Cream separators

[ani's ark]

Now that we have kids on the ground I am staring at an impressive udder. So all the milk belongs to the twins for the first 2 weeks, BUT I am so looking foward to my breakfast smoothies, feta and haloumi cheese and....butter and cream....if I get a whizz-a-majig tool.

I am having difficulty finding a cream separator in NZ. So probably need to order one online from the USA or UK. Not sure when, but it's on my mind. I'm looking for recommendations from all the CGLs - what do you use? Electric or hand crank? What brand and why? Do you use it all the time?

[Alice In TX/MO]

One goat will not enough cream make for butter. :-(

[CaliannG]

Hmmmm, I disagree. Nipper was producing a gallon and a half a day at peak, and about every other day, I was running about a gallon through the separator and getting a cup and a half of cream. That made about a half a pound of butter.

Considering that you have a Saanen, Ani, make sure to watch her udder. If the babies are not drinking as much as she is producing, you will have to milk her out BEFORE that 2 weeks is up. Watch for tightness.

That all beings said, my separator came from the Ukraine. I had to buy a special converter for it (it is electric), but it has served me well and was cheap! My Mom got it for me off of E-bay for less than $200 U.S., including shipping.

I got the electric one first because, although I am a prepper, I am also lazy. I knew that I would think of the effort I would have to put out to hand crank through several gallons of milk, and knew I would procrastinate on it. So, I got the electric model. There is a hand crank model, still in the box, in case the world comes to an end and I don't have electricity, but the one I *use* is electric.

It sits on my counter, next to my crockpot, with a plastic cover that I made for it to keep out dust and the random flying insect. I keep it out because I use it A LOT.

[LoneStrChic23]

I LOVE, LOVE this cream separator:

Novo Cream Separators for Small Farms

Friend of mine bought one..... I milked her goats while she was out of town & she asked me to run all milk through the separator, put the cream in the freezer & give the chickens the milk.... Was in love with that gadget. One of these days I'll buy my own.

I rarely make butter because I have this awful habit of collecting bottle babies who guzzle up most of my milk.... But when I have surplus, I'll skim the cream after a day or 2 (that is if my munchkins don't beat me to it) & put it in a jar or tupperware in,the freezer.... Once my container is full, I'll thaw & make butter

[Dusky Beauty]

great tips girls!

[LoneStrChic23]

Oh and I agree with Caliann, you should probably go milk your girl before the 2 week mark.

Even when my Alpine nursed twins, I went out twice a day to empty her out from about day 2 or 3 after kidding.... Sometimes the babies would be full & her udder still pretty full, and sometimes there would only be a few cups in there, either way, twice a day, 12 hours apart, I milked her out.

I do this for a few reasons... One I like to milk them while they still have all those hormones raging through them. They come to see me as one of the kids, so they don't get in the habit of not letting down their milk for me because I'm stealing from the babies.....

Milk is a supply & demand type of thing.... So I empty out whatever the kids don't take & keep her production up...

I don't like to risk blown teats, and in high producing animals they can easily blow their teats in the begining as those tiny babies just don't eat huge amounts....

Plus milking twice a day in the beginning sets up a routine & allows me to keep a close eye out for any issues.... If you'd rather not milk twice a day right now, I'd at least fully empty her once a day.

[ani's ark]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

One goat will not enough cream make for butter. :-(

Hmmm, you may be right...in which case I can really only see one solution....another doe....or two....heheheh.

Thanks for all the product recommendations on separators - I'm going to browse electric ones online while I come up with lots of good ways to justify it against the cost of butter and cream on our tight budget!

Going on instinct alone this morning when I checked her udder it felt a bit tight to me (even with my total inexperience in kidding, I do have boobs of my own), and the kids are feeding well. So I put her on the milk stand and ease milked about 1.5Litres, which I think was about half of what she had there. Dont know what that converts to in gallons. So hopefully this bodes well for production this season. When do they peak? Is it 3 months? I foresee much cheese.

[CaliannG]

They peak about 45-50 days for a first freshener, and I *think* it is either 40-45 days for an experienced doe, or 55-60 days.

Either way, about a month and a half to two months.

1.5 liters is a little over a quart and a half. 4 quarts equals a gallon. Your liters are a little bit bigger than our quarts; just like your meters are a little bit bigger than our yards.

[silverseeds]

MILK CREAM MANUAL SEPARATOR 50L/H | eBay

Have any of you tried the one linked above? It is less then 114 delivered.

This seems to be the same one on amazon for a bit more money, and three positive reviews.

Amazon.com: Cream Separator 50L/H Manual: Electronics

I guess it is from ukraine. my MIL should be able to read the directions four us. Normally I like to buy the best i can afford, but the good separators look like they will be out of my price range for some time. At around 115 bucks though, I could probably swing this one.

[CaliannG]

The second one is what I have, ss. It works well.

Takes some time to get some experience with it, and get it dialed in right for your milk and what you want out of it, but after the learning curve is over, it is easy to use. Cleans up easy too.

[CaliannG]

I should say that the electric version of the second one is what I use.

[silverseeds]

Originally Posted by CaliannG

The second one is what I have, ss. It works well.

Takes some time to get some experience with it, and get it dialed in right for your milk and what you want out of it, but after the learning curve is over, it is easy to use. Cleans up easy too.

good to know!!

Does it seem like it will hold up well for its price? Im guessing so, since you didnt point out the opposite, but Im curious what you think. Ive been collecting copious amounts of cream by scooping it out, and Id REALLY like to be able to get more. I made a SMALL batch of butter awhile back. It had a very light flavor, but it was still good. As much butter as we use Id probably save money pretty fast. then maybe get a more expensive separator a few years out is the thinking. heck it might even be an excuse to get another doe in milk. (la mancha next hopefully) So i have more milk to get cream from (feeding excess milk to chickens) to try to account for my wifes icecream addiction. she liked the goat yogurt but it apparently doesnt hit the same spot icecream does.

EDITED TO ADD= okay, I hadnt seen your second reply until after I posted. The electric one even by the same company might be much different. Im still curious as tot he quality though. I think Id prefer something manual. We are trying to move off grid here as we are able.

[CaliannG]

It has held up well. My foster daughter rough-housing with her bf, and knocking the shelf down where is was, scattering all sorts of implements for my kitchen (broke the collar off of my Vitamix, shattered some mason jars, etc., it was a top shelf they managed to hit, somehow) didn't phase the thing.

Many gallons of milk I have put through it didn't phase it either. I *have* had an organizational problem with it, but that is not the fault of the machine. Mainly is that I have to heat refrigerated milk to run through it. Cold milk doesn't separate well.

I tried putting fresh milk through it, but it does take a while and the quality is effected by the fact that the milk wasn't chilled nearly instantly. My cream, skim milk, and butter go bad within the week if I use that method. As mentioned before, cold milk doesn't separate well, so that is a no go. Therefore, I have had to add an extra step. I chill the milk for 12 hours, then heat it to body temperature, THEN run it through the separator, and that has given me the best product.

If I am making butter, I take the cream and instantly run it through my food processor for about 6 minutes, then pour off the buttermilk, add crushed ice, and spin it through for another minute. The milky water from that is poured off for the cats, and I put the globe on a plate and use a spatula to press out the remaining liquid before spooning it into parchment lined molds. Then I freeze it, fold up the parchment around it, and put it into my fridge.

I *have* non-electric everything, and I know how to use it all. But for day to day living, until I am *forced* to go without electricity, I shall keep my power tools, both those in the shed and those in my kitchen.

[mammabooh]

Originally Posted by silverseeds

So i have more milk to get cream from (feeding excess milk to chickens) to try to account for my wifes icecream addiction. she liked the goat yogurt but it apparently doesnt hit the same spot icecream does. .

Sorry for the thread drift, but have you tried making frozen yogurt? If you can make ice cream, you can certainly make frozen yogurt...it's delightful!

[Bluegrasslady]

I did see where one lady was using a sun tea jug with the spigot at the bottom. Not the most efficient, but it seemed ingenious to me at the time.