Raw milk cream

[IllinoisCheeseHead]

Hi

I use only raw milk for cheese making.  I was wondering if I can skim the cream layer of the milk to make butter without affecting the cheeses I make.  I mostly make gouda, Jacks, baby swiss types.

Of course I would low tem pasteurize the cream if I can harvest it and not impact the cheeses I make.  I use only Jersey cows milk.

Thanks

[Sailor Con Queso]

Jersey milk has a higher butterfat content anyway so you could skim off SOME of the cream without too much impact, depending on the cheese and how you want it to turn out. Many cheeses will actually benefit from a little lower butterfat content. Baby Swiss can handle less fat than a Gouda. Harder cheeses like Parm benefit greatly from less fat. Try it and see if you like the results with your finished cheese.

[IllinoisCheeseHead]

Excellent.  I am so in love with milk now.  I can make Cheese, cream cheese, butter and more.  I am very popular at work now, except that people are blaming me for gaining weight.  My answer is I bring the goodies but you open your month and eat them....lol

[Sailor Con Queso]

Cover of Time Magazine last July - a photo of a huge mound of butter. The headline was (paraphrased) "It's Not About The Fat. Why Scientists Were Wrong.". All of the latest research says that NATURAL fat has nothing to do with weight gain, increased cholesterol, or heart problems. It's all the over-processed foods in our diets that cause the problems. There is tons of info online, but you should search on the French Paradox. Something nutritionists have puzzled over for years. The French consume an average of over 57 pounds of cheese per person every year, and yet they have fewer problems with obesity and heart disease. Some of the latest studies suggest that cheese actually is the answer. As probiotic bacteria from natural cheese inhabit the digestive system, they produce a compound called butyrate, that improves digestion and increases metabolism.

[IllinoisCheeseHead]

Back on last Thanksgiving I weighed 367 pounds and was about to agree to aggressive methods to lose weight.  I decided I was going to make a radical change in what I eat and I started eating a lot of natural things.  No more burgers, although still miss them, but I do indeed eat cheese and a lot of it.  I also eat a lot of my cream cheese and now butter.  I cut back drastically on carbohydrates and I am now at 266.  That is 101 pounds since I started my diet.  So I am a total believer.  I eat a large piece of cheese everyday with some fruit and that was something I could have never thought possible before.

So I totally believe you.

AC4U

[Sailor Con Queso]

Good for you.  And a cheese back at you for your effort. Cheese is obviously good for you - lots of protein, calcium, and probiotic bacteria. It kills me when someone walks up to one of our Farmer's Market booths and says that they can't eat cheese because of the fat. It's all about natural foods.

[Stinky]

Hi

I use only raw milk for cheese making.  I was wondering if I can skim the cream layer of the milk to make butter without affecting the cheeses I make.  I mostly make gouda, Jacks, baby swiss types.

Of course I would low tem pasteurize the cream if I can harvest it and not impact the cheeses I make.  I use only Jersey cows milk.

Thanks

You could try making Alpine cheeses with the classic Swiss method. There, they put the evening's milk out in pans, skim it in the morning and add the fresh new milk and make their cheese out of that.

[Boofer]

I eat a large piece of cheese everyday with some fruit

Sounds a lot like my regimen.

Kudos on your improved diet way of life.

-Boofer-

[Bantams]

Some Jersey milk is 4% butterfat, some is 7%...
My cow usually tests at 5% butterfat and I generally take a cup or two of heavy cream from a 4 gallon batch of Gouda and Alpine styles.