Milk doesnt taste that great after a day

mamalisa · #21 11/21/07, 07:28 AM

Use a clean filter for the cow. The goat's milk will give the cow's milk a weird taste.

I never use bleach. Yuck! We wash with hot water, a squirt of unscented natural dish soap, and a splash of white vinegar. All jars/buckets/filter funnels are scalded after a thorough washing and left to air dry.

Milk keeps at least a week, then it happily turns itself into yogurt.

BTW, walmarts fake aveeno lotion makes a wonderful udder cream AND comes in a pump bottle so it stays clean.

francismilker · #22 11/21/07, 09:51 AM

I learned two things this lactation with my cows: 1) I stopped using bleach to clean my milker. (horrible after taste)

2) I use a strainer cloth rubber banded around the top of my milk pail when I"m hand milking. It keeps the straining mess in the barn and the possible debris never sits in the milk long enough for me to carry it to the house sloshing and stirring it in to the milk.

cjb · #23 11/21/07, 10:01 AM

I do milk through a filter but, as I said, it has been used on the goats just before. That might have an effect. Also, the cow is 3 months away from delivering a new calf and is only giving me 1-2 quarts per day. She is definitely towards the end of her lactation.

One encouraging thing - she seems to have really warmed up to me. She stands still in her stall to be milked now. I sit on a bale of straw and lean into her and she is starting to let down more easily. She also licks me when i come up to her face. Evidently, she likes me much more now that her calf is away from her.

royB · #24 11/21/07, 01:14 PM

There may be something closer and I have not actually used them yet but I was directed to Eurofins labs for testing.

They have several locations in the US and but you may have to ship to the one in Memphis for certain tests..

Roy

DJ in WA · #25 11/21/07, 09:08 PM

When I had goats and was trying to figure out the flavor problem, I heard all this. I supposedly wasn’t washing the goat right, I wasn’t feeding her right, I wasn’t washing the containers right, I wasn’t cooling the milk right, etc.

I got rid of the goats and got a cow, haven’t changed a thing, and voila, I haven’t had a flavor problem even once. I just throw it in the frig in 2 quart jars. Found some lost in there for 15 days and it still tasted fine.

My bet is that there is something about your cow that is the problem, or like Ronney said, maybe just the stage of lactation, though I haven’t had a problem in late stages.

I don’t see how washing the udder makes much difference as long as crap isn’t falling in the milk. How much bleach is going to be at the end of the teat getting into the milk? Very little if you’re washing it off with water. Though a ¼ cup bleach per gallon is an awfully strong solution, especially to spray directly on skin.

Bleach dissipates from water, quicker if water’s hot. That’s why a stock bleach-water solution must be in a closed container and made with cold water.

I sanitize my rag in dilute bleach (2 tsp per gallon water = 100 parts per million). I then throw the rag in the wash bucket and add hot water. By the time it gets out to the cow, I doubt there’s much bleach left.

sammyd · #26 11/21/07, 09:28 PM

For two weeks one summer the guy that owned the farm I was working into ownership on didn't get the feedlot cleaned on schedule and mastitis started to run rampant through the herd. He had me predip and postdip with straight clorox!!!!
Didn't affect the taste any, we still drank a gallon a day or better, and little kids can be verrry picky.

bumpus · #27 11/21/07, 10:03 PM

.
When milk sits for a while the cream separates and comes to the top.

If you pour a glass it will be mostly cream and later there will be no cream in the milk and it will taste different.

First thing is to mix the cream back into the milk by turning the container up side down slowly and couple of time and it will mix together.

NEVER and I repeat NEVER shake the milk because it will cause the milk to spoil much quicker.

Goats milk will do this spoiling faster than cows milk by shaking which destroys the milk and it's flavor.

Just turn it upside down and right side up two or three times,
but NEVER shake it to mix it.

bumpus
.

cjb · #28 11/22/07, 02:24 AM

Interesting Bumpus. I ALWAYS shake the milk. Maybe that's part of it.

The milk is consistently tasting great for 24 hours then turning cowy. I'm obviously doing something wrong.

bumpus · #29 11/22/07, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjb

Interesting Bumpus. I ALWAYS shake the milk. Maybe that's part of it.

The milk is consistently tasting great for 24 hours then turning cowy. I'm obviously doing something wrong.

A woman who has raised goat for many year told me about the milk spoiling quicker is you shake it.

I many be using the wrong term or word but I think she call them milk globules or something like that will not stand a lot of shaking. Mostly on goats milk which she sad was much more sensitive to shaking and breaking down and cause it to taste bad and start spoiling very quick.

She said to take the jug of milk and simply turn it upside down gently and slowly and hold it for a few seconds and then do this a couple of times and the milk will last much longer, and it will mix the cream if held upside down for a few second.

Works the same with any other milk even store bought.

Hang in there now and don't throw the cow out with the sour milk.

bumpus
.

JulieLou42 · #30 11/22/07, 06:33 PM

It's not the bleach, guys! I wash about 12 of her small washtowels every 3-4 days in the hottest water available with 1 cup of bleach in it in the wash machine. Rinse and dry either on line or in dryer. Her gallon plus of wash water has about 1 tablespoonful of bleach in it, along with the squirt of dish detergent, and is hot enough for me to bathe in.

It's the goat milk filter ... OR her food.

If you don't want to use the regular milk filters, get some white cotton batiste yardage from Fabric.com to cut up and use for filters, tho' the milk filters may do a better job. These will definitely take more labor to use than the regular milk filters, which are tossed after use...$7 per 100. [I use the batiste for my cheesecloth.]

This assumes use of S/S bucket.

darbyfamily · #31 11/22/07, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjb

I don't know about a lab to have the count done. Haven't ever even heard of that. I'll ask a local dairy to find out.

Thanks for the input. I'm trying not to get discouraged. It just doesn't feel worth it sometimes. We used to buy raw organic milk at the local farm but it is $10 gallon for cow and $12 a gallon for milk.

WOW... we get milk from the Amish dairy here for $2 a gallon!!!! I buy 10 gallons at a time, or did when we had a second fridge, and it would last us for more than a week!

Mickey · #32 11/23/07, 01:07 PM

I really have to agree with Julie here. I've been using bleach for probably 20 years or more and haven't ever had any problems with it. That is assuming none gets into the milk. The op said that he was being very clean so again, assuming that nothing is getting into the milk and it's being chilled quickly, I would suspect it might be something she's eating too.
I know that some goats have awful tasting milk no matter what you do (Togs are notorious for producing goaty tasting milk), and while I suppose it would be possible with a cow as well, I've never experienced it.
Mickey

cjb · #33 11/23/07, 01:59 PM

She is in the barn and just eating alfalfa, grass hay and a little grain. Can't imagine that would make her milk taste bad.

The most logical explanation to me is the end of lactation cycle statement. Maybe it is just concentrated ?

It tastes good for one day, then its bad.

DJ in WA · #34 11/23/07, 02:39 PM

Diet sounds fine. I was interested in what guys were saying about the SCC. That is the somatic cell count, and it goes up with mastitis. I have had a bad experience getting a cow from a dairy which "forgot" to tell me about her chronic mastitis they couldn't clear up. Low-grade type of mastitis that isn't obvious.

Anyway, seems that mastitis causes increase in milk of white blood cells (a type of somatic cell) which are needed to fight the infection. The white blood cells have enzymes which will break down the protein and fat in the milk causing poor flavor.

I hope this isn't your problem, but it is something to be aware of. Here's some reading:

http://www.nmconline.org/articles/sccquality.htm

Quote:

Mastitis causes milk SCC to increase. During mastitis, the types of somatic cells present in the milk change to mostly white blood cells, which add many proteolytic and lipoytic enzymes to milk. In addition, more blood serum leaks into the milk than usual. Dairy product quality defects resulting from mastitis are due to enzymatic breakdown of milk protein and fat.

Protein breakdown in milk produced by cows with clinical or subclinical mastitis is caused primarily by an enzyme called plasmin. Plasmin is found commonly both in milk and in blood plasma and can cause extensive damage to milk casein in the udder prior to milking. When milk is cooled, plasmin breaks down casein (a type of milk protein) much more slowly. Unfortunately, plasmin is extremely heat stable. Therefore, pasteurization cannot inactivate it and plasmin will continue to damage milk protein during dairy product manufacture and storage. Plasmin damages milk casein by breaking the orginal large protein chains into smaller fragments. As a result, the milk casein does not curdle properly during cheesemaking, and some small casein fragments and an increased amount of milk fat are lost into the cheese whey. This causes low cheese yield. Cheeses made form high SCC milk (800,000 to 1,000,000 cells per ml) also have a higher incidence of unclean flavors and pasty textures.

As milk SCC increases gradually, other quality characteristics of dairy products will also change gradually. In fluid milk, the rate of off-flavor development will increase. Rancid off-flavors due to increased lipase activity, bitter flavors due to proteolytic enzyme activity, and salty flavors due to a change in milk mineral balance will all gradually appear as SCC increases. In UHT shelf-stable milk, plasmin may cause milk to change from a liquid to a gel. Milk fat breakdown, on the other hand, tends to have an immediate impact on milk and dairy product flavor. Enzymes called lipases break down milk fat and release free fatty acids that produce off-flavors that are detectable at very low concentrations, especially in high fat products or dairy products with very mild flavors, such as butter or cream cheese.

Break

From a practical farm management viewpoint, prevention of mastitis is the key to high milk quality and high productivity per cow. Other preliminary data presented in the report indicate that milk quality may also decrease with stage of lactation and number of lactations.

cjb · #35 11/23/07, 04:11 PM

I could have her tested but, since she is due Feb 6th, I will be drying her up shortly anyway.

She has very little milk right now - I'm getting a little over a quart when milking her once per day. I will drink it right after chilling but throw any away that is left over 24 hours as it just doesn't taste that great.

I look forward to getting fresh milkl in Feb. If there are flavor problems then, I will address it.

This plan sound ok to all of you or should I be testing her count now?

On a related topic: her personality has improved drastically since the calf left. She seems to really like me and I can lean into her and milk her even without feed in front of her. She licks me when she sees me and bawls when I leave the barn. Unforunately , she is decidedly not halter broke and pulls away when I pull on her. I have to drive her from the rear. My son is fencing a small pasture next to the barn so I will be able to start putting her outside in nice weather.

Keeping a stall clean with a cow in it is just not my idea of a good time.

BTW: DJ - are you the guy that I talked to about buying your cow about a year ago? I can't remember but seems like it.

JulieLou42 · #36 11/23/07, 11:22 PM

CJB, YOU are her new calf! and she'll try to treat you accordingly, whatever that may be!!!

Good job!

Teacupliz · #37 11/24/07, 07:08 AM

YOU should treat her with a dry treat in case it is mastitis- get 4 tubes of tomorrow- this wil help clear or prevent problems when she freshens.
Do you have a CMT test for mastitis I for got to ask you?
Liz in NY

**gone-a-milkin** · #38 11/24/07, 11:31 AM

I was thinking that too, CMT...Its the 'California Mastitis Test" kit. Its 2 solutions that you mix together and add the milk. It is a good first indicator of high SCC.

DJ in WA · #39 11/24/07, 01:33 PM

CJB,
Yes, we spoke about a 3/4 Jersey heifer I had for sale - she went to a local guy who grew tired of his 10+ gallon daily Holstein for a family cow.

If it's unclear, "Tomorrow" is a brand of udder antibiotic used as preventive treatment when drying up, available in many feed stores. Today brand is for acute mastitis.

steff bugielski · #40 11/25/07, 05:08 AM

Just a thought for your taste problem. What do you keep your milk in ? Glass, plastic? Do you sanitize your containers prior to pouring in the milk. Milk protiens can build up on both glass and plastic and thus causing the milk to start to turn sooner.