Edible &
Useful Plants

Keeping a house cow, goat or sheep & How to make cheese, yoghurt and other dairy products
Ann Cliff

Ann Cliff’s thorough approach to this book is very similar to her earlier one on bees, The Bee Book. She looks at the story of milk, then how to care for dairy animals, and more specifically at cows, goats and sheep. Then the final chapters are on milk, cream, butter and cheese with clear and useful instructions for how to create your own milk based products. I can attest to the joy and heartache of keeping goats and how wonderful it is to have a seemingly endless supply of milk for soft and hard cheeses. Whether you want to embark on the journey of keeping dairy animals or just want to create butter, cheese, yoghurt, kefir, koumiss, ice-cream or soap then this is the book for you. Buy it from an independent bookshop, borrow it from the library or buy a copy online from the store.

Hyland House, 2011, PB, full-colour, 160 pp, $24.95

The Bee Book by Ann Cliff. At last an Australian book on keeping bees. Ann Cliff has had a lifetime of involvement in sustainable gardening and bees play an integral part. In this book she looks at native and European bees, then moves on to beekeeping basics, honey harvesting and beeswax, candles and other bee business (including how to make mead!). It’s not a glossy, coffee table book, but simple and straightforward with detailed information on where to get your bees, who to go to for help and other essential resources. If you are thinking of keeping your own bees this book would be a great place to start.

Borrow a copy from your library, buy one from your local bookshop or go to the store on this website and buy a copy online

The Bee Book, Ann Cliff, Manna Press, 2010, RRP $21.95