Raw Milk Results -Wow

[BoilerMaker]

I was finally able to find a local supply of fresh raw milk from a local farmer and the difference between cheese made with my normal store bought milk is impressive.

With pasteurized, homogenized store bought milk, I always had a soft curd develop. A curd would form, but after cutting I could not stir the pot for fear that the curds would fall apart. It made any type of hard cheese difficult to make.

I used fresh raw milk for the first time this weekend. Nice firm curds were formed that I went ahead and made a stirred curd cheddar recipe. Even with all of the stirring, draining, and more stirring, the curds all held together really well.

[mokumeguy]

Very interesting to hear your results. I have only ever used raw milk, from my own cow. I have trouble because my curds are too firm! I can't seem to make any cheese that requires a little moisture. But boy, can I make a hard cheese for grating. I have even been able to press my cottage cheese for a few hours, and got a block that you could slice with a knife.

[Tea]

Hi BoilerMaker happy for you that you can access whole milk.  I agree that the difference is impressive, so is the final yeild.

Michael, I wonder if you try using a little less rennet then the packet says to, and see if that gives you a softer curd.  Not all cheeses use the full amount of rennet to set the curd.  The fetta recipe I use calls for only 1.6ml liquid rennet for 10ltr, where as usually I use 2.5ml per 10ltrs.
It would be worth (I think) playing around with addition rates, and see what you get.

[Cartierusm]

I have access to all types, it's just the price that gets you. You would think it would be cheaper as they don't have to process it further like other dairies such as pasturization and homogonization.

Here a regular gallon of milk is $3.29, raw pastuerized but not homogonized is $6.60, and raw from the farm is $15 a gallon.

I'm trying to find a dairy that will sell me like 10 gallons at a time locally. If I can find one I'm sure it must be cheap. If anyone knows how to find a local dairy let me know. I think cheese head said he looked at some site. I'll re-read some posts and see what he said.

[Tea]

I know that here in Aussie, competition from the "big guys" drives out the small dairy owners, unless they can sell a specialized product, ie: raw milk, cheeses and yoghurt.  Here as they are not allowed to sell raw milk, or the required licence is so expensive, that one dairy sold their milk as bath milk.  What you did with it from there was up to you.

Also the big chain supermarkets "water down" the milk, so that in the end it is only about 35% milk, with the rest additives, thus allowing them to sell the product so cheaply.  They also have the heavies over the industry, because of the quantities that they buy, and most dairy's are just breaking even with the renumeration that they are paid for their milk.

So I end up not quibbling over the price, (my local store knows that I am buying in bulk, so has given me a cut on the amount that I buy), knowing that I am helping a "little guy" stay in the market place, and provide a quality product.

I know that when I hand craft something from quality ingredients, I don't appreciate it when people expect me to price my product according to the price of an inferior quality product.  If they don't want quality, then don't buy my produce.

Ok off my soap box now.

[wharris]

This is my biggest problem.  Acquiring good milk, for a reasonable price.

In the US.  (Ohio), its illegal to sell, or distribute raw milk. 

I can buy pasturized non-homogenized milk for about 6.50USD/gal.

I am vaguely aware of other options that i will not be using.

[Cheese Head]

Tea

Also the big chain supermarkets "water down" the milk, so that in the end it is only about 35% milk, with the rest additives, thus allowing them to sell the product so cheaply.

Wow, if that is true then we really have a problem especially with the recent problems in China with milk additives. Let us know if you have any more info on this.

Cartierusm, the website I once found for source of raw milk in USA is www.realmilk.com/where, just click on USA or (Other Countries list) and choose State. My problem is I don't buy enough to justify the effort.

[Tea]

Cheese Head there was a doco that was recently aired here on the dairy and super market chain monopoly of the milk industry, and what they do to the milk to undercut the small diary's that are still operating.  Unfortunately I didn't get to see it, and only received the news second hand.  The problem with alot of these things is, that if the additives are under a certain percentage they are not required to add it to the ingredients list, and the fact that multinational companies are a law unto themselves at times.

I'll see what I can find.

[Cheese Head]

OK thanks, laws here in US and I believe in Canada are the same as you in Oz in that if below certain small % then an ingredient doesn't have to be on ingredients list.

Just looked at our 1% & Skim Pasteurized, Homogenized cow's milk jugs in our fridge from Houston stores, both have same ingredients list: Milk, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3. Nothing about water, then again you don't normally see water on ingredients.

[DeejayDebi]

Hi BoilerMaker

Glad to hear of your results. I was hoping my raw milk cheese this weekend was not a fluke but it looks like everyone is saying the same thing.

[thebelgianpanda]

Same thing here every batch I've done with raw.  It seriously rules.

[CBBaron]

Whole milk is not watered down to 3.5% in the US. That is the average milkfat of milk produced by Holstein dairy cows, which is the most common breed in the US. Jersey and other dairy cow breeds produce milk with 4% or better milk fat. And water is required to be on the ingredient list if it is added. Look at any labels for juice cocktail or similar manufactured beverage.

Buying raw milk in most states in the US requires either knowing someone or some other back door method due to regulations on the sale of dairy products. In Ohio it is illegal to sell raw milk to consumers. Some people have gotten around that by buying "shares" of a cow or dairy farm, usually set up as a coop or sorts.

Once I get a little more experienced with my cheese making I will try that expensive pasteurized non-homogenized milk available locally (Cleveland). Right now I would hate to waste good product to inexperienced hands.

Craig

[Cheese Head]

Howdy CBBaron and welcome to the forum, I'm still using and happy with store bought past milk.

Looks like you got caught in your post in the forum's software which I've set to change rude words to "cheese", sorry about that.

[BoilerMaker]

For my raw milk, I only get 1 gallon every other week. To help make bigger cheese batches and to reduce my overall cost, I have had great results mixing 1 gallon of raw milk with 1 gallon store bought milk. I get curd formation almost as good as fresh raw milk, even without adding any calcium chloride.

I haven't taken the step the step of 1 gallon raw to two gallons of store bought milk yet.

[DeejayDebi]

Interesting idea to mix raw and pasterized. I  may have to try that soon.