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How to: Buy Raw Milk

December 13, 2019 by Diana Prichard 1 Comment

In The Dairy State of Wisconsin legislators are being urged to allow the sale of “raw” (unpasteurized) milk to consumers and their decision is expected to set national precedence. The battle, ultimately, centers on public health. Proponents tout the health benefits of the product. Meanwhile the opposition fears the potential compromise of public health should the measure pass and outbreaks of milk-borne illness become more common. But beyond the politics and debate lies a bigger, more immediate question; how does one buy raw milk now?

The answer may be simpler than you think.

Decide What Kind of Milk You’d Like
While cow’s milk is traditional, the black and white spotted dairy producers of our childhood (and countless big dairy commercials) are not the only producers of delicious milk and milk products. Raw goat’s milk is just as good — and in the opinion of some, even better.

Locate a Supplier (or three)
Raw milk is available for purchase for human consumption in 28 of the United State’s 50 states. (It’s available in a handful more when intended for animal consumption.) Unfortunately, finding it — even within those states — can sometimes prove difficult. A great place to start the search however, is with The Campaign for Real Milk’s database dedicated to help consumers find raw milk in their area. And even if you’re not in a state where raw milk itself is available, dairy shares — where you purchase a share of a cow or goat and receive a portion of its milk in return for your investment — are.

Do Your Homework
Whether we like it or not modern, conventional farming calls for mass production to meet demand. Streamlining technologies and processes that make that production possible unfortunately also make it more and more possible every day for a cow (or goat) to be a number rather than an animal. All the while requiring the help of numerous farm hands who have little interest in the end product. Both of these make the potential for contamination of milk greater. Get to know the suppliers whose products are available in your area. Ask about their herd, their help and their processes. A familiarity with the animals, a close oversight of production by the owner and processes and materials that are easy to keep clean and sanitary (look for glass and stainless steel) all reduce the potential for milk-borne illness.

Do you drink Raw Milk? Where do you buy it?

Make your own cheese

July 7, 2019 by Erika Jurney 1 Comment

Mmmm, this looks fabulous. Making your own cheese? Delicious!

Choices from Urban Cheesecraft include mozzarella, ricotta, goat cheese, paneer and queso blanco. They’re also a source for cheese making supplies like vegetarian rennet, cheese salt, citric acid, and butter muslin.

A little about cost comparison:
If you choose organic milk for your cheesemaking, compare the price to organic cheese. If you buy regular milk, compare the price to regular cheese. Keep in mind however that if you spend $5 on milk, you will make twice as much cheese as you would buy for $5- organic or not! So for $5 you get two typical logs of chevre.

A little about milk:
You do not need raw milk to make cheese. You can use regular pasteurized milk from the grocery store as long as it is not ultra pasteurized or ultra-heat pasteurized. Even some of the large organic brands now do this to milk. Its only benefit is a long shelf life. They use high heat and kill the microbes that help cheese happen so it won’t work. So, find a milk that you like and works, then stick with it. Oh and this kit works with cow’s or sheep’s milk too (or you can be like Europeans and combine them to play with different tangy flavors). You can also use lowfat milk or nonfat milk (yield and creaminess will be noticeable with nonfat).

I think I’m going to have to give this a try!

On Goat Milk and Making Cheese

February 26, 2019 by Diana Prichard 2 Comments

Months ago, near the end of a particularly long afternoon in the book store with my two daughters, I ran across a shiny, green, soft-backed book that would steal my heart forever. Or at least for a few months. Carleen Madigan’s The Backyard Homestead has informative, diagram-enhanced chapters on everything from raising chickens to brewing your own beer. Tucked within are two chapters I am particularly fond of; milking your dairy goat and making cheese.

Living with life-long cow’s milk allergies has spurred an insatiable fascination with real, raw goat’s milk and all of it’s products in me. Having recently spent more days than not in Chicago, the very epicentre of blankets and blankets of billowy cheesy goodness, cheese is one of those products that is of considerable interest at current.

Unfortunately, I haven’t the time for a goat right now and in Michigan (along with the better part of the United States) it is illegal to purchase raw milk.

Luckily, all is not lost. What we can purchase legally are goat shares. In Michigan, and in states who uphold similar statutes against the purchase of raw milk, it is legal for people to drink raw milk from animals they personally own. Goat shares – the purchase of a portion of a dairy animal to become a co-owner of that animal, a shareholder – allow families like ours, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to obtain the raw milk they want, to legally acquire it.

And for those in states where even shares aren’t available, either legally or because of logistics, family owned and operated goat dairies offer handmade cheeses to fulfill every craving, even if not made raw. Pure Luck Goat Dairy in Texas is one such farm, and their cheeses are available for purchase online.

Sold on the idea? To get started finding the laws that apply to the purchase and consumption of raw milk in your area, check out RealMilk.com. Or google goat shares + your state abbreviation to skip straight to shopping for a source of raw milk near you. (Even in states where raw milk purchase is legal, goat shares are often available for those not wanting or needing their own dairy herd.) And if you have the time for a goat and cheese making or just want to covet them the way I do, find an independent book store near you to buy your own copy of The Backyard Homestead.