Confused About Raw Milk and Cream

shellyr44 · #1 01/11/08, 07:37 PM

I've been lucky enough to get access to raw milk (only a $1 a gallon). It comes from a farmer that is able to sell to the public. Anyway, I've tried everything that have read to get the cream to come to the top so I can make butter. All I ever end up is with maybe 1/4 cup of cream. How much cream should I be getting from my gallon of milk and how long should I wait to get the cream off the top. Thanks for your help.

Delinda · #2 01/11/08, 07:48 PM

My goodness that is a great price, I thought I was getting a great price at $2. a gallon from my neighbor! Anyway the cream should rise overnight, I bought gallon after gallon to make my butter. I cannot tell you exactly how much cream you will get from a gallon, but I can say I probably used 4 or 5 gallons of milk to get enough cream to make a small churn of butter. I decided it really was not worth it since we don't use that much milk. Now if you had your own milk cow that would be a different story I quess.

farmwife · #3 01/11/08, 07:55 PM

I know if it is Holtein milk there will not be as much cream on the top. We have Jersey cows and we have about 1/2 of cream in a gallon of milk over the summer. However, right now it is still almost that, but because they are on hay it slacks off a little.

Hope that helps you!

shellyr44 · #4 01/11/08, 07:55 PM

Thanks, I can buy more milk but we don't drink alot so maybe I could use it to make yogurt too and maybe start making some cheese. I just could not pass up this bargain and it tastes really good.

RichieC · #5 01/11/08, 09:10 PM

Just because it is not pastuerized does not mean it is not homogenized. That's what used to be delivered to our house when I was a kid. You should ask the farmer.

**ladycat** · #6 01/11/08, 09:15 PM

$1 a gallon!!

I want some of that!!

Jennifer L. · #7 01/11/08, 09:22 PM

You won't be getting it at $1 a gallon for long. That's $11.60 a hundredweight. The farmer is not making any money at all at that price.

Jennifer

Quint · #8 01/12/08, 02:11 AM

Wow. I stopped at the convenience store the other day and paid 4.95 for a gallon of 2%.

Delrio · #9 01/12/08, 04:52 AM

We get ours for $1.25 a gallon and we get about an inch of cream on top!!

luvrulz · #10 01/12/08, 05:01 AM

can't be jersey milk! :-)

ceresone · #11 01/12/08, 07:10 AM

Either holstein milk--or perhaps its already been skimmed?

Beeman · #12 01/12/08, 08:16 AM

Different breeds give milk with different percentages of cream. This must not be a dairy selling the milk. Is this a person hand milking a cow or two? Is he also raising calfs on them?
Where are you that he's allowed to sell to the public?

#13 01/12/08, 08:34 AM

You might ask the farmer about it. It might be that he is already skimming much of the cream off for other purposes. He might be making cheese or butter and selling it also.

When I was growing up we shared a milk cow with a Uncle. It was a Black Angus and we seemed to always get plenty of cream to do what ever we wanted.

Jenn · #14 01/12/08, 09:25 AM

Are you sure he's not giving you skim milk? Maybe he sells it cheap because he is selling only the cream and feeding the rest to pigs feeder calves or neighbors.

I paid much more for raw organic milk but had the opposite (and appreciated) thing: the family used all skim milk and didn't use too much cream so the jersey milk I got seemed to have as much as 12-25% cream! I didn't mind- made lots of caramel. Sadly they live too far off for me to continue buying from them but neighbors have a few adolescent jerseys and may have some to spare when they come into milk....

Beeman · #15 01/12/08, 09:56 AM

Have him shake the cow before milking her.

Kmac15 · #16 01/12/08, 10:25 AM

I am paying $4 gallon here and get 2-3 inches of cream, it is a jersey

DocM · #17 01/12/08, 11:33 AM

At a $1 a gallon, the farmer is pre skimming your milk. You can bet on that.

paintlady · #18 01/12/08, 11:37 AM

You may want to have him stir the milk in the tank before you get it. You should get more cream that way.

jnap31 · #19 01/12/08, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jennifer L.

You won't be getting it at $1 a gallon for long. That's $11.60 a hundredweight. The farmer is not making any money at all at that price.

Jennifer

Thats right he will not be a farmer for long, I hand milk and lots want to buy but it's not worth the effort to me for $7 a gallon which is what I could get, truth is I would rather be working in the garden than milking!!

jersey girl · #20 01/12/08, 02:02 PM

That is not much cream, even for holstein milk. I agree that you should ask about what kind of milk it is, or is he not mixing the tank. Of course, I recommend jersey milk for the cream and richness. $1.00 a gallon is really cheap of course. Maybe you can buy cream for butter separate?
Joanie