butter

[susanne]

is somebody making butter from goatmilk?

[Julia]

Originally Posted by susanne

is somebody making butter from goatmilk?

Well, not at this very moment, but yes, I've made butter from goat cream (not milk).

[susanne]

since i'm begining with milk goats i don't want to start with very expencive equipment. is it possible to get the cream without a separator? how long does the milk need to stay before i get anycream on the top?
susanne

[Sarah J]

Originally Posted by susanne

since i'm begining with milk goats i don't want to start with very expencive equipment. is it possible to get the cream without a separator? how long does the milk need to stay before i get anycream on the top?
susanne

I can get a bit of cream after one day in the fridge, but better after three or four. Unfortunately, some find it too goaty for their tastes at that point - depends on milk handling procedures, how fast it cools down to begin with, etc. I have made butter from the raw cream before - two gallons of milk produces enough butter for one day with my family. Which is a good thing because it *also* starts tasting goaty after a while!

I would imagine that pasteurized milk (and cream) would last longer. But I'd get about 1 cup of heavy cream from letting two gallons sit for three days in the fridge. That makes approximately 1/2 cup of butter.

Hope that helps.

Sarah

[susanne]

Originally Posted by Sarah J

I can get a bit of cream after one day in the fridge, but better after three or four. Unfortunately, some find it too goaty for their tastes at that point - depends on milk handling procedures, how fast it cools down to begin with, etc. I have made butter from the raw cream before - two gallons of milk produces enough butter for one day with my family. Which is a good thing because it *also* starts tasting goaty after a while!

I would imagine that pasteurized milk (and cream) would last longer. But I'd get about 1 cup of heavy cream from letting two gallons sit for three days in the fridge. That makes approximately 1/2 cup of butter.

Hope that helps.

Sarah

thank you sarah that helps alot. if i pasteurize the milk is the cream coming to the top in the same amount? how do you get the cream of the milk? is there a special tool? hope not too dumm questions. i think nobody in my family is interested in "goaty" milk or milkproducts. i have to prevent that.
susanne

[Julia]

I don't bother with pasteurization, but skim the cream off the top of the milk with a spoon, put it into a small canning jar with a good lid, and freeze it until I get enough to churn. Freezing will keep it from spoiling or going "goaty".

How long it takes to get enough to churn depends on the breed you're milking, and the number of animals. With a bunch of late lactation Nubians, you could easily supply the house with butter. It'd be more problematic with most Saanen or Alpine herds, but worth doing. But either way it takes a while to accumulate enough cream to churn because, contrary to popular belief, there's actually very little fat in whole milk.

Once there is enough, I thaw it, warm it, add a bit of cultured buttermilk and let it set on top of my Bunn coffemaker overnight to acidify. In the morning, I'd chill it again in the fridge, and then use my food processor to churn. It works very well.

[susanne]

Originally Posted by Julia

Once there is enough, I thaw it, warm it, add a bit of cultured buttermilk and let it set on top of my Bunn coffemaker overnight to acidify. In the morning, I'd chill it again in the fridge, and then use my food processor to churn. It works very well.

what is the buttermilk douing for the butter and do you use store bought buttermilk from cows? i have a food processor. i thought with ordinary household apliances the butterclumps will be too small and you have to work harder to get the butter formed.
susanne

[Julia]

Two things: it adds flavor, and it makes the cream slightly acidified so it churns easier. It's the modern equivalent of letting the seperated cream sit overnight (using the native lactic bacteria in milk), but with the greater probability of good flavor.

I use store bought buttermilk, but you can do as you like. Just be sure it has a good flavor.

Food processors work beautifully to make butter. So much easier than hand churning. You can't do gallons at a time, of course (the bowls generally aren't that big), but it will be fresher butter than if you make a bunch at a time.

I've heard of folks using mixers and blenders, too, but I've nver tried that...

But in the food processor the butter clumps up wonderfully well. No problems at all. I wouldn't do it any other way.

Originally Posted by susanne

what is the buttermilk douing for the butter and do you use store bought buttermilk from cows? i have a food processor. i thought with ordinary household apliances the butterclumps will be too small and you have to work harder to get the butter formed.
susanne

[Sarah J]

Wow. that's a lot more sophisticated than I do it! :haha: I *do* put it in the freezer until I have enough to churn. But then I just thaw the jar out to just below room temperature and leave it in there - shake it for ten or fifteen minutes until it all separates out into butter and buttermilk. Drain the buttermilk, knead it with a spoon under running water until it is clear and then add salt to taste. I don't have a food processor, hand mixer or anything cool like that...

I have one Saanen and one Nubian - neither one had ever been milked before so I was getting about 1 gallon per day from them (together). Took me three days for enough to really make it somewhat worthwhile...

I'll have more does milking next spring so plan on using my cream separator then!

Sarah
(thanks for the tip on the buttermilk!)

[Al. Countryboy]

Susanne, You will get alot more butter from a gallon of milk if you use a separator. I got a 1960's Montgomery Ward separator off ebay that is hand cranked and looks like it came out of the stone age, but works quite well. It cost me less than $40.00 counting shipping. It had no instructions and took awhile to figure out how to use. Keep an eye out for old ones. You would be supprised where these things will turn up (flee markets and antique shops). Most of the time people don't even know what they are and you can get them cheep. Oh yes, The one that I found on ebay was listed by mistake under butter churns and almost no one bid on it but me. Good luck.

[susanne]

Originally Posted by Al. Countryboy

Susanne, You will get alot more butter from a gallon of milk if you use a separator. I got a 1960's Montgomery Ward separator off ebay that is hand cranked and looks like it came out of the stone age, but works quite well. It cost me less than $40.00 counting shipping. It had no instructions and took awhile to figure out how to use. Keep an eye out for old ones. You would be supprised where these things will turn up (flee markets and antique shops). Most of the time people don't even know what they are and you can get them cheep. Oh yes, The one that I found on ebay was listed by mistake under butter churns and almost no one bid on it but me. Good luck.

thank you. i will have a look at ebay for a reparator. do you have to crank hard or long to get the craem from 2 gallon milk?
susanne

[Al. Countryboy]

No, mine is not hard to turn at all. The first couple of turns is a little hard then after that it is easy. I think this has to do with the gear ratio. I also bought a electric gallon butter churn for about $30.00 this was including shipping. I got it off of ebay also. It was manufactured about 30 miles from my home, but I bought it from somewhere in the mid-west. This made the shipping half as much as the churn.

[boren]

I make butter once every week or two, it depends on how I'm doing. I have a cream separator, an electric one to boot. :yeeha: I save up about 2-4 gallons of milk, and separate it, add a bit of mesophillic culture (aka buttermilk) let it ripen for 24 hours then I churn about 2cups at a time in my food processor. I then wash it with cold water till the water comes out clear. I add about 1/2tsp of salt/lb. I put in my square butter mold, press it, chill it, then unmold it.

With my goats 2 gallons of milk gives about 1/2lb and 4 gallons about a pound.

Here's some things I've found that help:

1. Culturing cream gives the butter a nice mild flavour. It increases yeild and shelf life. One book I has says it increases the shelf life to 3 weeks.

2. After churning the butter I pour it through butter muslim. (like you use for cheese making) This allows me to remove a lot of the buttermilk. Not that stuff they call cheese cloth in the super market!

3. If don't wash the butter in cold water till the water comes out clear then it'll sour (go goaty) very quickly. Don't use ice water, butter becomes so hard you can't work it.

4. Salt helps preserve the butter so it lasts longer.

5. I freeze the butter it in 1/4lb sticks, and take out what I need and leave it in the fridge.

6. 1 drop of annatto in 1/2 gallon of cream gives a very nice yellow colour, don't dare do 2 drops, and heaven forbid 3.

[Al. Countryboy]

One other thing that I was either told or read was to use plain salt without the iodine. I forget the reason why right off, but sure some has the answer.

I have used a teaspoon of yogurt to culture when making butter with either cow or goats cream. I just have a mason jar at room temp and shake away. I have wanted to try using a little cow cream into goats milk to see if it would help float more cream to the top. I dont have a seperator and wondered if it would be a "quick fix" have to wait till spring to try it....

[debitaber]

I make butter all the time. I had to buy a cream seperator, but IF you put it in a really wide pan, the cream will come to the top, [after a while], and you can skim it off. but the speerator works better. that is what I use.