The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Food & crafts => Food processing => Topic started by: Eve on February 04, 2016, 08:38:28 am
-
I'm thinking of ordering the Ukranian blue or red one on ebay, and I came across some older posts whilst researching it. Just wondering if anybody has used one for several years now and it's still going strong? Anything to watch out for? Spare parts available?
There's only the 2 of us but maybe electric would still be worth paying for? I don't mind paying extra.
I want to make cheese and butter and bought raw milk - I have the books and done the googling but letting the milk stand for so long before separating the cream requires too much patience :)
Will the milk & cream still be good to use if it's been frozen?
-
Whole milk and cream will not freeze well. We used to set milk to "rise" in wide, shallow pans and skim the cream off the top before churning with a big, shallow spoon.
Mind, this was 60 odd years ago so I dare say there is a quicker, easier way now. Not that that way was any problem!
-
Ripened cream is easier to make into butter. I milked jersey house cows for years. Just buy those big stainless steel bowls and a skimmer. Leave in the fridge for a day. Skim off the cream for ice cream butter or just cream. Electric butter maker is deffo worth it though. Skim jersey milk is better than shop milk anyway. Plus good for pigs and fattening cockerels (have to make sure the fridge is not in the kitchen now of course)
-
Fattening cockerels - good idea! :)
It's raw milk that we have at the moment, I really like it, I just wish there was more cream - or that I could get more out :)
-
When you skim it needs to look almost set on the top, and wrinkle up when the skimmer lifts it of. Do you have a proper skimmer, in not get on from the £1 shop they are only cheap.
-
I'm new to all this, nobody in my family ever separated milk so I've just been using a shallow ladle and a turkey baster :-[
-
Something like this is fine, get on with as big and as shallow bowl as you can. Start from one edge of the setting bowl, and skim just under the thickened cream surface, then lift it out and slip it into another bowl.
-
Thank you :eyelashes:
-
I was wondering how much cream you get? My jersey has been lactating for 7/8 months now (can check) and came to us a 4 months ago. I am not sure if the quality of the cream is affected by the level of lactation. The milk is quite thin. I'm getting just under 2 litres and struggle to get much cream and what I can doesnt seem the bother. She is back in calf now so hoping on improving the milk and cream quality this time around however this will be the summer onwards.
-
I used to dry mine off at about 9mths of milking and give them the last three months (for them and me) to have a rest and grow the calf.
I liked to work it out so I wasn't milking over Christmas, and also then there is plenty of nice grass coming for when they are in full flow.
-
We have used the electric version (red) for a few years now for our goatsmilk - skimmed goes to the pigs (milk for that isn't stored in fridge as piggies like the soured stuff as well), we make ice cream and/or butter from the cream, I also like a dollop of it in my morning coffee... :o
It is still working fine, gets most use in the summer months when goatkids only take one/two bottle/s per day and I don't have much time to make cheese, then in autumn cheesemaking more important.
However we only use it to do single runs of around 8 ltrs, it does tend to "gunk" up a bit with fairly solid cream/butter almost if you try and put through more stuff in one go.
My goats produce their creamiest milk in later summer/autumn and winter - they are run through for kidding every other year.
-
Thank you :)