Milk, Fall & Winter - Do We Still Make Cheese?

[Boofer]

I know there is a decided difference between summer milk and non-summer milk...and there is a huge difference between either raw milk or cream line milk and pasteurized & homogenized factory milk.

I know that some folks experiencing Fall & Winter (and early Spring) right now have stopped their cheese making efforts.

Is it still a viable, valid option?

Another question: I have been buying cream line milk. Is there any reason to believe that the cream line supply will dry up during the Fall/Winter months?

Please excuse my naïveté. 

-Boofer-

[steffb503]

I know my milk tends to be high in somatic cells in the late fall. It does give a better yield but I prefer not to use it for cheese. It never tastes the same.
Now I am using raw goat , not sure if cows are the same from what I understand cows only have those high numbers if there is an infection where as goats do not have to have an infection for the count to be higher.

I have yet to get the breeding staggered so I have milk year round anyway so no milk means no cheese till January.

[FarmerJd]

I actually make cheese mostly in the winter because I control their diet better when there is no grazing. I can taste everything they eat in the summer. In the winter, the milk is creamier and more consistent. I am probably an anomaly in this regard but I despise milking in 100 degree weather while fighting flies so I dry them up during the hottest months.

[zenith1]

Hi Boofer- I don't think there is any reason to stop your cheesemaking because of the time of the season -unless you want to of course. Yes there are differences in the milk( we are talking fresh raw milk here) from the standpoint of flavor and curd set ETC.,but that is just part of the process IMHO. I agree with FarmerDJ's post about the the flavor and creaminess(probably due to the C/F and DMF ratios). Can't speak to Creamline milk as I only use local fresh raw for my cheese making. My farmer has a certain time of the year when production is low-but milk is always available, just at reduced quantities. I would guess that it(Creamline)would still be available.

[MrsKK]

I actually have more time for cheesemaking during the winter months than I do the other three seasons.  Also, I have to dry my cow up in February for an April calving, so I'm cranking up with the cheesemaking to get stocked up before that time.

From May to October or November, I have butcher pigs to feed up, so they get a lot of the milk.

Like FarmerJD, I don't like to milk when it is hot, but it is worse to have to milk when it is -20 and knee deep in snow.  I prefer to have my cow dry in late winter so there's less shedding hair to deal with, but getting the cow to agree with that is another story!

[Boofer]

Like FarmerJD, I don't like to milk when it is hot, but it is worse to have to milk when it is -20 and knee deep in snow.  I prefer to have my cow dry in late winter so there's less shedding hair to deal with, but getting the cow to agree with that is another story!

I guess when you were hand-milking that was a little touchy, what with cold hands and all. 

Interesting perspectives. Thanks.

-Boofer-

[Priestman]

In truth, Boofer, it's all the other extremities which suffer at -20.  At the least your hands are active and on a warm animal.  Really, it's the spiritual defeat you feel when the milk hits the side of the can and freezes before it has a chance to run to the bottom.

On the topic though, I had read that milk from the end of lactation can have problems developing a firm enough curd.  With my sheep's milk, I've tried this first year to freeze milk--I can't keep up with their pace of production either--and mix milkings from different parts of the season to get a balanced batch.  Probably missing the high highs as well as the low lows.  I will experiment more in years 2 and 3 and report back.

Best wishes,
Paul

[FarmerJd]

At the least your hands are active and on a warm animal.

And the side of my face fits nicely against her side. Its kind of awkward trying to express the bond between milker and cow on a cold day like this. You just have to say," You wouldn't understand and I would sound really weird trying to tell you."


I have experienced differences in curd setting at the end of lacation cycles as you mentioned. I have not experienced the freezing milk part though. Wow. Glad it doesn't get that cold here.

[MrsKK]

Really, the front of my body is generally warm enough, as a cow gives off a lot of heat. 

Last year, she freshened at the end of November, so the curd set was wonderful.  She's been in milk for just over a year now and I'm still getting great cheese, just not as much of it, as she's down to a gallon a day.

However, that being said, my cow doesn't have access to pasture.  She does get lawn trimmings and I cut longer grass from the fencerows, etc., during the summertime, but her main feed is hay, mostly alfalfa/grass mix.  So, my experience is probably different from most.

Back to one of your initial questions:  If your creamline milk comes from a local dairy, you may want to call them and see if they slow down or stop production during the winter months.  There is a local organic dairy in my area that dries off all of their cows during the winter so they can go south and leave the farm to hired workers.  However, the big organic dairy that produces much of the creamline milk in my area has a huge herd and the cows are in freshening rotation to keep production consistent throughout the year.