17 Nov 2022

ursulas_alcove: 19th century engraving of a woman using a drop spindle (Default)
The week did not start out well. Sometimes it’s like that. I worked Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday, I went to go pick up my milk from my farmer. We had a good discussion. Milk comes out of the cow at about 90 degrees F. Last week, I picked it up in 70 degree temperatures in a black car. I had a cooler filled with ice. By nightfall, the milk was smelling sour. Troubleshooting, do I come earlier or do I come later to pick up milk? The quicker milk is cooled down, the longer it stays sweet. I had the milk in a cooler. I thought maybe the hot car? But no. I really think my refrigerator is dying. It’s not always keeping things closer to the door cool. The seal is shot. It’s not the end of the world. Every bit of milk I buy gets turned into butter, cheese or yogurt, pudding, hot cocoa, and caramel. I simply heat it to 180 F before it turns sour. Sometimes, rebottling the hot milk seals the jar. That can last much longer. I guess I should preface my blog by saying that raw milk is legal in my state but it is not in many places. 180 degrees is the magic number to kill bacteria. Not all bacteria are bad. The sour milk kind are the ones that make buttermilk, sour cream, and so much more. This whole episode is still an experiment. The farmer is working out the problems as they arise. So am I. I volunteered to be the guinea pig. In the future, things will be different; just not there yet.

This week a new problem arose. The cows got moved to a new pasture. It was full of wild onions. You know the kind, the ones that smell like skunk cabbage? I don’t envy the farmer. She had to milk while smelling the cow’s breath the whole time. The milk was no good. The cow is fine. It’s just that the grass is not as green as the wild alliums right now. We thought maybe we could do a savory butter for chicken Kiev and a Chard augratin with the milk. After working with it for less than 5 minutes, we fed the trial batch to the strawberries. Strawberries, lettuce and tomatoes need calcium in their soil. Most people use a foliar spray. I just fed the strawberries directly. I don’t know for sure if the calcium is bio available, usually that is temperature dependent. If not, the mycelia can always eat it. I soaked the jar lids in lemon juice. It was bad.

There will also be times when the cows are calving that there will be no milk available. If you understand how agriculture works, you go with nature’s flow and enjoy it while you can. I am willing to accept the hiccups. Hopefully, we can get a new fridge soon.

Meanwhile, I did have a gallon of sweet milk and a little bit more leftover from last week. Butter did get made. It freezes nicely. Butterscotch pudding got made too. I got real tired of my makeshift cheese making tools. This week, I bought a decent thermometer, a stainless cheese making spoon and real animal rennet. The animal rennet made all the difference in the world! I finally got the milk to solidify properly. With vegetable rennet, I had to use 1.75 tsp citric acid and a whole tablet of rennet to get a gallon to solidify. With the animal rennet, just follow the recipe! Worked like a charm.

Previously
Mozzarella in Progress

Today
Third Time’s the Charm

I’m finally getting there! You’ll know I’ve gone off the deep end when I buy a fridge just for aging cheese. Currently I am sticking to soft cheeses. Cream cheese might be next. I keep thinking cheesecake (with our blueberries or strawberries). Soon, my precious, soon.

Black Raspberry cheese pie

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