Author Topic: Unhomogenized milk from the grocery store.. worth the cost?  (Read 2810 times)

lauravanb

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Unhomogenized milk from the grocery store.. worth the cost?
« on: February 19, 2016, 09:27:55 AM »
Has anyone tried using Organic Valley Grassmilk? Their site says it is 100% grass-fed, unhomogenized, "minimally pasteurized" milk. It is also $5.59 per HALF gallon from what I've seen online! I'd really like to find some better quality milk than the typical grocery store $2 per gallon milk Ive been using, and am not finding any kind of local dairy where I could buy milk straight from the source. I don't know if this stuff is worth it or not?? Especially considering it is a national brand (who knows how long it takes to come to the store, how long it sits, etc).

Offline awakephd

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Re: Unhomogenized milk from the grocery store.. worth the cost?
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2016, 01:05:57 PM »
Laura, I have no experience with it, but the description is exactly what I'd be looking for if I could find it -- unhomogenized, low-temp pasteurization (which is what I presume "minimally pasteurized" means). I would guess that, as long as it is reasonably fresh according to its sell-by date, it ought to work way, way better than the regular store bought P&H milk. You might try a batch using half of this and half of the P&H -- even that should make a HUGE difference in the strength and stability of the curds, if it really is what it says it is. Yes, that is really expensive, so whether it is worth it ... hard to say!

As a comparison, I can get raw milk for about the same price per gallon through a friend who belongs to a co-op that ships it in from out of state. With all of the layers involved, I too am uncertain about the quality of the milk; I tried it once, half and half with regular P&H milk, and the results were quite fantastic. But I can get very, very good results just using store-bought P&H milk, as long as I am careful about the brand (Pet has generally worked okay, as has Hunter Farms, a local grocery store brand). The curd is not great with the store-bought milk; it nearly always shatters to some degree. But I've still gotten some good-to-excellent cheese out of it. So ... for me it is not worth a regular investment in the raw milk. But if I ever find a way to get such milk, or something that is LTP and unhomogenized, for a half-way decent price, I will be all over it!!
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Sweet Leaves Farm

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Re: Unhomogenized milk from the grocery store.. worth the cost?
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2016, 03:43:07 PM »
Where in Michigan are you at and how far are you willing to travel? There are a few herd shares available in Michigan, but you might have to travel quite a ways.

For example: http://www.migreenpastures.com/
                     http://www.localharvest.org/blog/50346/entry/where_to_find_raw_milk
                    http://rawmilk.alittleingenuity.com/
                    http://www.dairydelight.org/

These are just a few  of the places that I found, and you would have to pasteurize your own milk, but it would almost certainly be higher quality than anything you would get at most stores.
My only caution with herd shares is to really read the contract and ask lots of questions before you sign. Questions like; do you feed silage? (not so good for cheese making) how often do you test the milk and for what? What happens if I'm late for pickup? Most shares run about $6 a gallon or so, which would give you a more nutrient dense product for a slightly lower cost. If you're making aged cheeses, you wouldn't necessarily have to pasteurize the milk, as long as it was fresh and tested clean.

ksk2175

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Re: Unhomogenized milk from the grocery store.. worth the cost?
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2016, 04:04:33 PM »
I have been looking at that Organic Valley milk also.  I believe it comes in a 1/2 gal carton.  It is $6 a half gallon at my local Whole Foods Market and there is another brand offered .... Kalona Cream Top - non-homogenized for $5 a half gallon. 

My Whole Foods also has:
The Organic Valley Heavy Cream is $9 for 32oz carton.
Goats Milk - $3.69 quart

I haven't splurged for any of these yet but as soon as my cultures show up and I start making some Cams or Blues, I will probably make the investment. 

I do have a family friend that has given me raw cows milk and I made a Leicester with it but I havent asked that source for anymore since.   

SOSEATTLE

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Re: Unhomogenized milk from the grocery store.. worth the cost?
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2016, 02:18:08 AM »
I used Organic Valley Grassmilk one time and it worked fine. I have easy access to raw milk, so prefer to use that. If Grassmilk is worth the cost depends on your pocket book. To me raw milk is worth the cost.


Susan

Kern

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Re: Unhomogenized milk from the grocery store.. worth the cost?
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2016, 06:47:02 AM »
Soseattle,  Where are you getting your raw milk?

Kern

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Unhomogenized milk from the grocery store.. worth the cost?
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2016, 05:25:25 PM »
I think what you have to look at here is what exactly are you expecting from your milk and cheese.  If you spend $12.00 a gallon on milk for household cheese that you could be making with $2.00 a gallon milk, or buying ready made for $5.00 a pound, then it's probably not worth it.  If, on the other hand, you are looking to do a special, one time, artisanal cheese that costs $30.00 a pound in the store then yes.  I use both raw milk from a nearby farm that I pay $7.00 a gallon for, less if I take my own container, and P&H milk from Albertsons that I pay $2.39 a gallon for.  What I am making decides what milk I am using.  Both make excellent cheese BTW and I doubt that many could tell you which one was made from which milk but some of the cheeses I make are very expensive in the store and worth the extra investment whereas those I can get cheap aren't worth it.  I still make them because I get pleasure from creating cheeses and they still taste better than what I could buy but I'm not putting the roughly $75.00 I put into a 3 pound saffron infused manchego into cheddar or brie.  Of course there are other things to take into account like health issues and life choices but economically I would only buy it on rare occasions to make rare or expensive cheeses and certainly not everyday stuff.  Your choice! ;)
« Last Edit: February 20, 2016, 05:31:48 PM by Al Lewis »
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SOSEATTLE

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Re: Unhomogenized milk from the grocery store.. worth the cost?
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2016, 09:52:34 PM »
Soseattle,  Where are you getting your raw milk?

Kern



Most often I use goat's milk from Left Foot Farm (http://leftfootfarm.com/) that I get at local farmer's markets. Not cheap but makes great cheese. If I want to do cow's milk I usually get that from the Federal Way branch of Marlene's (http://www.marlenesmarket-deli.com/). They often have more than one brand of raw Jersey milk from local farms. I have also seen raw goat's milk there too. I think it was from St. John Creamery (http://stjohncreamery.com/). I have used St. John's milk a couple of times and even visited the farm once. Works well too.



Susan

lauravanb

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Re: Unhomogenized milk from the grocery store.. worth the cost?
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2016, 06:27:06 PM »
Where in Michigan are you at and how far are you willing to travel? There are a few herd shares available in Michigan, but you might have to travel quite a ways.

For example: http://www.migreenpastures.com/
                     http://www.localharvest.org/blog/50346/entry/where_to_find_raw_milk
                    http://rawmilk.alittleingenuity.com/
                    http://www.dairydelight.org/

These are just a few  of the places that I found, and you would have to pasteurize your own milk, but it would almost certainly be higher quality than anything you would get at most stores.
My only caution with herd shares is to really read the contract and ask lots of questions before you sign. Questions like; do you feed silage? (not so good for cheese making) how often do you test the milk and for what? What happens if I'm late for pickup? Most shares run about $6 a gallon or so, which would give you a more nutrient dense product for a slightly lower cost. If you're making aged cheeses, you wouldn't necessarily have to pasteurize the milk, as long as it was fresh and tested clean.


Awesome thanks! One of those is only 40 minutes from my house. So I just sent a bunch of questions.. Most of which were your suggestions! Thank you!

Stinky

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Re: Unhomogenized milk from the grocery store.. worth the cost?
« Reply #9 on: February 23, 2016, 02:08:20 AM »
I'd also just try it and see. Make a cheese with it and if that turns out to be good enough to make you be able to justify the cost, then do so.