How critical is milk freshness?

[Groves]

I have tons of things I can do with my raw milk when it's clabbered. No lack.

I'm less experienced with how milk freshness affects mozz or colby or cheddar or parms.

Not that I want to make a habit of it, but I bet there are better and worse cheeses to even attempt with milk that isn't clabbered, but will be in a few more days.

Any ideas?

[Gregore]

So your asking what to make with milk that is not fresh but has yet to clabber ?

Assuming the ph is not below 6.3, 6.4 or so  then you can make most cheeses  , but the lower the acid the more likely you will need to use a ph meter and not a time recipe.

[awakephd]

Agreed - in general you want to make cheese with the milk as fresh as possible. Assuming we're talking about milk stored in a refrigerator, be aware that cold storage of milk actually does some damage in terms of how it will work for making cheese. And the closer the milk gets to sour / clabber, the more you have an unknown mix of bacteria - not necessarily dangerous, but not necessarily the right flavors.  (There are, of course, cheeses that are made using raw milk, allowed to clabber naturally - but this is done purposefully and in a single episode, not drawn-out over time in the fridge. And even then, most people will add at least some culture to the milk to make sure the desired bacteria dominate.)

[Gregore]

One other thing I just remembered , cold storage of milk does not  completely slow down  growth psychrotrophics ( bad guys)   Where as the good bacteria are almost completely dormant.

So don't try to clabber in the fridge , too risky

[kakemono]

It is still fine for butter as a last result.

[awakephd]

I guess that would be butter than nothing ....

Sorry, just couldn't resist! 

[Gregore]

One could also pasteurize , rather than throwing it out