[randy in central missouri]

Have access to a lot of milk that is a day or two from going out of date. Bought some renncik and citric acid to make some mozzarella cheese. I have been taking a cup out of the gallon jug and freezing it to keep them from exploding. Will make some soon. any other ideas for milk? i think i have about 15 gallons in the freezer.

 

[DW]

Yogurt & ricotta are easy. If you make bread, use milk, it changes the consistency and it's good.

 

[cfuhrer]

Can it.
Got six gallons in the fridge (they were on sale) that are going in the canner tomorrow.

Or -
Cheese-it-and-freeze-it.
If you get the hang of ricottas, mozzas and cottage cheese the next step is to mold it, press it and age it

 

[marusempai]

Just to note, rennet cheese doesn't turn out so well with milk that was previously frozen - it doesn't set right. However you can still make ricotta or paneer, which are very tasty (and EASY!). Paneer, ricotta, and mozarella are also cheeses that freeze well, so you could make moz *then* freeze it, and it will keep really nicely. Neufchatel is really easy to make too.

 

[cfuhrer]

Just to note, rennet cheese doesn't turn out so well with milk that was previously frozen - it doesn't set right.

Do you happen to know why that is?

 

[BlueRose]

Pigs well really fatten up on milk and hog finisher.

 

[randy in central missouri]

I did a gallon of milk, it did not make much mozz. worked it some more and made some ricotta.

Tried it again with 3 gallons of milk. i used the rennet tablets. used more than it said to use. it said a half tablet per gallon, i used two tablets for the three gallons. it worked well. i want to make the ricotta, but don't want to wait as long as it says to wait. 12-24 hours?

but it went well.

tablets or liquid? preference.

 

[PrettyPaisley]

Pigs well really fatten up on milk and hog finisher.

Heck yeah they sure do !

 

[marusempai]

Do you happen to know why that is?

No idea. Just know that I've tried it, and known folks who've tried it, and the curd never sets up right with previously frozen milk. Maybe there's a secret I don't know, but that's my experience.

Sheep's milk is supposed to still be good for cheesemaking after being frozen and thawed - couple of shepherds around here I've talked to do that. Goat's milk definitely doesn't work though. I've not worked much with cow's milk.

 

[marusempai]

I did a gallon of milk, it did not make much mozz. worked it some more and made some ricotta.

Tried it again with 3 gallons of milk. i used the rennet tablets. used more than it said to use. it said a half tablet per gallon, i used two tablets for the three gallons. it worked well. i want to make the ricotta, but don't want to wait as long as it says to wait. 12-24 hours?

but it went well.

tablets or liquid? preference.

Are you acidifying with citric acid/vinegar, or are you using a bacterial starter? The wait time is to let the bacteria grow some more and make more acid. If you are using an added acid, then there's no need to wait - just hot that sucker up and add more acid until it curdles.

I like rennet tablets because they are difficult to spill. I've used liquid as well though and it is much easier to measure, but any more I just only make cheese in batches sized to use whole numbers of tablets (no fractions), so I don't have to worry about that.

 

[cfuhrer]

No idea. Just know that I've tried it, and known folks who've tried it, and the curd never sets up right with previously frozen milk. Maybe there's a secret I don't know, but that's my experience.

Sheep's milk is supposed to still be good for cheesemaking after being frozen and thawed - couple of shepherds around here I've talked to do that. Goat's milk definitely doesn't work though. I've not worked much with cow's milk.

Interesting. We've made cheese with frozen goats milk and I don't recall having a problem. I'll have to dig out my notes and see what they say.

 

[SJSFarm]

Marusempai, please share how to make Neufchâtel?

 

[Cygnet]

Yogurt is easy to make, and if you use a greek yogurt as a starter and then use cheesecloth to drain the whey off afterwards until it's really thick and creamy, it's a nice substitute for sour cream.

Buttermilk is easy to make, and very useful for cooking. It also keeps a long time in the fridge.

 

[marusempai]

Marusempai, please share how to make Neufchâtel?

I use this recipe: link.

 

[marusempai]

Interesting. We've made cheese with frozen goats milk and I don't recall having a problem. I'll have to dig out my notes and see what they say.

If you figure it out I'd love to hear it, it would be convenient to be able to cheese frozen milk.

 

[MDKatie]

Make pudding! Or cajeta!

 

[DEKE01]

Obviously, food for people, then food for critters is the priority. But if you still have milk products, there was an article in ACRES magazine a year or so ago about a farmer who routinely sprayed diluted milk on his pastures. All the sugars and whatever stimulated microbial life that feeds the plants, helped build soil, and a couple of years later his pastures had improved significantly.

It was not a scientific study with a control plot used to show the difference in milk fed pasture vs not, but the logic of it makes sense to me.