Cow's Milk, Raw - How To Make Into 2% Fat For Parmesan Cheese Making

[coco]

The recipe I have for making parmesan calls for skim milk 2% butterfat.
I'm using raw milk, how would I adjust?
Thanks

[linuxboy]

Skim all the cream off the top.

[coco]

Thank you!
I won't go into detail how I got myself confused over this matter, but it's under control now.lol

[susanky]

My (admittedly limited) experience skimming cream tells me you can't get it all off.  (I would LOVE to have a cream separator!)  I havent' started making parmasean yet but plan to and have wondered the same thing.  If my cream from a Jersey cow is 4-4.5! butterfat, wouldn't I want to skim off just over half?  Or does enough stay mixed in the milk to make up the difference?  I do notice that cream that sits for days continues to separate so I assume the latter.
Susan

[coco]

Ok, Susan you're going make me admit how ditzy I can be.lol
I was thinking whole milk is the milk after the cream has been skimmed, but it's not. Whole milk is milk and cream. So no, no matter what her butterfat percentage is, you want to skim it all off.

That is right, isn't it? LOL

[susanky]

OK, I'll admit I'm blonde.  But I'm pretty sure if you skim it all off you have skim milk.  If you want 2% I think you must leave 2% butterfat.  And cream is not 100% butterfat, right?  So the end goal is 2% butterfat, not 2% cream. So not exactly sure how you know.  But if you have a bit of butterfat in your parmesan, then it is softer? But maybe a bit richer flavor?  So I'd err on leaving a little more than less. Disclaimer: I've never made parmesan.  Yet.
Susan
Susan

[coco]

I was thinking there would still be some butterfat in the milk because not all of it is going to rise unless you wait a really long time. Like when comparing skim milk to 2% percent milk...skim milk is watery and not as opaque as 2%.  But I really have no clue, I haven't made it either ..still waiting for this mornings cream to rise:0)

We're a duo, aren't we.lol

[susanky]

  I think you are right.  You'd have to wait a long time.  I also think it separates faster at room temperature (not that I am advocating that).  Early on when I first started getting fresh milk it took too long to get it refrigerated.  But that cream rose quickly and thick.  When you skimmed that cream off the remaining milk was very watery (skim).  Now I refrigerate it (put on ice actually) and the skimmed milk isn't as thin.  I usually skim in 1-2 days.  So how much is left?!  We need a meter!  I think I am going to just go shake the cream back into the milk and have me a big 'ol glass.   

[coco]

A tall glass of milk, now there's a solution!! I love it!

You have a really good point..how do I do know if I have to much or too little butterfat. Are there any clues early in the process???

I would like to put away 1 wheel a month of parmesan, but don't want to wait 12 months to find out it's a fail.

[linuxboy]

Skim as much as you can. Parm isn't made with 2% milk, it's closer to 2.3-2.4 in most cases. It depends on the protein to fat ratio. With a Jersey you get more fat, but also a lot more protein. So if you just skim off all the cream you can, you'll be in the right range. Usually, skimming alone will get you to about 2.3%.

[tnsven]

If you're worried about cheese failures, get a 2nd cow. 

Really though, it doesn't matter that much. The very first parm I made I stuck in my extra fridge and did nothing with it. No humidity. I ignored it. Didn't want to deal with it. Didn't rub it with anything. Nothing. It got pretty hard. Difficult to cut. So it sat a looooonnnnngggg time. But I got my hubby to cut it and managed to shred it. It was the tastiest parm I've ever had. It was well over a year old, perhaps two when we finally got to it eating it.

You should see the looks of the two I made this summer in my unairconditioned house when it was 98 out. I don't like the looks of them so I'll ignore them for a loooonnnnggg time too.

I find that you can be flexible on all sorts of things in a recipe and still get really good cheese.

BTW. they didn't have cream separators in Italy 400 years ago. They did it by hand. Got butter and cheese for their troubles too. Nice how that works out, isn't it?!

Kristin

[coco]

Ahhh, good to know about the percentages!

I'm trying to trust myself that recipes are flexible. I still squench up my nose when trying something new and have yet spit anything out. That's about as scientific as it can get, right.lol

Two cows here :0)  Still don't want to spend all day making gourmet chicken food, those feathered punks (too many roos at the moment) are lucky to get clabber.

Going to start my parm in the morning, can't wait!
Thanks everyone

[DeejayDebi]

You need not worry if there is a bit to much cream in your raw milk after skimming it won't hurt the cheese. I have to do the same thing and I have no way to refrigerate that much milk after leaving the dairy I get it from so it's not ice cold when I skim. It will give you a creamier parm but it tastes great!

[MrsKK]

My first parmesan is still a hockey puck sitting in the back of the second fridge.  It is well over two years old.  I think it was Wayne that suggested that I sanitize a hacksaw to get to the center.

Gonna have to try that one of these days...

[coffee joe]

I've made  couple of Parms, waiting to see how they turn out.
In Italy, half the milk comes from the night before and left to sit in a covered Paiolo, (Copper Pot) at 18ºC, the next morning this milk is skimmed fully, yielding cream for butter and the other half is whole milk from that morning's milking.