Colostrum tart, anyone? The wonder ingredient adopted by chefs and wellness gurus

Guests at Mýse, a restaurant in Hovingham, North Yorkshire, finish their meal with a bite-sized custard tart. It’s served just-warm and showered in freshly grated nutmeg, the pastry case brimful with a wobble not of your standard eggs, cream and sugar – but sweetened bovine colostrum.

Colostrum is the first milk produced by female mammals after giving birth and is vital for the newborn; its “liquid gold” moniker doesn’t just refer to the colour.

As puddings go, a bovine colostrum custard tart isn’t standard fare. But chef Josh Overington, who owns Mýse with his wife Victoria, is fine with that. “I wanted to create a provocative dish, one that would get people talking,” the chef says. He takes inspiration from historical recipes, drawn to less-used ingredients and the challenge of modernising them. So when his father-in-law, a former dairy farmer, told him about “beestings pie” (beestings is a traditional term for bovine colostrum) he had to give it a go.

Overington has a bit of fun with it. “I bring it to the table and say ‘this is beestings pie, made from local colostrum’. Then I run away. I see the shock in people’s faces, fear sometimes, then curiosity. Some ask if it’s human – it’s not. Some ask if it’s OK for a vegetarian – it is.”

Overington won’t reveal the recipe beyond saying that it involves only colostrum and sugar; it’s so rich it sets by just being warmed, no eggs required. It changes every time the team makes it, he says, sometimes taking two minutes, sometimes 30. “No idea why. One chef has to stand there and make it because if you turn your back it scrambles. It’s one of the most stressful dishes we make. It has a mind of its own.”

What exactly is colostrum?

Also known as “first milk”, colostrum is produced by mammals soon after giving birth. It contains much more protein than regular milk and is packed with antibodies the newborn needs to build an immune system. After three or four days, colostrum becomes mature milk.

What does fresh bovine colostrum taste like?

“Like Jersey cream on steroids,” says Overington. “It’s rich, and there’s a grassiness to it.” Dan Barber, a chef and co-owner of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a pioneering farm-to-fork restaurant in upstate New York calls it “incredible”, giving “richness, complexity and beautiful colour”. Colostrum has been part of his kitchen repertoire ever since he opened the restaurant, naming it after his grandparents’ dairy farm, 20 years ago. He uses colostrum in ice cream, butter, yoghurt and cheese, including a dish of quince with Blue Hill Farm colostrum ice cream, cranberry sorbet and brown butter cream.

Where else might I find a colostrum dessert?

Kalvdans (“calf dance”) is a rich colostrum custard traditionally made in Sweden. Magnus Nilsson served a version at Fäviken (the chef’s globally acclaimed restaurant in central Sweden closed in 2019), topping the custard with a seasonal fruit gel such as blueberries or meadowsweet.

Ábrystir is an Icelandic baked pudding similar to crème caramel, made with ovine or bovine colostrum, and in Maharashtra, India, buffalo colostrum is sweetened and flavoured with cardamom or saffron to make kharvas, a snack served in wedges.

Is bovine colostrum good for humans too?

“It’s the healthiest milk you can drink,” says Barber. In Woodton, near Norwich, Rebecca Mayhew runs a 100 per cent pasture-fed, calf-at-foot dairy (where the calf is kept with its mother until it is old enough to wean naturally). She says demand for colostrum comes especially from former vegans or people with gut-related conditions or food intolerances who find it supports their health.

For Barber, the benefits are twofold: “The real wellness story with colostrum is not just about personal health, it’s about supporting an environment where cows are grazing on healthy pastures and produce flavourful, nutrient-packed milk for their calves and for us.”

Don’t the calves need all of it?

Farmer turned chef Rich Stevens would love to use bovine colostrum at Jericho, his 14-cover restaurant on the family farm in rural Nottinghamshire: it would be a perfect fit for his hyper-local ethos. “But farmers won’t sell it to me because it’s gold. It’s subjective, but Sally [Spence, Fulmore Farm Dairy, Cosby] who supplies our Jersey milk and cream, says colostrum is never a waste product. They freeze and keep any excess in case of emergencies. I’m concerned about it being billed as ‘the next big thing’.”

Others argue that there’s enough to share. “Modern dairy cows are far more productive than their predecessors,” says Mayhew. “We always put our calves first, and only take colostrum from cows that clearly have too much for their calf.” For the past 18 months, Mayhew has been selling unpasteurised colostrum but, with supply dictated by the animals, “there’s often a waiting list”.

At times, Overington has to go without: “Some weeks I might get eight litres, but this week there’s none.” He works with Helen Stanier who tends a Jersey herd at Grey Leys Farm near York. “Calves always have their full colostrum requirement,” says Stanier, adding that they need approximately 10 per cent of their body weight in colostrum – typically three to four litres – in the first six hours after birth. “We can tell by feeling the calf’s tummy, and our vet blood-tests to check for antibodies. Occasional surplus goes to Mýse but it’s not something that can be scaled up.”

Where can I buy it?

It’s not cheap – but then it is liquid gold. Old Hall Farm in Norfolk sells fresh bovine colostrum for £19.50 per litre. Also check out East Sussex dairy, Hook & Son, which sells it for £7 per 500ml at London’s Borough Market and various farmers’ markets in the London area. In both cases, the colostrum is unpasteurised, and supply is intermittent. It’s worth noting that bovine colostrum is a raw product, so all the usual caveats associated with that apply. It’s also not suitable for anyone with a dairy allergy.

What about powdered colostrum?

Pasteurised, frozen, then dried bovine colostrum is widely available as a sports supplement. Manufacturers claim that it builds strength and lean body mass, boosts the immune system and accelerates post-workout recovery, among other benefits.

More recently, powdered colostrum has been adopted by the wellness sector, with claims it can help with bloating, skin health, mood, energy and focus. Radiant celebrities sip it in smoothies on Tiktok. Sofia Richie Grainge (new mum, model, and daughter of singer Lionel Richie) created a colostrum-laced cherry smoothie in collaboration with Erewhon, Los Angeles’ ultra-bougie grocery store. It sells for a cool £16 ($21).

Sam Rice, a nutritionist and best-selling author of Supercharge Your Diet, advises caution: “Much larger, longer and truly independent studies are needed to prove any potential benefits [of colostrum supplements].”