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Natalia
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| Posted: July 08 2010 at 11:22am | IP Logged
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Do any of you use raw milk? Does it taste different? Did your kids have troubles making the transition? Do you use the cream to make butter or ice cream? how?
We have the opportunity of joining a "Milk Co-op" and I was wondering if any of you have some wisdom to share.
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Natalia
http://pannuestrodecadadia.blogspot.com
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SeaStar
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| Posted: July 08 2010 at 11:34am | IP Logged
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I know KarenT loves her raw milk. Hopefully she'll see this and post!
I wish we could get it here....
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Karen T
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| Posted: July 08 2010 at 3:59pm | IP Logged
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Yes, I love it! We've been getting it for almost a year now. Only dd and I drink it; my dh believes the govt must know best about pasteurization  (despite being pretty anti-govt in other respects) and oldest ds thinks the idea of it sounds awful, won't even try it. Middle ds liked it at first, but once the teen put the ugh label on it, he won't drink it either.
Anyway, some we drink whole just cuz it's so yummy. I do skim the cream off some of it and have made butter, cream cheese and ice cream. I've also made kefir and whey from either the milk or the buttermilk. But my favorite use for it beside drinking plain, is homemade yogurt.
It was really interesting to see the difference in the amount of cream and the color when the cows started getting the rapidly growing spring grass - lots more cream, and the milk is yellow now!
It does taste different, but not so much b/c it's raw I think but b/c we weren't used to drinking whole milk anyway. But we all thought it tasted great the very first time we drank it. Interestingly, I found out later that the dairy we bought from when I was a child was one of the longest to remain selling raw milk in my old state.
One thing to realize about raw milk. Because it still has living enzymes as well as good bacteria, if it goes a little long in the fridge and starts to get a little "off" smell, it still tastes fine and is perfectly safe to drink. Our old fridge was not keeping things cold enough and both store-bought and the raw milk was going "off" but the store milk was really putrid (literally) while the raw was fine to drink or use in other things. I like my butter made from aged milk; it's a little different taste (supposedly european).
Just be sure the dairy you buy from is clean and follows all the necessary testing for disease. Mine conducts their testing 4x as often as mandated by law. And hopefully they don't use antibiotics or growth hormone if they are selling raw!
Karen
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cvbmom
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| Posted: July 08 2010 at 4:14pm | IP Logged
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We LOVE our raw milk! I wouldn't change - it is SO GOOD for you!!
Anyway, I will admit that to get the kids used to it, we made chocolate milk  first to get used to the thickness. Now, the entire family drinks raw milk - we average 7 or 8 gallons a week.
God bless,
Christine
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pmeilaen
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| Posted: July 08 2010 at 4:30pm | IP Logged
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I grew up drinking raw milk and can always tell if milk is raw or not. We get raw milk from an Amish farm. My children don't like to drink milk, some are even allergic to dairy -- and as it turns out I am too. I don't eat very much dairy anymore, but I use the raw milk to make yogurt and skim the cream off for my coffee. To make butter you just have to shake the cream until it turns into butter, very simple. My daughter did this this year in connection with reading "Farmer Boy."
Nourishing Traditions has a few recipes for products you can make with raw milk.
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Eva
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Natalia
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| Posted: July 09 2010 at 8:02am | IP Logged
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Karen, I made my dh read some articles on it to try and convince him. I needed him on board because the only way we can get it here is through a coop, and I knew I would've need his help. He seemed convinced and willing to try it.
I don't drink much milk but the kids do. I hope they like the taste. We usually use 2% and when I have bought whole milk, my 16yo have complained that it is too think. I am hoping they will "convert" easily- even if we have to use Nesquick!
Eva, thanks for the NT link. i have the book sitting on my self and never used for anything. I have to look at the recipes.
I think we are going to try it. We will see... I'll probably ask you for some recipes Karen.
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Natalia
http://pannuestrodecadadia.blogspot.com
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cornomama4
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| Posted: July 10 2010 at 7:22am | IP Logged
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Natalia, If you don't want the milk to be too rich just skim some of the cream off the top. Save it for coffee, desserts, whatever. You can make the milk just like 2% that way.
One way to keep it fresh longer is to have it in half gallon or even quart jars (depending on how much you get and how big your fridge is) and then don't open a jar until you're ready to use it. I felt OK drinking milk that had been kept that way even when it was over a week old. Make sure the jars have little to no "head room" of air in them. Oh, and don't use metal lids and rings, use the plastic lids.
If you become scandalized by the cost at any point, just remember that raw milk is most beneficial as a drink or on cereal or something. In other words, baking with it sort of negates the healthy enzyme factor.
Be sure of the source. Visit the dairy if you can and see what the storage, tank cleaning and "bad milk" communication system is. We milk our own cow, so I'm fairly confident of quality, but I still get nervous occassionally. You can ask any more questions if you want...always happy to talk milk!
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Karen T
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| Posted: July 10 2010 at 9:14am | IP Logged
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The dairy I get my milk from packages it in sealed plastic gallons just like store milk. I admit, I wish they'd go to glass but right now it's not cost-effective for them. But I do often pour an open gallon into half-gallon glass mason jars in order to let the cream separate more easily (it separates in the plastic jug but then clogs the opening trying to pour it off, and I end up mixing a lot back in).
However, I wanted to say I routinely drink 2 week old milk with no ill effects or bad taste. Raw milk is not legally sold in my state, but i live close to a state line and buy it from a dairy about 30 min from me. Every 2 weeks though the dairy delivers orders to a park that is just over the state line (10 min from me) so I mostly get it then. I buy 3 gallons usually and don't end up opening the last one until about Tues of the 2nd week (I pick up on Sats) and it tastes just fine, although it's harder to get the cream to go back into the milk unless I remember to shake it up every day until opened. I usually finish off the last of it at about day 13.
Karen
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Natalia
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| Posted: July 10 2010 at 11:14am | IP Logged
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The farm we would be getting the milk from packages in plastic gallons also.Here it is also illegal to sell raw milk so we are going over the state line. It is about an hour away that is why we are getting in a co-op so that we don't have to go frequently. The trip itself is not bad but bringing all those ice chests with milk sounds like a royal pain. I guess we will see if it is worth the hassle.
The runs are every other week so we will have to store two weeks worth of milk. I usually buy two gal/week at the store so I am planning to buy the same. If we like it maybe I'll buy an extra gallon to make yogurt or butter.
How much do you all pay per gallon? Our cost will be 6.00/gal which is the cost of an organic milk gallon.
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Karen T
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| Posted: July 10 2010 at 12:46pm | IP Logged
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Mine is $6.50 per gallon, but I end up paying a 15% surcharge for the delivery closer to home. I don't mind the drive up to the farm, but my kids always complain about the time it takes, and since dh is not crazy about the idea in the first place, I figure getting it closer leads to less arguments for now. I also get pastured organic beef, eggs and chicken from them. And soon they will have pastured pork - that's something I'm dying to try - it's said to have a very different flavor.
Karen
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: July 10 2010 at 1:21pm | IP Logged
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We've been drinking raw milk for 4 years now and love it.
I find that I don't like to drink it when it starts to taste off, but I will keep it for weeks as is sours to make pancakes and such. It takes a long while for it to ever smell putrid like rotten pasteurized milk, which makes me gag to think about. 
It turns a bit faster in the summer months due to transport and such, but in winter, it will stay fresh for two weeks or more, at least mine does from my current farmer. I switched farmers because I just wasn't convinced the milk was really fresh some of the time with my first. I find that less fresh the milk, the more defined the line between the milk and cream.
I'm not sure we were completely WOWED the first time we had it (I can't really remember), but after drinking it for years, when we have conventional milk at a restaurant or somewhere, we are pretty taken aback. Its just so...white. And bland. Seems artificial.
In fact, when I read the news stories about the FBI raids on local farmers, the bullying, and the push to make it more difficult to sell, it makes me quite emotional that my choice in this regard could be taken away! I don't mean to be political, just saying that we feel quite passionately about our raw milk!
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cornomama4
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| Posted: July 10 2010 at 5:07pm | IP Logged
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It's $5 a gallon here but it's also illegal to sell. So my friends pay that for milk "for animal consumption only" ;)
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pmeilaen
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| Posted: July 10 2010 at 8:27pm | IP Logged
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We get our milk from an Amish farm and only pay $3.00 per gallon! They sell their milk to Horizon.
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Olivia
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| Posted: July 12 2010 at 9:53am | IP Logged
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We've been drinking raw jersey milk for a few months and love it. Jersey milk is extra creamy. I also use it to make kefir and cream/curd cheese. I have yet to try making yogurt.
My husband used to feel unwell if he drank pasteurised homogonised milk in the mornings, but with raw milk he's fine.
It's important that the milk you get comes from healthy grass eating cows otherwise I don't think it's safe IMO. Here's a link I found interesting (and sad): Cows eating doughnuts and cookies
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Raw Milk
