We love Chef John, and we recently started growing a herd of American Milking Devon cows. This breed traces its lineage directly back to Devon, but they have become extremely rare (with less than a thousand animals in existence). I can’t wait to try to make this recipe with their milk.
This is truly a Hacker News moment. Genuine. Certified. Thank you for sharing, that's awesome! Are the Devon cows extremely rare, or the American Milking Devon cows?
The Devon breed were among the very first cattle brought to the New World and were once immensely popular. The American Milking Devon breed branched off of the Red Devon lines in the mid-20th century, as the later started to move away from dual-purpose in favor of meat production.
Now, both are relatively rare in comparison to common commercial dairy and meat breeds, respectively. The margins are too thin in commodity markets to justify breeding anything but the most productive animals (e.g. Angus).
As I understand it, the original Devon breed in England remains quite popular.
Very interesting! It would make sense to sail across to the New World with the cattle breeds which were immediately available by the ports, which from the British Isles were of course mostly in Devon.
> As I understand it, the original Devon breed in England remains quite popular.
I would say that's right; you definitely see them around in Devon, where they outnumber the Holstein-Friesians which seen to otherwise dominate the European dairy cow population.
In addition to being regionally available, the Devon breeds are well-rounded triple-purpose animals; in addition to providing meat and milk, they are suitable for draft (e.g. pulling carts and plows), though you don't see them used much for that in modern times.
