A question about consistency of milk.

[jwalker]

If one is attempting to start a small cheese business , and I mean quite small , a one or two person operation and about 50 gallons a week to start , wouldn't a good quality store bought P/H milk give the most consistent results?

I can get fresh raw milk and pasteurize it , or go with raw makes , or I can buy a good quality P/H at wholesale store prices.

My theory is this : the local dairies here graze their cows on fresh pasture , but during winter they are fed hay and silage , so the milk would vary greatly from season to season , the processed milk is shipped from these same dairies year round to large processors at the coast , where cows are grazed outside most of the winter as well fed hay and silage.

So the milk would come from a mixture of pasture grazed and hay fed cows.

Now , I'm not saying it would be a better cheese , but could one expect a more consistent outcome with every batch ?

Our current local artisan cheesemaker , only makes cheese in the spring/early summer , when they consider their milk is at its peak , they sell out fast as well , I was hoping to make cheese year round.

It would also save the step of pasteurizing it myself , which would make it a plus when dealing with inspectors/regulators and , ( I wouldn't need a milk buyers license from the BC Milk Marketing Board) , one less hoop to jump through  , do any small makers do this ?

Any thoughts , anyone ?

Cheers , Jim.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Inspectors almost always require milk to be pasteurized on site for fresh cheeses. So if you buy pasteurized milk and have to pasteurize it again on site, the milk will be seriously degraded and IMHO unacceptable for most cheese making. Yes store bought p/h is "more consistent" but that's because it is chemically treated and bleached to make it white.

[linuxboy]

You cannot use homogenized milk for any rennet curd cheese.

could one expect a more consistent outcome with every batch

Milk components are one aspect of consistency. Process is equally or even more important. You can make consistent cheese with variable milk.

[jwalker]

Inspectors almost always require milk to be pasteurized on site for fresh cheeses. So if you buy pasteurized milk and have to pasteurize it again on site, the milk will be seriously degraded and IMHO unacceptable for most cheese making. Yes store bought p/h is "more consistent" but that's because it is chemically treated and bleached to make it white.

That's something I didn't know.

Thanks for that info , it changes everything .

Cheers , Jim.

[BobE102330]

You cannot use homogenized milk for any rennet curd cheese.

Yikes!  While I am happier with my fresh and creamline makes, I've had some nice results with Stilton approximations and others using PH.  I guess my palate is on the unrefined side.    No, I wouldn't consider any of my PH cheeses commercial quality (or any cheese I've made), but I attributed that to my inexperience.  I'll have to try using a bit more raw milk and see if I can make something better. 

[linuxboy]

Blues are the exception. By rennet curd I mean the typical cheddar/gouda and other continental and yellows.

[BobE102330]

Thanks for the clarification. I feel better now.

[Boofer]

Yes store bought p/h is "more consistent" but that's because it is chemically treated and bleached to make it white.

Is that true? How is it chemically treated and bleached?

-Boofer-

[Spellogue]

If a cheesemaker were to blend milk that was brought in with that of his/her own animals could the cheese be labeled farmstead, or would it be restricted to the artisanal moniker?