raw milk ?'s

[canuckgal]

Hi, I have a source for raw milk (under the radar of course as we are in Canada). It is the family cow of a woman who babysits my kids occasionally. She is meticolously clean with it when milking, and makes her own butter and ice cream with it too. To my knowledge no one has ever gotten sick my kids included. I believe she does not get her milk tested (otherwise she would be outed!) The cow grazes freely in the summer, and gets hay in the winter. Is that OK, that it can't get fresh grass all year long? Is this better than not having raw milk at all? would you get it if the milk is not tested?

Can I just store it in 4L (gallon) milk plastic jugs? How many days is it good for? She supplies about 4-5 other families and has a fridge in her garage just for this milk and it goes there right away.

Anyone also have some butter making tips? I do not have a churn, can I use just a hand mixer? How much cream would I need to make 3-4 lb of butter?

Thanks for the help! Tina

[guestmama9916]

Your source sounds great. Hay is perfectly fine for the winter months. The nutritional value of the milk will not be as good as it will be in the summer but I would still drink it. I wouldn't be concerned about having the milk tested since its a family cow that's eating a natural diet. Raw milk doesn't go bad like commercial milk. It just sours which is still fine for drinking and cooking with. We are usually able to drink a gallon a week without it ever going sour. If it does go sour, I feed it to our puppy so it doesn't go to waste.

[AJP]

Personally, I would feel okay with a source like that if I trusted the person's attention to cleanliness and the health of the cow. How stupid that the law makes it impossible for her to get the milk tested. Has the cow been tested for disease, or would that "out" her too? (Johne's, brucellosis and TB and what's usually checked, I believe.) And yes, hay in winter is fine. What you don't want is large amounts of grain.

As for butter, I've only made it in a food processor, I don't know how long a mixer would take but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I think it's typical to get about 1/2 lb. of butter per quart of cream.

If the milk is really clean and stays cold, it will stay sweet for about 10 days to 2 weeks unopened. It's better to transfer it to smaller containers, as much as you'll use in 2 or 3 days. For instance, if you get it in a 4L jug, transfer it when you get home to 1L or 2L jars depending on how quickly you'll go through it. The more the milk is disturbed, sloshed around and opened, the faster it will start to sour, IME, so it's better to have smaller containers that get used one at a time, so the rest can sit quietly until it's time to use them. I prefer glass containers, but the milk I buy now comes in #2 plastic (buying retail here in CA, not an under-the-table family cow situation). What kind of plastic are you using? Supposedly, #2 HDPE can only leach if in contact with acidic or hot contents, so should be safe for storing milk, but you'd want to be sure it's super clean before putting the milk in - are the jugs you're referring to being reused? I'd ask the cow owner if she would put my milk in glass jars that I provide (take them there very clean, with lids on), rather than reused plastic jugs. Glass is much easier to clean thoroughly when reusing containers.

[tboroson]

I would be comfortable with that situation One question I might ask her, how does she cool the milk before moving it to the refrigerator? That can make a big difference both in it's safety and in how long it will keep once you pick it up. It's recommended to cool it as fast as possible, and many people with family cows will plunge the bottles into a deep bowl of ice water.