Author Topic: Now I have milk :)  (Read 6613 times)

Daznz

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Now I have milk :)
« on: August 24, 2009, 07:35:21 AM »
Now my cheese journey starts   ;D This is my first cow and calf shes a fantastic cow.
Im going to make farmers cheese as a start do I skim the cream from the
milk before I make this cheese ?

Dale

Daznz

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2009, 07:39:32 AM »
More photos

zenith1

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2009, 01:50:07 PM »
Dale , congratulation's is a fine looking animal. As far as making the cheese though, I believe that it can be skimmed, but does not have to be. More of a personal choice issue. As you are probably already aware some cheeses are made from skimmed milk, most notably any that are a grating or Grana style cheese. Here is a recipe that I had on hand :

# Warm milk to room temperature (68-70°F)
# Dissolve 1/2 of a rennet tablet in 1/4 cup luke warm water.
# Stir in buttermilk, mix thoroughly.
# Stir in rennet, mix thoroughly, cover, let sit for 24 hours.
# Check for clean break. The curd should be firm enough to cut into 1/2 inch cubes (see page on Making 5 gallons of milk into cheese for pictures). Some recipes call for stirring the curds into a slurry, and pouring into a fairly tight weave bag to drain. However, if the weave is too loose, such as with a single layer or two of cheese cloth, the fine curd will run through at first. I far prefer to cut the curd as it makes for more easily separated curds and whey.
# ladle the curds into a sterile cloth in a strainer (or colander), and suspend in a refrigerator or cool place.
# Let the whey drain for 24 hours in a cool place.
# Salt to taste (about 1-2 teaspoons), store covered in the refrigerator for a week or two. This cheese will not keep for much longer.

goatherdess

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #3 on: August 24, 2009, 02:50:40 PM »
Aww...She looks like a very sweet, patient girl. Those kind are always the best to work with. Congrats!

Cream in or out is one of the choices that makes each cheese unique to you, your animals and your farm. Try it both ways and see which one you like better.

Daznz

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2009, 07:44:48 AM »
Thanks very much for your advice and the recipe . Yes she is a patient girl
with hay to munch on I think she would stand there all day  ;D

Dale

MrsKK

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2009, 11:27:49 AM »
Dale,
Welcome to the world of house cows!  She is beautiful - I just love the heart on her face.  The calf is really cute, too and looks like he's really beefy.

No advice on the cheese type you are wanting to make, but I'm sure you'll love cheesemaking.  Have a great time with it and keep us posted.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2009, 10:23:26 PM »
Great looking couple yo got there Dale. Congrats on the new family. I would save a bit of the cream for butter but not to much unless you are making cheese designed for skimmed milk.

PeterNZ

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2009, 04:05:30 AM »
Hey Daz,

somehow I get the impression I have seen this picture before!  :D

Good to "meet" you here as well.

Cheers

Peter

wharris

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2009, 03:03:00 PM »
I had a talk with the wife about getting some cows.  I would like to get about 5-10 head.  But that is strictly a retirement dream. 

Problem is that if i did that, my wife would "name" the cows, and they would cease to be cattle, and become pets.  While I would not have a problem with it, she would never eat a steak from "ol' Betsy".  And not being able to use the cows for meat when they stop producing milk would be a game ender for that dream I think.

PeterNZ

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #9 on: August 27, 2009, 12:34:43 AM »
I had a talk with the wife about getting some cows.  I would like to get about 5-10 head.  But that is strictly a retirement dream. 

Problem is that if i did that, my wife would "name" the cows, and they would cease to be cattle, and become pets.  While I would not have a problem with it, she would never eat a steak from "ol' Betsy".  And not being able to use the cows for meat when they stop producing milk would be a game ender for that dream I think.
0

Not sure Wayne if a steak from "ol' Betsy" would be enjoyable. It is more the young ones which get eaten. A cow gives milk for about 10 years. I wouldn't (couldn't) eat a steak from a 10 year old cow.

We now have a house cow and her name is Louise. She has a girl calf and we want a bull calf as well. The bull calf will be named "Sausage" or something along this line.

We also have a herd of Dairy goats and they all have names. I wouldn't eat them. The boys do remain nameless ;-)

Are you planing to have a milking machine? I now milk half a cow and I must say, my hands as opposed to the rest of my body start looking like the hands of Mr. Universe. 5 - 10 cows need a miking machine if you ask me!

This is Louise and her girl


Cheers

Peter

Daznz

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #10 on: August 27, 2009, 07:27:30 AM »
Hi ya Pete
I think you are following me  ;D Nice jersey cow there will be very nice cheese out of  Louise for sure. what about poor me with my friesian when shes older I will be milking out 30litres a day by hand hahahaha . I sit down there in the dark at 5.45am before work every day and love every min of it .
My calf is a girl and yes is a beef breed x and will be sold I am happy to eat the sirloin steak but my wife wont hehehe  ::).
My cow will go to a friesian bull in a few mths

Dale

MrsKK

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #11 on: August 27, 2009, 09:41:23 PM »
We have always named the steers that are destined for the freezer and never have any problems eating the beef.  I have already made the decision that Buttercup will be made into hamburger when her milking days are over, as I think it would honor her more for her to continue to feed our family after she has passed, as she has throughout her life.  But, hey, that's just me.

I'm milking out 3 to 3 1/2 gallons a day - I guess that equals about 12-14 litres, if my memory serves me.  I could feed her for higher production, but that amount of milk is just the right amount for our family, plus feeding the pigs and chickens.  When those go to the butcher, I will probably buy a steer calf to foster onto her so I don't have to do all the milking.

I do have good hand and arm strength - there are guys that I could easily beat at arm wrestling, but I won't demean them with a challenge.

My cow is a Jersey/Holstein cross and I am planning on AI breeding her to Red Angus at the end of September, wanting a quicker growing carcass for butchering.  I have selected a bull that throws milky heifers, just in case.

PeterNZ

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #12 on: August 27, 2009, 10:26:05 PM »
The thing which excites me even more is that my parents gave her to us as a present. You must know that my parents still live in Germany and the paid for Louise. Hence her name because my mum's middle name is Louise. You can imagine how much fun they have telling everybody back in Germany where children think milk grows in cartons on supermarket shelves that they gave their son a cow as a present!

Makes me proud too.

Cheers

Peter

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #13 on: August 27, 2009, 10:44:44 PM »
Aw that was so sweet of them. That is a special cow for sure! My mothers name was Louise. She was like the pied piper with the cows - they adored her. Dad would fight and yell and slap their butts and they wouldn't move. Mama would just pat their heads and lead the way sweetly saying come on whatever the names were and they'd follow her anywhere - even the butcher truck.
« Last Edit: August 29, 2009, 05:37:39 PM by DeejayDebi »

MrsKK

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Re: Now I have milk :)
« Reply #14 on: August 28, 2009, 12:10:42 PM »
That makes her a double-special cow then, Peter.  What is her heifer calf's name?