I found my mother's old Farm Master pasteurizer in storage. It is pretty old. I remember her using it when I was young and it was a used one my father had bought on an auction. I tried finding info on the internet with no luck. Does anyone know how to use this thing. It is a 300 watt, 60 cycle pasteurizer with one knob. Do I need to test run it to find the right temp setting (what is the correct temp?). She has a little mark of nail polish about 3/4 of the way on. I am trading eggs for fresh milk and would like to pasteurize it. Now I just need to convince her to give up her Dazey butter churn! Any help is appreciated.
Is there something unsanitary about your collection techniques that merit pasteurization? If the cow is healthy and your collection clean, then raw milk would be the best thing you could trade for the eggs. Need more details? See Dr. Ron's discussion on the health benefits of raw milk from grass fed cows at http://www.drrons.com/raw_milk.html You might also like the WPA's info at http://www.realmilk.com/what.html Good luck.
I have been using it for cooking. I guess I have grown up in a society that assumes that the food you eat needs to be processed. Ok, I get the milk from a neighbor that milks about 40 Holsteins. The milk I get is from a large metal collection tank. They let me dip my container into the tank to collect my milk. I'm not sure if that is a "sanitary" method, but OK I'll do it. I wash my containers before going. He has a truck come every other day to collect their milk. How long does raw milk keep? Is there anything else I should know? Anyone else drinking raw milk vs pasteurized milk?
We love raw milk. The flavor is the greatest. When we have fresh milk our family will go through 8-9 gallons per week for drinking alone. Right now everything is dried off and we are only using about 4 gallons a week of store milk. I think raw it keeps ok for 4-5 days, but would prefer to drink it fresh the first day or two. Be sure to keep it COLD! Raw milk isn't mucus forming the way store milk is and leaves no nasty after taste. There are many health benefits to drinking milk raw, but be sure of your supply. Chances are his cows and milk are tested on an regular schedule. It doesn't hurt to ask.
I tried replying to your private message but came back undeliverable. You need to do a little homework before you go down this path. Ask the dairyman the following; 1). Does he inject his cows with rBGH (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone). Monsanto manufactures it. You don't want it. 2). Have the cows been tested for Johne's disease (pronouced Yah-Nees). It's the old Bovine form of TB and it's not likely they have it. Scientists doubt whether it's even communicable. Still a good dairy will have proof of testing. Ask about whether they have tested for BLV and see what he says. (It's Bovine Leukemia Virus) Many cows have it and the dairy industry wants to pretend it doesn't exist. 3). What's the cell count in his milk? All milk has bacteria, that's part of why you want raw milk. It let's you get the good critters, plus the enzymes that are destroyed by pasteurization. We generally hope to avoid the bad critters by insisting on grass fed cows on pasture. Avoiding confinement dramatically reduces the sickness in the cows. To see a healthy profile on raw milk, look at Mark McAfee's dairy at http://www.organicpastures.com/tests.html 4). Do any of his cows have mastaitis? It's an infection in the teats. Some dairys go ahead and milk those cows, because they expect pasteurization to cover their tracks for them. I would not knowingly drink milk from such a cow, unless you could perform a somatic cell count right then. Few dairys have that technology on the farm. Taking the milk from the collection tank would not be a problem, if all the cows are healthy. Tell him you plan to drink it raw and see what he says. If he drinks it that way, then I would believe he has confidence in his product. Raw milk has a shelf life of one to two weeks, if kept cold in a glass container. I strongly suggest you read Dr. Ron's book, "The Untold Story of Milk". See it at http://www.drrons.com/untoldstoryofmilk.html It details how we got where we are and the safe ways to practice healthy food acquisition Best of luck.
Even with my own milk from my own cow, I pasturize. I have a good friend that was DEATHLY ill for quite some time as a result of drinking raw milk and their setup was immaculate. Some people just can't handle it. Enough commentary. You wanted to know how to use a pasturizer. I have an old one too and did a lot of research to find my answer. The key is to bring the milk up to temp and hold it there for a certain length of time. Its been a while so I don't remember the details of temp or exact times. I tested my pasturizer the first time to see what I needed to do. 2 methods, commercial method takes milk up to a higher temp, then quickly cools it. My old pasturizer didn't go up that high so I had to let it sit longer. Fill your inner container with milk (straight from cow warm, cold or whatever) and set it inside the other container. Then fill the outer container with water as high up as you can (our inner container has holes for the handle so milk and water can only go as high as those handles). Plug it in and leave it plugged in until it buzzes or indicates that the correct temp has been reached. Unplug it or turn it off or whatever and let it set for about 1/2 hr. I THINK the time needed is about 20 min but I'm not positive. I always figured 1/2 hr so I don't know if that time is exact. You'll have to make your own decisions on the rest of the stuff. P.S. I found the info on required temps/times on the internet. Search on pasturization methods or something like that if you want to test your pasturizer.
We're not milking now, but when we did, we also always pasturized. First of all the milk will keep a lot longer and secondly, why take a chance on your or your family's health. I think it is one thing if you milk your own animal and use the milk raw; however, it is entirely another thing when you don't personally know each animal, nor are certain what goes in their food source or into their system. If your getting raw milk from an outside source, you should always pasterize.
I have decided as long as I am getting the milk from someone else I will pasteurize it. I hope to try milking goats soon, maybe I won't be so picky. Now back to my problem. Thanks longshadowfarms for the info. I checked on the internet and found for milk it is 145 degrees for 30 minutes, cream is 150 degrees for 30 min. I looked closer at my pasteurizer, it is model #13746F. I don't think it uses water. The inside container sets on a "button" that is pushed down with weight (you can see through to the counter). I assume you just put the milk in, turn it on and let it work? I hope this one will work, I was pricing new ones and looking at stove top methods and didn't relish either option. I have a new questions? Do you separate the cream from milk before pasteurizing or can you do it afterwards? I want to try making butter.
I used to put mine in straight from the cow (strain it while pouring from the bucket) into the pasturizer, then once it was pasturized I would pour it into a glass gallon jar and wait for it to separate. Then I'd skim the cream. Not sure on how yours would work. I'd just try it out and see what happens. What do you have to lose besides some milk. Just watch it closely, smell and listen and see what happens. New ones are EXPENSIVE and pasturizers really are SO much easier than the stove.
JAS, I just bought and received this same model off of eBay. Did you ever learn how to use yours? Mine was delivered today. I tested it twice and it only brought the test water up to 158 degrees. I need it to reach 165. Do you know how to adjust the temperature? I've looked everywhere for an adjustment screw, but no luck. Please PM or email me. Thanks in advance, Sandra
