Raw milk storage and serving

[rhianna813]

I am thinking about getting some raw milk from a local source. I have 2 wide mouth 1/2 gallon mason jars for storage, which the farm requires. I am wondering how kid friendly large heavy and perhaps slippery mason jars are, for kids to pour their own milk. My DS is 7 and currently we handle the gallon milk until it gets low enough for him to use it. But it's in plastic with a handle for easy gripping. And I am not sure I trust him to screw on the lid tight enough.

He really likes to feel independant to get his own drinks :-)

What do you all do?

Thanks!

Rhianna

[prancie]

you could get beer growlers. they seal tight and have a handle.

 https://morebeer.com/view_product/7968

[Arduinna]

When we milked our own we had bail top stainless steel milk jugs with swinging handles and silicone gaskets that I used in the fridge. They were quite easy to pour from. I can't seem to find a source for them anymore though.

[wardeh]

When the 1/2 gallon jar is full, my 10 year old son has some trouble pouring the milk out. Once it gets down a little bit, no one has trouble. I have a glass pitcher with lid that I love and don't use often enough. It sure would make things easier for everyone - and it fits on the fridge door. I'll see if I can find a link.

Here's a bunch of different/similar pitchers. The one I have is the Frigoverre 2 liter. It is heavy and beautiful. I've given it away as gifts too just because it is so lovely.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=frigoverre+pitcher&x=0&y=0

[elisheva]

Our raw milk farm gives it to us in wide-mouth quart-size mason jars. Maybe you could decant it when you get home?

[rhianna813]

Hi Wardeh - I think you are on my local WAPF list :-) Thanks for the link - those pitchers are wonderful!

Tina Rhianna

Originally Posted by wardeh 

When the 1/2 gallon jar is full, my 10 year old son has some trouble pouring the milk out. Once it gets down a little bit, no one has trouble. I have a glass pitcher with lid that I love and don't use often enough. It sure would make things easier for everyone - and it fits on the fridge door. I'll see if I can find a link.

Here's a bunch of different/similar pitchers. The one I have is the Frigoverre 2 liter. It is heavy and beautiful. I've given it away as gifts too just because it is so lovely.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=frigoverre+pitcher&x=0&y=0

[wardeh]

Hi, Tina! How fun to see you here! :) Are you snowed in like we are?

[~Amy~]

Mine comes from the farm in a gallon jar...way too big even for DH & I to handle easily.  I pour it into 4 quart jars for the fridge.  I also keep a small stainless steel pitcher on the bottom shelf for DS so he can get his own milk when he wants it.  Just enough for a glass at a time so he won't overflow when he pours.  He's only not quite 3, though.  

[Aubergine68]

I, also, use a 2 quart glass jug with a plastic lid. I find that I have to be sure to really really clean it well and to make sure that it is not hot from being washed when I pour the raw milk in or it sours noticeably more quickly than it would in the gallon jar that the farm delivers it in.  I could really use 2 of those glass jugs, is what I'm saying - one to be in use or being washed, one ready to be used.

 If we aren't going to use our milk right away, I skim most of the cream, make butter to freeze, then decant the rest of the gallon into four 1.3 quart glass canning jars to freeze - the 1.3 quart jars give lots of headroom to freeze just under a quart of milk  and I have had no breakage.  

We also have a little metal jug for toddlers - one of the kind that you get from restaurant supply stores, usually used as a single-serving teapot.  Cleaning it well is important, too.

[SandraMort]

How do you skim the cream?  I make a huge mess and don't find that I do an effective job.  Drives me NUTS!!!!!!!!!  I've tried pouring it off the top, ladling it out, using a turkey baster, putting it into a (plastic, ugh) container with a spigot at the bottom to remove the milk from below the cream... nothing works.

Sandra
 

Originally Posted by Aubergine68 

 If we aren't going to use our milk right away, I skim most of the cream, make butter to freeze, then decant the rest of the gallon into four 1.3 quart glass canning jars to freeze - the 1.3 quart jars give lots of headroom to freeze just under a quart of milk  and I have had no breakage.   

[SandraMort]

SO pretty, and not plastic?  My question is how fragile they are, since we manage to break everything.  How hard do you think the .5l would be for the 3 and 5 year olds to lift and pour from?

http://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-Frigoverre-Pitcher-Liter/dp/B003GY7Q7W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1299355888&sr=8-3
 

Originally Posted by wardeh 
Here's a bunch of different/similar pitchers. The one I have is the Frigoverre 2 liter. It is heavy and beautiful. I've given it away as gifts too just because it is so lovely.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=frigoverre+pitcher&x=0&y=0

[Aubergine68]

Originally Posted by SandraMort 

How do you skim the cream?  I make a huge mess and don't find that I do an effective job.  Drives me NUTS!!!!!!!!!  I've tried pouring it off the top, ladling it out, using a turkey baster, putting it into a (plastic, ugh) container with a spigot at the bottom to remove the milk from below the cream... nothing works.

Sandra
 

We use a steel  ladle - I've seen similar ones in dollar and department stores, where canning supplies are, often.  It is small enough to fit through the mouth of the jars  that the farm uses so I don't have to transfer or pour the milk before skimming.  We get a lot of cream (Jersey cows) so never drink it whole, really - just too rich.  I let the jars stand in the fridge for at least a day or two to let the cream rise, then skim into another jar or the blender that we use to make butter.  We never get 100 percent of the cream of course, and there are some drips to  wipe, but it seems effective enough to me.  The milk tastes like a full-bodied 2 percent fat milk when we are done, usually, so I'm guessing that's about the fat % my home skimming leaves behind.

[SandraMort]

I've used a small ladle but always manage to spill it all over.  SO FRUSTRATING!!!
 

Originally Posted by Aubergine68 

We use a steel  ladle - I've seen similar ones in dollar and department stores, where canning supplies are, often.  It is small enough to fit through the mouth of the jars  that the farm uses so I don't have to transfer or pour the milk before skimming.  

[Aubergine68]

Maybe a wide-mouth canning funnel or two would help?  I used to use one till I got the hang of the skimming. 

ETA - and you probably got this already, but you lower the ladle gently into the cream and let the cream seep in  - you don't scoop it, like you were scooping a ladle of soup..... 

[SandraMort]

I got the theory but I can't SEE where the line is between the cream and the milk, so I always end up taking milk out with the cream.  Not sure how the funnel would help.  Explain please?
 

Originally Posted by Aubergine68 

Maybe a wide-mouth canning funnel or two would help?  I used to use one till I got the hang of the skimming. 

ETA - and you probably got this already, but you lower the ladle gently into the cream and let the cream seep in  - you don't scoop it, like you were scooping a ladle of soup..... 

[Aubergine68]

Do you let the milk sit for a few days?  Is it in a clear jar - I can't imagine not seeing the line between cream and milk...  Is there a chance that your milk is skimmed before you get it - I've heard some raw milk dealers do this -- or that the fat content is low because it is winter?

 How does the cream you get taste?  Does it compare in mouth feel to whipping cream or table cream or whole milk?

The milk is a little bluish and watery looking - the cream is yellowish and thick, even clotted (not always in winter, but in summer, definitely).  I used one canning funnel in the neck of the jar the milk came in (gallon jar, but with a lid about equal to the wide mouth canning jars) and one funnel in the neck of the canning  jar I wanted to put the cream into.  It just made the opening wider so I wouldn't drip so much.  

It is ok, imo to get a little milk in with the cream when skimming.  It hasn't affected my ability to process it into butter, and I use the fresh buttermilk for baking or we drink it.

[SandraMort]

I guess I'm not being clear, I'm sorry.

When I kneel down and look at the jar from the side, the creamline is visible.  If I lower the ladle into the jar from this position, I dump it everywhere.  Hand eye coordination is not my strong suit.

When I stand up and put the ladle into the jar from above, I make much less mess, but can't see how far down to put it, and always end up having to redo it repeatedly.
 

Originally Posted by Aubergine68 

Do you let the milk sit for a few days?  Is it in a clear jar - I can't imagine not seeing the line between cream and milk...  Is there a chance that your milk is skimmed before you get it - I've heard some raw milk dealers do this -- or that the fat content is low because it is winter?

[SandraMort]

OH, and "Do you let the milk sit for a few days?"

No, I was doing it when I got home from the farm after it settled down from the car ride.  Was I supposed to wait?

[Brendalee]

Definitely let it sit for a day or two in the fridge - the cream line will get thicker/more noticeable!

Sadly, there's barely a creamline in the milk I get over the winter!  *sniffle sniffle*  I still have to shake it when I use it, but there's no line of demarcation to even ATTEMPT to decant the cream separately.  Which is really too bad, because my DH would happily drink nothing but heavy cream if he could!  *LOL*  Plus, it's nice to take the thicker stuff off the top & use that in our coffee, or on top of some berries, etc.

The farm I visit currently has (adorable!) Holsteins; I'm gonna do more research & see if I can find a farm in driving distance that has Jersey or Gurnsey cows - they tend to have far more cream in their milk!!