Homemade Raw Milk Dairy Products

Whilst I am busy each day milking, shoveling manure, and tethering two cows in the back yard, Wife is busy taking the milk I bring in and making the most amazing dairy stuff EVER. We've never been huge into dairy in the past, partially because of lactose-intolerances in the family, and partially because we never really cared much for the taste of store-bought milk. The rancidity that sets in soon after opening (and often before we finished a full gallon) tended to sour us to industrial dairy (pun intended!).

But raw, grass-fed, backyard cow's milk is another substance entirely. It is rich, sweet, and causes us NO intolerance. In fact, we've consumed more milk and yogurt in the last 2 weeks than I think we did all of January and February. Wife has been a driving force for that, using her incredible talents to make some amazing stuff, like this butter and buttermilk:

Butter and buttermilk made from raw, grass-fed backyard cow milk.
The kids all say it's way more delicious than store-bought. I agree with them!

She made buttermilk pancakes for the kiddos this morning, and they LOVED them, especially with the REAL butter (made by putting cream in the food processor). They said it tasted much better than using store-bought buttermilk and butter.

So far, Wife has concocted a few homemade butters, buttermilk (both sweet cream and cultured versions), yogurt by the bucketful, and a rich paleo chocolate milk (which I'm sipping as I write this). She's also currently working on a cream cheese and whey.




I think the biggest two "hits" have been the paleo chocolate milk and the yogurt.

Front to back, paleo chocolate milk, paleo chocolate sauce, and raw milk.
The chocolate sauce features cocoa powder, honey, and cinnamon.

I think we've consumed more chocolate milk from Bridget these last two weeks than we have milk from the store since Christmas. It is SO GOOD. The complexity of the paleo chocolate sauce, with a deep cocoa flavor, with the richness of honey, and a hint of cinnamon, coupled with the sweetness and thickness of the Jersey cow milk, are just out of this world. We take down about 2 liters a day as a family right now.

We're also consuming yogurt as fast as Wife can make it.

Wife whisking the yogurt to a smooth, rich consistency.

Lots of finished homemade raw milk yogurt. YUM!

We had to go buy a new cooking thermometer so we can get an accurate reading on the yogurt. We're not straining it through a cheese cloth or anything right now, so it's a little more on the thinner side. But the flavor is outstanding. We mix a touch of honey, vanilla, and cinnamon in, and swirl it around. Wife also mixes in a bit of raspberry jelly for the kiddos. They say it's better the Go-gurt and Yoplait. I should expect so!

Also, we set out a jar of milk on the counter to begin to curdle. Wife is going to make cream cheese and whey.

From right, coffee, sugar, flour, and raw milk.
Go together like a horse and carriage....

Raw milk, on the counter to curdle into cream cheese and whey.

Our refrigerator has taken on a different character recently. Gone is the plastic gallon of store-bought milk in the door. In its place are several glass containers, each earmarked for a different purpose. We have some in which we're letting the cream rise, some designated for yogurt, some for chocolate milk, others for the pigs, and so forth. Keeping them straight has been a challenge for me. Here's what was in our fridge as of last night:

From left, pig's milk, chocolate milk, and fresh milk still separating.

Two more milk jars on the bottom shelf. The blue container has about 3 quarts of yogurt.

That's 5 jars, plus 2 cups of buttermilk and a big wad of butter, in addition to the container on the counter. That's a lot of dairy! And I'm only hand milking out between 1 and 1.5 gallons a day right now.

This morning's milk, a bit more than 2 liters. This is my contribution to the home creamery!

I'm milking three times a day at the moment. I expect to drop to twice-a-day in the coming week or two, as the grass starts really growing. We are getting some grass growth, but not enough to support a major bump in  milk production. Soon....

In the meantime, we are still getting a LOT of dairy. The pigs are growing fast and are happily slobbering up the milk we give them. The humans in the home are doing the same with the all of yogurt, butter, and chocolate milk. I can't wait for cheeses to be ready.

It's an exciting time for us, this whole home dairy thing. So far, I absolutely love it.