Raw milk left out for a couple of hours...HELP!

[blakee741]

I have a neighbor who gives us milk.  Well yesterday he filled our bucket of milk, and i forgot to pick it up,    and so it was left in the milk house, which is cooler than outside, for a couple of hours.  Can i use this for cheese?  It has a lid on it and when i got it home i placed it in my fridg.  I dont know if i should pasteurize it before making aged cheese or not use it at all.....HELP!!!!

I dont want anyone to get ill...

Also....does aging cheese kill all bacteria ?

thanks in advance for any responses....God Bless

[MrsKK]

don't fret - the milk will be fine for cheesemaking.  In fact, I regularly clabber milk to make cottage cheese, which means that the milk is left out until it thickens to yogurt consistency.  Temps for cooking cottage cheese are not high enough to kill off all of the organisms in it, yet no one ever has gotten sick from it.

If you are making aged cheese, by the time it has aged for two months it is acidic enough to kill off any bacteria that might be in it, good as well as bad.


BTW, welcome to the Cheese Forum!  I hope we get to know you better soon.

[wharris]

I would imaging that it should be ok.

But I would be carefule if the "couple" in your hours left out, it is the same "couple" in the number of lbs I need to loose. 

[blakee741]

thank you all so much.. I am new to cheese making and have made this week, mozzarella (turned out great)...pepper Jack, and a 1lb and 3lb brick of cheddar...hope they turn out...