Making Raw Milk Products

BHFarms · #1 02/08/13, 02:54 PM

Hello! This is my first post and although I have read the forum rules, please forgive me if I have overlooked something.

My name is Toni. We have a small farm in Arkansas, just big enough for us and some extended family and a little bit of profit (rabbits, chickens, pigs, 2 horses and a Jersey Cow). We purchased the dairy cow from my husband's cousin last year and she's due March 18th.

She's already dropped, and her bag is filling out, so I know that The Big Day will be any time now. My husband grew up with animals but I grew up with plants so this is all new to me. Compounding problems is the fact that my brain is wired so that I have to research the heck out of things before I feel comfortable starting something new. I'm a nerd. I have no intuition at all lol.

Anyway, my question for everyone is this: For those of you who hand milk and make your own dairy products, can you give me any tips? I don't want to waste any of the milk, but I'd like to learn how to make as many things as possible (and as simply as possible) with our milk. I looked online and got quite confused with the talk of cultures and microwaves and all that stuff. Is there some type of order of operations to get the most products out of each batch of milk? Do I have to purchase additives every time or can I make my own?

Please forgive my ignorance. I'll only get more freaked out the closer it gets to time for the calf. I don't know how to milk yet, either....so my husband is going to have to adjust his work schedule for a couple of weeks so he can teach me.

I swear I'm not a city girl

Thank you everyone!

Miss Kay · #2 02/08/13, 08:15 PM

Congratulations and welcome to the site. You might also want to vist this site for home milkers. http://familycow.proboards.com/

Well, here's what we do. We use lots of fresh milk. We also skim the cream off the top to make butter. The skim milk goes to the chickens or we make skim milk cheeses. There are lots of great books to teach you how to make cheese. It sounds harder than it is. It's really not. Get the largest double boiler you can find (mine is 4 gallons) and your in business. There are also some great sites to buy supplies for making cheese like the renet and wax. We also cook a lot of things that use milk and eggs (seems we have too much of both). Yogurt is simple. If you still have milk left over, pick up a feeder pig or two and raise some freezer pork. Start small and move up to something new once you feel comfortable with each new task.

CJBegins · #3 02/08/13, 09:25 PM

The Family Cow site is full of wonderful people and their tree of knowledge has lots of information to dig through.

There are many online sites that you can find that will help you will the different kinds of cheeses and cultures that you will need. There is a dairy section here on Homesteading today with lots of great information also.

Spend lots of time with your cow now, touching, brushing and moving her around now so that she understands that you are in charge and that good things come from you.

Happy Milking!

Carla

linn · #4 02/08/13, 10:46 PM

What an exciting time waiting for your first calf. It may take some practice, but I bet you will soon be milking like an old pro. Here is one of my favorite cheese making books, 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes: From Cheddar and Brie to Butter and Yogurt by Debra Amrein Boyes. I got it from Amazon.com, but your local library might have a copy.

matt_man · #5 02/09/13, 01:42 PM

My typical progression:

Milk Cow and Chill milk

Skim cream from milk and make butter - we feed the buttermilk to the pigs

Drink skimmed milk or make cheese - whey is fed to pigs but can be heated for ricotta

Vinegar cheeses are very easy and you can add any number of herbs or seasoning to them. Hard cheeses require more equipment. 30min Mozz is easy and you don't necessarily need to use a microwave. You can use 185* water to temper the curd and then brine it.

luvmyjersey1 · #6 02/09/13, 08:52 PM

I have learned a ton from "Home Cheese Making" by Ricki Carroll.

Make lots of butter (in the food processor), cottage cheese, ricotta, farmer's cheese. The hard cheeses are more difficult but really rewarding. Also greek yogurt in the crock pot (easyyyyy)

francismilker · #7 02/09/13, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt_man

My typical progression:

Milk Cow and Chill milk

Skim cream from milk and make butter - we feed the buttermilk to the pigs

Drink skimmed milk or make cheese - whey is fed to pigs but can be heated for ricotta

Vinegar cheeses are very easy and you can add any number of herbs or seasoning to them. Hard cheeses require more equipment. 30min Mozz is easy and you don't necessarily need to use a microwave. You can use 185* water to temper the curd and then brine it.

What he said. BTW, welcome to HT.

BHFarms · #8 02/26/13, 02:09 PM

Oh my gosh! So many replies and I have no idea how to mark my posts so I am notified!

Thank you, everyone! She still hasn't delivered, but I've been reading everything I can get my hands on. I'll bookmark those websites so I can read them as well.

I would love to learn how to make greek yogurt, soft cheeses, butter, sour cream, cottage cheese, and just about everything else imaginable because we use large amounts of all of it. We got the cow after I ran the numbers and realized that the cost of her upkeep would still save us about $400 month on dairy products....once we learn how to make them

Thank you for the warm welcome

linn · #9 02/26/13, 04:40 PM

Check out the "Dairy" forum of Homesteading Today. You will find a lot of good info there.

Callieslamb · #10 02/27/13, 05:57 AM

I found that time was the problem. I couldn't make hard cheese and sour cream and cream cheese in the same day. Not because of the milk or lack of cultures, but because of the time it took to do each one. I don't work for a paycheck so it wasn't that. Watchign the milk heat, cooling, culturing, curd forming. heating draining, pressing, pressing, pressing was difficult enough with laundry, cooking, etc. So I gave up trying to do it all. With a pig or chickens, you won't be wasting any of the milk. I'd learn to make the cheeses first, then learn to make cultures if that's what you want to do. Or just buy a large container of cultures. They last quite a while.

momofseven · #11 03/01/13, 08:38 PM

Second the KFC boards, the '200 Easy Cheese Recipes is a great book. When I make cheese which is usually twice a week,I'll also make sour cream, cream cheese and yogurt on the same day. The last three do not require me hovering over them like the cheese does. Good luck and have fun!