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GENERAL CHEESE MAKING BOARDS (Specific Cheese Making in Boards above) => INGREDIENTS - Milk Types, Formats, & Pre-Cheese Making Processing => Topic started by: MrsKK on April 22, 2012, 02:46:14 AM

Title: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: MrsKK on April 22, 2012, 02:46:14 AM
I am used to getting an average of 1 pound of cheese per gallon of milk when using my cow's fresh, raw milk.  Yesterday, I used 5 1/2 gallons of milk to make a Gouda.  There was no way I could fit all of the curd into my 6 inch wide, 8 inch tall mold.  Normally, I can push them down with my hand and get all of them to fit.  There was about a pound of curd left that just would NOT fit in the mold, though.

When I took the wheel out of the mold, I weighed it.  6.02 pounds.  And the curds had been contracted and fairly firm when I molded this cheese up, too.  I've had "fluffy" curds in the past, but that wasn't the case with this cheese yesterday.

The only difference is that I am feeding my cow no commercial grain blend anymore.  She is fed cooked corn, soaked beet pulp, and fodder - grain that is sprouted by soaking in water, then rinsing twice a day until there is a dense root mat and about 4 inches of growth on the top - plus she gets free choice hay.  She also just freshened about a week ago.

I'm very impressed with this yield.
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: anutcanfly on April 22, 2012, 03:10:09 AM
What fun! I hope it continues.  What is the temperature like where you are?  I started see the high yields as things got colder here.
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: smilingcalico on April 22, 2012, 03:32:23 AM
Ahhhhh, the joy of raw milk, especially the seasonal and feed changes.
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: MrsKK on April 22, 2012, 05:20:35 PM
It is slowly starting to warm up.  We had 60's and 70's in March, but April has been mostly 40's.  This past week - just since she calved - we started getting 50's.  This next week it is supposed to be in the 60's with sunshine. 

I'm going to ask on Keeping a Family Cow if anyone else has noticed such changes with putting their cow on fodder.  We are really seeing a difference in our feed bill, too.  Only about a third of what we used to spend on grain and commercial mixes.
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: anutcanfly on April 22, 2012, 09:17:17 PM
Keep posting as you find out.  I'm real curious how much is the fodder and how much the cold...
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: Cloversmilker on April 22, 2012, 11:27:04 PM
My Clover is has been giving me high yields since her calf was weaned last fall.  She gets free choice hay; orchard grass and alfalfa, a couple pounds of soaked beet pulp, and rolled grain (COB) with molasses.  Plus pasture of course.  She's due to calve again at the beginning of September; we'll see what she does next lactation. 
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: DeejayDebi on April 23, 2012, 01:51:28 AM
Way to go Karen!
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: smilingcalico on April 23, 2012, 01:58:26 PM
Oh, she just calved? There's your reason right there. Mama's milk is much richer to help get baby growing quick. Much higher butterfat. Good time to make creamier style cheeses.
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: MrsKK on April 24, 2012, 03:22:16 AM
This is calf #4 and I've never noticed this before.  I am enjoying it, though.
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: DeejayDebi on April 25, 2012, 03:09:43 AM
Don't look a gift Clover in the mouth!
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: MrsKK on April 25, 2012, 12:49:47 PM
Oh, no, I'm not!  I made a Cheddar on Sunday and it weighed 6.08 pounds right out of the press.  Using 5 1/2 gallons of whole milk.  According to the Wiki table (http://cheeseforum.org/articles/wiki-milk-cheese-yield/), normal yield for 6 gallons of milk is 5 lbs of Cheddar or Gouda.  I'm impressed!

Sadly, there was about a half cup of butterfat on the draining board.  I should have just scraped it off and used it for cooking with, but I didn't think of it before I was washing it off.
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: Sailor Con Queso on April 25, 2012, 02:04:20 PM
That's a 12.85% yield.

5.5 gallons x 8.6 pounds/gallon = 47.3 pounds of milk
6.08 pounds of cheese / 47.3 = .1285 x 100 = 12.85%

That's very good, but not record breaking. :) What kind of cow?

The yield suggested in Wiki is:

6 gallons x 8.6 = 51 pounds
5 pounds of cheese / 51 = .097 x 100 = 9.7%

I average about 11% year round for mesophillic cheeses, so with good milk, that Wiki figure seems a little low.
The yield will be different for different types of cheese. Parmesan for example is much lower because of the small curd size and cooking.
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: MrsKK on April 25, 2012, 10:09:22 PM
No, not record-breaking, but it is much better than I've had in past lactations.  She's 3/4 Jersey, 1/4 Holstein.
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: DeejayDebi on April 26, 2012, 03:14:57 AM
Great milk and a beautiful baby!
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: MrsKK on April 27, 2012, 10:42:21 PM
Baby is growing like crazy, too.  We're leaving her with mom, only separating them for 6-8 hours during the day, and she's gaining an average of 14 lbs per week.  I've had to loosen her halter three times already.

Our daughter has fallen in love with her and says she wants to learn how to milk when Etta becomes a milk cow.  That's two years away, so I'm not going to hold my breath!
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: DeejayDebi on April 28, 2012, 08:35:45 PM
well you never know she may still be in love with the calf as it grows and become even more attached as they grow together.
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: MrsKK on April 29, 2012, 06:46:01 AM
Rachel is 20 years old and will be moving into an apartment on June 1st.  She's my baby, but says I'll never get empty nest syndrome because the nest is always being re-filled by chicks and calves!

I'm really impressed with the creamline I'm getting when I separate the calf for the day, then use her to jump-start letdown.  It is nearly a third of every jar.  Starting tomorrow, I'm only going to milk once a day because today I was only able to get a total of a gallon and a half of milk from two milkings.  It isn't worth the work of cleaning up for that little milk.  I'll pen up the baby after morning chores - then I'll probably get at least two gallons in the evening.  That's plenty for the house, IMHO.
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: DeejayDebi on April 30, 2012, 03:00:35 AM
Ah well then she must already be maddly in love with the calf!
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: Tiarella on September 27, 2012, 12:23:14 AM

The only difference is that I am feeding my cow no commercial grain blend anymore.  She is fed cooked corn, soaked beet pulp, and fodder - grain that is sprouted by soaking in water, then rinsing twice a day until there is a dense root mat and about 4 inches of growth on the top - plus she gets free choice hay.  She also just freshened about a week ago.

I'm very impressed with this yield.

mrsKK, I'd love to hear how you're doing the sprouting of the grains and how and why you're cooking the corn.  I've been thinking of switching my goat herd to sprouted grains.  I've heard that to really up production it helps to use some liquid sea minerals in the wash......not sure if that would be for the first soak or what.  What are you sprouting your grains in/on that you go for a good root mat and 4" of top growth?  I'd love to hear all the details you're willing to share.
Title: Re: Fantastic yield with raw milk
Post by: MrsKK on September 29, 2012, 12:56:57 PM
Here's (http://familycow.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=pasture&action=display&thread=47939) where it all started.  Mind you, this link is Chapter 1 - the Keeping a Family Cow forum has had quite a lively discussion of fodder raising and feeding and it wouldn't make sense for me to lay out the details here - that forum is now up to 4 chapters regarding fodder feeding! 

Because I don't like to spend much money before I try something new, I experimented with sprouting corn in gallon glass jars.  I started another thread (http://familycow.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=pasture&action=display&thread=50428) on KFC regarding that. 

I'm now feeding a ground mix (from grains we purchased, adding minerals, vitamins, and diatomaceous earth), cooked grains, beet pulp, and free choice alfalfa/grass mix hay.  For the fall, I just have been too busy and sick (pneumonia) to do the work of raising fodder, but plan to go back to it once I'm feeling better and the farm is put to bed for the winter.  My reasoning on cooking grains is that they are easier to digest than whole grains and I have a belief that different preparations of the grains make different nutrients available.  Not sure if my beliefs are very sound, but the animals enjoy the blend they get, so I'm continuing.  I'm cooking a blend of corn and barley.

IDK about adding minerals to the rinse water - I simply use well water and have excellent growth.  I know that I have to rinse the sprouts/fodder very well before feeding it to my cow or she won't eat it - she's very fussy.  The pigs, calves and chickens don't care.