a three-hectare farm in Mozsgó, near Szigetvár, from where 180 litres of silky, soft cow’s milk is delivered to the collection points every day. There are 8 milking cows, 50 percent of which are Hungarian spotted cows and 50 percent Holstein-Friesian cows. The cows are kept outdoors all winter and summer, and are only confined to the milking parlour for milking. The milk milked here is not separated or skimmed, i.e. it is full milk and therefore has a much higher fat content (more than 4 percent). Despite the fact that we are talking about fresh milk, milk from Mozsgó will keep for up to 6 days in a sufficiently cold fridge (2-2.9 degrees Celsius).

From Zoltán Mülner and his wife, Zoltánné Mülner, we can buy real, preservative-free products, which we can pick up on Saturdays at the Búza Square market in Pécs. It is safe to say that it is worth trying their products, but be careful; you may never go back to the store-bought, preserved version.