Yep, Straight From the Cow
Many of you know that I dabble in the whole, organic foods craze. It is becoming easier and easier to find such food, especially in our area. I became interested in all of it mostly because of the very different dietary needs of our girls. And so, the latest in my quest is raw milk. Yes, milk straight from the cow, not pasteurized, not homogenized. And let me tell you, the Internet has a lot to say about raw milk. It is overwhelming because both sides fight a tough battle, but in the end, I feel like the health benefits of raw milk is worth trying out. This means that the milk has all the good bacteria and enzymes (from not being pasteurized) and the cream separates from the water (from not being homogenized). The goal is to get healthy, pure animal fats, which we need, and help our digestive systems due to the good bacteria and enzymes.
That being said, I found a cost-effective supplier that runs a very clean and healthy grass-fed cattle operation (Thanks, Dad!). We got our first two gallons on Saturday. I was nervous because I have drank skim milk for almost 20 years now. I was afraid it would be too thick. But it is delicious. It is not much thicker than what we are used to, although it has a creamier taste and leaves a bit of a residue in the glass. We all drank it today with no complaints. Yum! We just have to get in the habit of giving it a good shake before pouring it.
I also recently purchased a yogurt maker, so now I can make raw milk yogurt. Although I do have to self-pasteurize it by heating it to 180 degrees so that the bacteria in the milk doesn't interfere with live yogurt bacterias, I am still excited to try this nutritious way to use milk. Plus homemade yogurt is so good!
And of course, raw milk ice cream is on my list of tasty treats as well. Oh, the endless possibilities. I also learned that the shelf life of raw milk is about 7 - 10 days, but instead of going rancid like store-bought milk, it sours naturally. Which means, there are more endless opportunities to make delicious food with the soured milk.
And so, another adventure in healthy living. Soon I will have the girls churning our own butter. Ha-ha! Perhaps we should have lived on a farm.
Next on the list is planning our summer garden. We don't have a lot of room, but enough to make us tomato-lovers very happy people
That being said, I found a cost-effective supplier that runs a very clean and healthy grass-fed cattle operation (Thanks, Dad!). We got our first two gallons on Saturday. I was nervous because I have drank skim milk for almost 20 years now. I was afraid it would be too thick. But it is delicious. It is not much thicker than what we are used to, although it has a creamier taste and leaves a bit of a residue in the glass. We all drank it today with no complaints. Yum! We just have to get in the habit of giving it a good shake before pouring it.
I also recently purchased a yogurt maker, so now I can make raw milk yogurt. Although I do have to self-pasteurize it by heating it to 180 degrees so that the bacteria in the milk doesn't interfere with live yogurt bacterias, I am still excited to try this nutritious way to use milk. Plus homemade yogurt is so good!
And of course, raw milk ice cream is on my list of tasty treats as well. Oh, the endless possibilities. I also learned that the shelf life of raw milk is about 7 - 10 days, but instead of going rancid like store-bought milk, it sours naturally. Which means, there are more endless opportunities to make delicious food with the soured milk.
And so, another adventure in healthy living. Soon I will have the girls churning our own butter. Ha-ha! Perhaps we should have lived on a farm.
Next on the list is planning our summer garden. We don't have a lot of room, but enough to make us tomato-lovers very happy people
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