Raw milk... (~x-post~)

[Bensmommy]

I originally posted this over around the "healing the gut" guru's but was told I might get more advice/experience here...

Hi everyone! Looking at starting to use Raw Cow's milk and wanting to hear everyone's experiences. Want to use it in a "heal the gut" sort of way for the whole family- trying to boost all of our immunity as well as help DS with his KNOWN leaky gut (along with a lot of other stuff- candida, etc).

How has it worked for you? Any bad experiences? How much does it cost? I've looked into it and it will be $6-$6.50/gallon for us- lots o' money. We currently drink organic pasteurized milk and go through at least a gallon a week, so it's kinda expensive, huh? Is it common to be more expensive?
Does anyone make their own raw milk yogurt? Etc.........

Please share freely- I really want to learn

TIA!!!!

[Kimmiepie]

Well I can't be of much help because I'm new at this but I'll tell you what I know.

We just bought our very first gallon of raw milk three days ago. (yay!) It tastes great and no one has gotten the "sickies."

What was important for us (and should be for anyone I would think) was that we know where our milk is coming from. Not only is it expensive ($8.00 per gallon or $25 a month for 4 gallons which turns out to be 6 something) but I would worry about getting sick if it came from an undesireable place.

We made sure that the cows were free to roam, that the sick were isolated, no antibiotics were used, the feed was organically grown grass, and that the milk is tested, and that they drink it themselves. Also we wanted to make sure they were good cows, for us that is Jersey. The people we get ours from are licensed so their milk is tested once a month and then each time they milk the cows (with the machine or whatever it is) they clean teats with some homeopathic solution (can't remember) and then let it sit for a minute, wipe it off with a paper towel and make sure that after the milking they do not lie down for 20 minutes afterwards (the orifice stays open for about 20 minutes afterwards so if they lie in something yucky it can transmit germs inside).

So for us, we feel very confident about where our milk is coming from. They have four young homeschooled daughters who have grown up on this milk as well and I even saw some of the girls pouring some glasses for themselves while we were there. I think it's important, because I wouldn't want to drink it not knowing all of this.

Is there a farm that you would get it from? Or a store? If it's a store I would ask them what farm the milk came from and see if you could visit.

Sorry I'm no help on the healing stuff since we just started, but I'm also hoping to see benefits!

Good luck!

[Bensmommy]

Here's the info I've got for our "milk source" (sounds so sinister, but it's illegal in FL, so we're buying for animal consumption ). It's from our local Weston A Price chapter, so should be pretty reliable (the rep also orders and drinks from this dairy and it's delivered to her home):

"The ______ Dairy in the Florida Panhandle delivers unprocessed, pastured (grassfed), jersey milk to my home in ___ every other Friday morning between 10 and 10:45 am. The milk is labeled for pet consumption only per Florida law. The cows are free on unsprayed pasture all the time and are supplemented with hay, alfalfa hay, and silage (fermented hay) during the winter months. They are not treated with antibiotics, steroids, or hormones of any kind. A nonorganic, GMO free supplement consisting of corn, cottonseed, and kelp and very small amounts of soy, citrus is available to the cows at milking time only. The spotlessly clean milking barn has nonstress mats for the cows to stand on during milking and cow massage machines to sooth them during milking as well. A cow that is calm during milking produces better quality milk that lasts longer than a stressed cow. The milk is quick chilled to 38F within seconds of milking and lasts 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator where the temperature is 40 degrees F or lower. "

I was intrigued by the "nonstress mats" and "cow massage"- can I get a mat and massage? I'm a milk producer too!!!!!

But seriously, anyone else have any stories, ideas, tips, etc?

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[joy2bmom]

I'm no expert or anything but i have been getting raw milk for quite a while, we've never had any problems only benefits, i was considered lactose intolerent and could never drink store bought milk but i can drink lots of raw milk without even a twinge from my lower parts We spend $5.00 per gallon and we go through 4 gallons a week Your dairy farm you described sounds good to me, i knew even less about mine when i started getting it, i was just glad i found raw milk, but i know more about it now and know it and the couple that sell it are great. I don't have any recipe ideas though sorry, i'm just trying to learn that myself. I'm not sure about the fresh milk for 2-3 weeks though, mine goes bad in about 7 to 10 days but who knows, i'd go for it though. Good luck!

[Kimmiepie]

Wow! Non stress mats and massage??? That's funny.

Sounds like a good source. But apparently it's not in your area? So you couldn't stop by?

[HerbanGirl]

We get our raw milk from Organic Pastures, and I trust this source completely. I've been drinking it for about 8 months now (DP is still very hesitant, and for now it's just us two in the house) and I haven't had any problems at all. In fact, I haven't been sick at all during that time, even though I was under a lot of stress during the spring, and I haven't had any of the GI problems that I had on pasteurized milk products either. I also use raw butter and cheese (DP will eat these, for some reason) and it's all great.

Last week I made my first batch of whey and cream cheese from raw milk - it was easy and the cheese tasted great! I whipped it with a little Rapadura and spread it in a pie crust, then topped it with strawberries. It was delicious!

In the next few weeks I plan to start making my own yogurt and kefir. From all that I read, they both seem really easy. I just need to find kefir grains around here, and then I'll start.

Good luck!

[lovevolving]

Organic Pastures for us too. They're awesome. DH has met the pesident or whatever of the company (he makes a lot of trips to our neck of the woods because our local Co-op sells more of their raw milk than anywhere else! Lots of TF-enlightened people here) and thought he was a great guy.
For more raw milk info check out:

www.realmilk.com

and the book Real Food: What To Eat and Why, by Nina Planck.