UGH! Raw milk for lactic cheese

[ctanner]

Hi, all, I just goofed up and am hoping someone here can tell me if my mistake is beyond fixing. I'm a novice at cheesemaking and was making Rikki Carroll's lactic cheese recipe. Instead of using pasteurized milk, as the recipe called for, I used raw milk. I've already heated the milk to 86 and added the mesophilic culture and rennet. Is it imperative that the milk be pasteurized, and if so, is there any way to correct at this point or perhaps convert it to another product?

[awakephd]

In general, you will always get better results using raw milk. However, for those who plan to sell their cheese, raw milk can only be used for cheeses that are aged at least 60 days. (This gives sufficient time for all the bacteria to die.) Thus, for cheeses that are aged less than 60 days, commercial dairies have to pasteurize the milk first.

For personal use, of course, it is entirely up to you. If it were me, I'd go forward with the make. If the milk has coliform contamination, you will detect that pretty readily by "blowing" and by smell. But if it smells good, and you want to be cautious, then when it is ready to eat, just eat a little nibble at first and see if it causes any trouble. Then a little more the next day, and so on. Or you could just dive in and hope for the best ...

[SOSEATTLE]

As Andy said it is a personal choice to pasteurize or not. Most recipes will call for pasteurized milk because of potential liability if someone were to get ill from using nonpasteurized milk. I myself use raw milk for the majority of my cheese making, including fresh cheeses. I source all my milk from Grade A dairies and have never had a problem. Of course it is all for personal use only.


Susan

[AnnDee]

I use raw milk too for almost all my cheesemaking, as long as I get it from reliable source.

[Danbo]

I'm a chicken myself but I eat a lot of french unpasteurized cheeses...

[Gregore]

I too use raw milk . I have never had issues as I get it from a state regulated source .

if you trust the milk you should have no worries , there are only a few things to worry about from raw milk and a good milk supplier should be testing and reporting ..... because cheese is aged reports are public long before the cheese is eaten .  At least for most cheeses

[ctanner]

Thanks, all! I'll file away your responses for future reference. My raw milk source is scrupulous and gets her milk tested regularly, so I wouldn't be afraid of contamination on that front. But alas, I didn't pick up on your responses in time and ended up pitching the whole batch. (Looked and smelled wonderful after it set up, by the way.) -- The Weenie

[awakephd]

Oh, no! Well, I'm afraid you will have to do some penance. Send me 4 gallons of raw milk immediately, and I will grant you absolution.

[Boofer]

But alas, I didn't pick up on your responses in time and ended up pitching the whole batch. (Looked and smelled wonderful after it set up, by the way.) -- The Weenie

Yeah, I think that will fit nicely in here. 

-Boofer-