[JustinRobinsREO]

What are you guys doing besides ice baths and freezer to cool your milk fast? Has anyone ever tried the reusable ice cubes and put them directly into the milking pale?

Obviously first thoughts are cleanliness. I was thinking about boiling the reusable ice cubes in a zip-lock bag and then transferring bag of cubes into the freezer. Then using them from there and milking directly onto the frozen cubes. Thoughts?

 

[SueBee]

This is how I do it. A very large stainless steel bowl, put some water in it and then ice cubes. Place smaller size stainless steel bowl in side the large one, then put straining cloth over the top, I wet the cloth first, then strain milk. This works fast for me and easy to do.

 

[Bearfootfarm]

A very large stainless steel bowl, put some water in it and then ice cubes.

Adding some salt to the mix will make it even colder.

 

[VA Susan]

We pasteurize so have hot milk to cool. I don't put it directly into ice cold water or the jar may break. Cool the milk gradually with warm then colder water. I fill up plastic containers we buy lunchmeat in and make large icecubes. Add several of those to some water in a tall pot, enough to immerse the jar well, then put the cooled milk in the fridge when it's cooled. I take what's left of the melted icecubes and put them back into the plastic containers, add more water and refreeze.

 

[ridgerunner1965]

when i was a kid, would milk the cow and bring bucket into house to mom.she would strain thru cheese cloth,then she would just set it in the fridge.

about 12 hrs later the cream was skimmed off for butter and we would drink the milk.

i was 6' tall 190lbs and would easily drink a gallon of milk a day.

i have been kicked by cows, gored by bulls and bucked off and stomped by horses. never had a broken bone yet. GO MILK!

 

[bmhughes89]

I haven't done this with goats milk, but in kitchens we use something called an ice wand. You can find them online for pretty cheap and it's the same basic concept as the reusable ice cubes, but it will cool the milk down quicker.

 

[ShannonR]

When I have to pasteurize I do it in stainless and cool in an ice bath before transferring to jars. Then into the freezer to cool some more before transferring to fridge.

 

[Caprice Acres]

I would suggest not letting anything touch the milk that is not stainless steel or glass. Of those, they should be high quality and in good condition. The less that touches your milk, the better. Plastic things inevitably get scratches or microabrasions that happily harbor bacteria and biofilms. Glass and stainless can do that too, but less commonly and extensively than plastic.

For most small volumes of milk, chilling in an ice bath in the sink and then being moved to clean jars and the bottom of the fridge should be sufficient. You can always track the temperatures to see if it meets grade A standards.

 

[freestargirl]

All of our milk, whether getting pasteurized or not, gets milked into a stainless steel pot. We immedieatly bring it in, strain thru cheesecloth into quart sized jars. Then when we put the jars in the fridge, we put other things in the fridge that are already cold around them. It works. If you are having a problem with 'off' tasting milk and have been using cheesecloth, it made a WORLD of difference when we started boiling our cheesecloth 1x a day after washing it thoroughly by hand. Even when I bring milk to 160 degrees for yogurt making, it still tastes fine and I don't cool it quickly. It's 78 dgrees in our house, so it takes it awhile to cool back down to the 77 degrees that I need for my yogurt culture. Do you strip the teats before milking into your collection vessel?

 

[greenTgoats]

I find that they key to good tasting milk is more in the minerals, and less in how fast it gets cooled. It's usually a good 30 minutes until I chill my milk, but it tastes amazing. I give my does copper bolus ever 1-2 months, loose minerals, kelp, and they have access to a cobalt block.