Would you please share your milk cooling method?

[mom25kiddles]

Currently, we are milking our little Centerfold (don't ask about the name... she came registered that way!!!) and she gives about a gallon plus per day. We strain her milk through our filter and into a gallon ziplock, then plunk that in an large ice cream pail with cold water and ice to cool. Then, off to a glass jar for the fridge. So... we go through 2 gallon size ziplocks per day, unless we wash them (and I don't want to!!!) and lots of ice. I'm sure there are much better ways... and I'm sure most of you implement them!!! Would you please share your *milking and cooling* system?

Thanks~
Carmen

[collegeboundgal]

take a clean water bottle, freeze it. then as you filter the milk let it wash over the bottle of frozen water bottle in to a pale, bowl, cup, whatever. the more milk you have (more milking goats) the more frozen water bottles you use. clean water bottle thoroughly between uses with dipping in bleach water.

[steff bugielski]

We cool out in the milk room. After filtering the milk goes into a glass jar and into a sink full of ice water. It gets agitated with a pond filter.
The milk gets down to 45 degrees in less than two hours, NY regulations.
I make giant ice cubes with quart yogurt containers and refreeze them. I can cool down up to 10 gallons of milk every milking this way.

[nehimama]

In order to keep my sink free for other chores, I put the filtered milk into clean 1/2 gallon jars, put the caps on, and then put the jars into a clean 5-gallon bucket. Pour in cold water and lots of ice. The milk is chilled down to 45 deg in less than an hour.

As the milk supply dwindles in later lactation, I just switch to clean quart jars, and place them in a clean 2-gallon pail with the cold water and ice.

Hope this helps.

NeHi

[Alice In TX/MO]

I milk into a chilled dual bucket system. In the outside bucket, I have three frozen gel packs, one on the bottom, and one on each side which nestle the inside bucket. By the time I finish milking, the milk in the inside bucket is well on its way to cool. I filter, put the milk in glass jars, and they go to the bottom shelf of the milk fridge. The bottom shelf is the coldest.

The inside bucket is washed and sanitized, and the dual bucket system goes back to a deep freeze till the next milking session.

[DQ]

I wipe down the jar or stainless steel containers i milked through a filter into with an antibacterial wipe and stick it in the fridge. I have noticed way more off taste with lots of handling and zero this way. I no longer believe that off taste is created by not cooling fast enough. I believe and there is plenty to back it up, that is the release of caprylic acid by being agitated and poured alot that makes it taste goaty. my experience certainly is very much in line with that premise. I understand that in a commercial situation this isn't possible but for home milking it works great for me.

http://www.healthnews-nz.com/cream.html



"We have said that the fat in goats milk is mostly in the form of fatty acids combined with glycerine, to form 'triglycerides'. This combination can be split up, however, leaving free fatty acids in the milk. It is thought that this event is responsible for a 'goaty' flavour developing, though other chemical constituents have also been implicated in the flavour. (Potassium chloride and various cresols). The goaty flavour has been found to be strongest in milk samples with a low content of fat, protein and lactose."

"The goaty flavour is not the same as the 'rancid milk defect' and the 'oxidation flavour' found in cows milk. Also, it is not due to unhygienic dairying or the presence of a male goat. Unfortunately for us in the UK, who do not regard goaty flavoured milk as desirable, the enzyme lipase is distributed in goats milk in a very different way to that in cows milk, and this, in addition to the smaller fat globules, which are more easily broken up, makes for easy and marked splitting of the fats to give free fatty acids and a goaty flavour. This splitting (lipolysis) can happen spontaneously. More needs to be known of factors, such as agitation, which can produce this unfortunate effect. Lipase is destroyed by heating the milk to 56' C. "

[Madfarmer]

You can make your own ice packs by dissolving as much salt as possible in water & then freezing it--it will chill better than plain ice.

Madfarmer

[Saffy]

I just milk into a stainless bowl, then filter with cheesecloth into appromiate size jar, run under the cold water facet for a few minutes and put into the frig. The milk taste good. Why are you supposed to cool it?

[cathleenc]

I'm all for plain, simple and easy.

I strain the milk into 1/2 gallon or gallon jars, depending on quantity and what is clean. Then put the jars into the fridge. that is all. Works perfectly.

[Alice In TX/MO]

To reduce the growth of bacteria.

Here's a website with more info:
http://u-sayranch.com/goats/milk.html

[KimM]

I've tried several different ways and the easiest for me so far is this:

I keep a plastic pail a little less than half-full mixture of water and rubbing alcohol in the freezer.
When I'm done milking, I push the pail down into the slush while I finish up whatever I'm doing in the barn (about 5 or 10 minutes).
I bring it up, strain it into the glass canning jars and then put the jars back into the slush for another 20 minutes, swirling occasionally. This bring my milk down to about 38° within 30 minutes.
Sometimes I'll just bring the pail up from the barn and strain while warm, (it's faster), then put the jar in the slush mix for 30 minutes, swirling occasionally to keep it from freezing along the sides.
The slush mixture is about 7° F. and it goes back into the freezer.

[madness]

Originally Posted by KimM

I keep a plastic pail a little less than half-full mixture of water and rubbing alcohol in the freezer. ...
put the jars back into the slush for another 20 minutes, swirling occasionally. This bring my milk down to about 38° within 30 minutes.

This is exactly what we do. We don't put the pail in as we have to empty it in order to get all the goats done so we just strain into 1/2 gallon jars and put it into the slush. If you forget about it for more than an hour, it's frozen solid!

Why is cooling fast important?

A cheesemaker once told me that the key to excellent goat cheeses was getting the milk cold FAST. I've noticed quite a difference in the taste for cheeses that have used quick chilled milk and those that haven't.

Also, our milk stays tasting fresh for 2 weeks. Something that I didn't think was possible for raw milk. That's another reason to cool as quickly as possible.

[mom25kiddles]

Thanks much!! I think that the *bucket of frozen slush* is SUCH a wonderful idea for us!!! We will be putting this into practice for tonight's milking. I knew this was the right place to ask!!

Carme n

[madness]

Carmen, I use 90% rubbing alcohol and mix it about 50/50 with water. If it's frozen solid, add more alcohol. If it's complete liquid, add more water. Each time you take jars out, it carries away some of the mixture and the alcohol also evaporates in the freezer. So you'll have to adjust as you go along. We have found that it lasts much longer if the container it is stored in has a top.

I think I might steal Alice's double bucket idea too...that's a nifty one I hadn't heard of!

[The Tin Mom]

Originally Posted by mom25kiddles

Thanks much!! I think that the *bucket of frozen slush* is SUCH a wonderful idea for us!!! We will be putting this into practice for tonight's milking. I knew this was the right place to ask!!

Carme n

Me too! I have a fridge in the garage where I milk & a bucket of ice water in that. Never thought of the alcohol! I am getting ready to have another goat kid & needed a better way to cool while I milk the second goat. THANK-YOU!!

[Saffy]

Well I guess I am going to try it too. I confess that my fresh milk does start tasting off if I keep it a few days. Though what I usually do is keep the last milking behind, the earlier milking. I never keep more than gallon of milk in the fridge at a time, extra is feed to pigs, chickens, dogs or made into that quick vinegar goat cheese.

[Goat Servant]

The alcohol sounds like a great idea!
All I do is put my emtpy glass jar in the bottom of the fridge, sometimes the night before or a couple hrs before milking.
Milk into stainless bucket, run it into the house & strain into cooled jar.
Raw milk lasts a good 9 days.