Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

I really, really like Pepe Saya butter.

Once every couple of months, we make the short trek to their Tempe factory to stock up on supplies…

On our last visit, I had a conversation with Pierre Issa (Pepe). We both agreed that ten years ago a company such as theirs would have struggled – back then, folks were more dollar driven in their purchasing, and a butter specialist who sold his wares for more than double the supermarket price might not have survived.

Yet in 2013, not only are they surviving, but the Pepe Saya company is thriving. And for good reason too – their products are sublime.

We buy our eating butter from them, and it’s quite expensive – $7.50 per 225g (factory price). But it ticks all the right boxes for us – it’s made here in Sydney from grassfed Australian jersey cream, and seasoned with a mix of Olsson’s Kiln Dried and Murray River Pink salts (both Australian). Unlike some commercial butters, it doesn’t have water added to pad it out. It’s produced in small batches, with great care, and is so flavoursome that a little goes a long way – a single wheel will often last us several weeks.

Needless to say, we’re not buying Pepe Saya butter for baking or cooking, but I don’t think that’s what it’s made for. It’s the perfect accompaniment to my sourdough loaves, and a product that I’m extremely happy to be feeding my sons.

Every time we visit the factory, we find that they’ve expanded their range just a little bit.  This week, we brought home a tub of their fabulous Creme Fraiche ($12/litre) – a very thick and rich sour cream from which the butter is churned…

Inspired by Lizzy’s post, we also bought a jar of the new Pepe Saya ghee ($10/jar)…

It’s golden and crumbly and smells amazing…

We don’t have any affiliation with the Pepe Saya company, but we are huge fans of both their products and their high quality approach. If you’re an Aussie, and particularly if you’re a Sydneysider, I’d urge you to seek out their products and try them for yourself. If we want to keep small companies like this in business, it’s important that we support them!

. . . . .

Pepe Saya
Factory: Unit 4, 3 Wood Street, Tempe NSW 2044
Phone: +61 2 9559 1113
Email : info@pepesaya.com.au
Website: www.pepesaya.com.au

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Cousin Andrew has a house cow.

She’s the most placid creature ever, and will stand patiently in the field while Andy milks her.  The general consensus among Pete’s uncles is that she was probably hand raised and bottle fed, which would explain why she’s so completely at ease with human beings.  Her name is Milko.

We were in Mudgee (rural NSW) last weekend for Pete’s twin uncles’ 70th birthday.  It was a wonderful day – almost all of Pete’s maternal aunts and uncles were there, as well as many of his cousins and their families.  My sister-in-laws, brother-in-law and nephew drove down from Orange to join in the festivities. Pete’s mum passed away last year, and any opportunity to spend time with her siblings is eagerly sought and dearly treasured.

I was greeted on arrival by a sharp smack to the bottom from cousin Jono – a somewhat sexist greeting that had Uncle Bobby up in arms. I pointed out that I’d posted a photo of Jono in a lycra Spiderman costume on my blog, so payback was probably due. Having said that, here’s the photo for anyone who missed it the first time (hehe)…

The party was held at Andrew and Rachel’s property, and began with a delicious catered lunch – full credit to the chef who was asked to serve the meal an hour after the appointed time and still managed to keep the beef rare and the chicken tender…

We ate, and drank, and laughed…and drank a bit more…and several hours (and bottles) later, decided to make butter.  Milko’s rich cream from the previous two days was in the fridge…

Rachel dug out her new KitchenAid – notice we’re still drinking at this point…

It took several minutes for the lightly salted cream to split…

The butter was drained and rinsed in ice water, then beaten with a spatula to get the last of the whey out.

Eight hours after the party started, those of us who were still hanging around and refusing to go back to our motels were eating rare roast beef rolls with freshly churned butter and hot English mustard…

We drove back to Sydney the following day, stopping at the Windamere Dam on the way…

The dam was completed in 1984 to provide water to the surrounding areas…

Relaxed weekends spent with family – does it get any better than that?

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