One of the cool things about living where we do now is that we get to have so many new experiences. Almost every week we do something we've never tried before and we're having fun while doing it. This week I purchased a gallon of raw milk from a local farmer. In some states raw milk is banned (the Federal Govt. is afraid it will make us sick), in some states you can purchase it if you are part of a dairy farm's co-op program where you share the farmer's expenses and get milk in return. In our state raw milk has to be labeled "For pet consumption only" because raw milk is not heated (which is how milk is pasteurized).
The pasteurization of milk became commonplace during the 1930's after folks were getting sick from contaminated milk. (But it's not just milk, when was the last spinach recall? Or meat recall? It's all in how the food is handled.) The problem with pasteurization is that also kills some of the good bacteria and the enzymes that help our bodies digest the milk. I'm one of those people who needs the good enzymes. Eating anything made from milk and milk products purchased at the store is a real gamble for me as I never know how sick it's going to make me feel. Just a few cramps, maybe a little nauseated or as severe as several emergency trips to the bathroom. Yuk! And I've been like this most of my life.
Well, guess what? I've been drinking the raw milk now for 3 days and have not had one little cramp or twinge or stomach turning moment. It's like a miracle! So, looks like my problem has been that I've been missing the enzyme that helps my tummy digest the milk......which was stripped out at the huge dairy factory. Give me the quality little farmer operation anyday of the week instead of the huge agri-business companies where our food is stripped of some or most of it's nutritive components.
I trust the farmer we purchased the milk from to use sanitary milking techniques which results in safe milk to drink. We found this farmer by word of mouth from someone we know who organically raises all their beef, pork and fowl and has been also purchasing from this farmer for a long period of time. So, now what to do with all this luscious new milk?
First off, drink it. It smells slightly floral and from the 2 half gallon jugs I bought I was able to skim off 3 cups of cream from the top of the jugs after letting the milk rest overnight in the refrigerator. Guess what I did with the cream? I let it sit on the counter overnight so the good bacteria that is naturally present in milk had a chance to work its magic. The result was a pleasantly tangy-soured cream ready to be turned into cultured butter.
Yes, I made butter! Can you see the little fat globules of yellow floating in the liquid? That's what real cream looks like. I know, I had no idea either!
To make the butter, the soured cream gets poured into my Kitchenaid mixer with the whip attachment and turn the speed up to medium and beat. And beat. And beat. For something like 8 minutes or more until it starts to go from looking like whipped cream and it actually starts to "break", showering liquid up the sides of the bowl and splattering everything in your kitchen within 5 feet.
And you keep on beating it.....and after another 3-5 minutes the butter forms and the liquid that is left sloshing around the bowl is ..........wait for it............Buttermilk! Yes! Isn't that exciting? Ok, it may not be exciting to you but I was dancing around my kitchen when I saw that it worked.
Then you strain the butter into a colander, and don't forget to catch the buttermilk in a bowl. That buttermilk is going in some homemade pancake batter first thing tomorrow morning. (That was at the request of both my guys who were completely impressed at the magic before them.)
The final step to making the butter is to rinse it under cold water, kneading it the whole time. The rinse water will look milky at first and after repeated washings and continued kneading the water begins to run clear. That means any remaining buttermilk is washed out of the butter which will help to prolong the storage life of the butter. From what I have read, if buttermilk is left mixed in with the butter, the butter will go rancid much faster.
Ok, here is the synopsis of our little experiment today. I started with two half gallons of milk which yielded 3 cups of thick glorious cream. After making the butter I had 1-1/2 cups of buttermilk and 6-5/8 oz. of butter......just under a half pound or almost 2 sticks of butter. Not bad, not bad at all. And it was fun!
I will most definitely make butter and buttermilk again. And homemade ice cream. And sour cream. And eventually try my hand at making cheese. And yogurt. So many options, where should I start?
Can you say "moo"?
Debbie
