[Cinder]

Ok, so I'm learning everything I can before I bring home my two new Alpine does and start milking. I've been able to go watch a couple of people around here milk so I'm getting different ideas from people on how they do things and then can decide what I think will work best for me.

I have a question... I know that getting the milk really cold as quickly as possible makes a difference in how it tastes. Can I actually bring a larger bucket with ice water in it to the barn and put the milk from the first goat (in a smaller bucket) into that larger bucket to start to get it cooling while I milk the other doe? I wouldn't strain it first, I'd do that when I get both done and go into the house but it would start to cool down the first doe's milk.

Does doing that make any sense or reason? Or is it a bad thing to do?

 

[Kittikity]

I'd like to know the answer to this question also.. I've always wondered the best way to get it cooled down as quickly as possible.. Thought about taking jars that I could keep in the freezer and putting them in a cooler with ice or ice water to cool..

 

[liz]

That would work fine, I use a plastic pail with a lid and have a "home made" ice pack in the pail and milk over it. It's one of those 4 oz kiddie pop bottles filled with water and lidded tightly and frozen, I put it in the milk pail and milk over it and once I'm done and strain the milk its washed and froze again for the next time.

 

[StaceyRosado]

hmm never thought of doing it that way. I usualy milk and then rush it into the house :shrug:

Liz always has great ideas :hi5: Saves on ice to as making ice can take a while

 

[Cinder]

Great idea with the frozen ice pack! You guys are soo good!!!!

I do know that the milk cools much faster if you have the jars in ice water and not just sitting in the frig or freezer. I have a friend who did that experiment. She used a regular household cleaning bucket (plastic), froze about two to three inches of water in the bottom and then keeps it in the freezer. When she strains her milk into her jars she puts the jars down into the bucket on the ice and then fills it up with cold water and puts the whole thing back into the freezer for 30 minutes or so. The milk really cools down fast that way.

 

[FarmGirl18]

I've heard of people putting the ice pack in the milk like Liz does or doing what you said, having your milk pail in a larger bucket of cool water. I think both are great ideas. I cool my milk down in quart jars set in ice water, it sure does cool it quickly.

 

[liz]

That would work well also, but I have very limited freezer space , the small one above the fridge has everyday stuff in it and the small upright I have is full of milk and meat as well as blackberries...so the option of having a bucket with the ice in the bottom is out for me, would be great if I had a chest type freezer. :greengrin:

 

[sweetgoats]

Hey Cinder, Where did you end up getting those girls from?

When I was a restaurant manager, the way we cooled food fast was the ice water bath method as already talked about, but the key to getting it to cool really fast is it stir it. I like the Ice pack. I do those when I am taking a huge jug of water out. I put those frozen ice packs in them and that keeps the water really cold and longer then ice.

 

[redneck_acres]

We are lucky, we have two stand up freezers in the milk barn-so we just put the milk into it to start cooling-while we finish the rest of the milking. Or sometimes i'll get it right to the house, strained and put directly in the fridge. And we only use glass jars.

 

[capriola-nd]

That idea w/ the frozen kiddie pop bottle is an awesome one! Never thought of that before, I always rush into the house too. . . . Can't wait to try this out!

 

[kelebek]

During last summer we went to a Walmart and found these cups that have a section in the middle that you take out and freeze, and then you put them in and fill your drink and put the lid on. Well I took them out, put them in the jars that I use to collect the milk and then milk over the top of them. Clean them afterwards and put back in the freezer!

 

[liz]

Thats an excellent idea Allison, I tried those mini cooler freezies...they're small and rectangle shaped and worked great til they started to ooze out the gel around their seal....maybe I'll get a few of those "freezable" cups and try those. :greengrin:

 

[kelebek]

I gave someone a frozen water bottle of milk to try on Friday - and I received an email from them this morning saying they LOVED it and want a gallon a week of raw. Woo HoO! So I am going to sell it to them for $5.00 a gallon of raw. They are picking up a gallon a week starting in 2 weeks and they are going to make cheese and soap and what not with it.

 

[liz]

Thats great!! I do the same ...but it is "pet food" :wink: $10 a gallon a week.

 

[kelebek]

Wow - guess I should have asked for more

I made them sign a form saying that they were not using for human consumption so that I cover my own A$$. I don't want to get in to trouble. I hope that they will "give" me some of the cheese to try. I need to order my stuff to start making the cheese.

I have 40 water bottles full of frozen milk, 1 1/2 gallon jug of milk, 2 V8 jugs of milk all in the freezer from July - oh and a gallon ziplock! And I didn't even get her till the 7th of July and I gave away a whole bunch when Mini Me left to last her till weaning! LOL! What to do with it all!

 

[liz]

Thats amazing coming from just one doe...and yep it's easy to get a freezer full fast...Frozen milk works fine for cheese and soap making...I use it once the girls dry off and if you let it thaw at room temp it's easier to get it "back together" as it does separate the longer it's frozen...still tastes the same too. BTW...You don't need to have an expensive pot to make cheese with..I got a 12 qt stainless one from the dollar store for like $8 and most cheese I make is started with a mesophillic culture....guess what that is? Plain old cultured BUTTERMILK from the store.

 

[kelebek]

I may have a pot that big that is stainless already then! Woo Hoo! I just need to order my book and see what else I will need and then it is cheese making time!

The one doe that I am milking right now is the Alpine X that my friend gave to me. She only milks from the right side of her udder - because the kid only drank from that side - so she is SOOO lopsidded! It is funny!

I think that I am going to start trying to milk Blanca as I see that her udder is becoming lopsidded as well from only nursing one kid. It still doesn't look like her milk came in all the way :shrug: