Jumping the Moon Dairy - the next chapter

[babsbag]

I wouldn't have a place to house interns either, and maybe not enough work for them. At least not the kind of work they are supposed to be doing.

I do make drinkable yogurt and it is a big seller and the stuff seems to last forever. It is fairly easy to make too.

There is a coffee shop that wants to get milk from me and a at least one restaurant that has mentioned buying cheese. But if I am going to sell cheese to restaurants I need to have a consistent product and that is harder than I have imagined. Sometimes the chevre is creamy like a spread and sometimes it is crumbly like you would put on a salad. I am trying to figure out why and I am pretty sure it has something to do with the amount of protein in the milk which varies with the seasons. I will be sending in milk to have the protein to fat ratio checked and then change their feed if needed. There is that science stuff again.

Another good reason to make ice cream, I don't have to worry about curd setting...just freeze it...so much easier.

 

[Mini Horses]

At home cheese -- no science here, just observations -- I find temp & time at that temp before drain seems to play a roll in results. Fun, right?? let us know what you find with the protein levels, please. And fat levels? Not like growing a green bean

 

[Donna R. Raybon]

Stage of lactation influences texture of cheese, too. Yep, lot of science in cheesemaking!

 

[HomeOnTheRange]

@HomeOnTheRange are you still considering mini Alpines? I am selling all of mine as it is just too hard to own multiple breeds during breeding season.

@babsbag, what is your time frame for selling your mini Alpines?

 

[babsbag]

@HomeOnTheRange Yesterday would be good. LOL

But seriously I don't have a time line unless someone comes along and offers me money. I have 5 does that I milk, three of them are still letting their doelings nurse even though they are 6-8 months old. I don't have a pen for weaning so they are still nursing. I am dividing my buck pen this week so my mini will have his own pen and I am debating who and when to breed. I have 5 doelings born this year, one is too small and she is best friends with one of my Alpines (Mini Moon) so I am keeping her, but I think that the other 4 doelings are big enough to breed, but I would be breeding them to their sire. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

They will all stay until I find them a new home and if they are still here next spring they will go right back into the milk line. It isn't that I don't like them, it is just hard to handle one more buck and one more breed.

 

[Devonviolet]

Sorry I didnt get back to you sooner. I have been really busy, working to keep products made, to stock my booth at farmers market. Then in the middle of it all, my daughter had major surgery, and I had to drive to Dallas for a couple days. Thankfully, her best friiend lives in Dallas, so she was able to stay with her for four days after she got home.

Anyway, I don’t have any earthshaking suggestions. I can’t consume pasturized milk, as heatig the milk kills the enzymes that help me digest the proteins. I end up with thick phlegm in my throat, which is an allergic reaction. So I don’t make ricotta cheese. But, that is definitely an option, for skim milk


We add the milk to the chicken’s fermented feed, as well as the dog’s and cat’s food, twice a day. Previously, I have poured it on the compost pile. In the future, I am planning to post my excess skim milk on Craig’s List, aimed at pig farmers, suggesting that they could mix it with corn, to make fermented corn for their pigs. Here, the cottage laws say that you have to tint the milk (I think) blue, and market it for animal consumption only. BTW, I LOVE my cream separator!!!!

I can’t remember if you said you were aware, but to make a creamy ice cream, that doesn’t have crystals in it, there has to be some kind of “thickener” in the cream, to thicken it somewhat. I’m not sure what you are allowed, in commercial ice cream, there in California. But if it were me, I would likely use Guar Gum vs Xanthan Gum, as it is more natural. I think some people use gelatin in small amounts, to thicken it. But then, I’m talking off the cuff, because I don’t have time to research it.

 

[babsbag]

I suppose I could sell skimmed milk for animal feed but not really where I want to go. I should try the ricotta and see how that works but I am sure that the yield will be minimal. Maybe make low fat yogurt???

I have done the research and as much as I hate it I will be using either Guar or Xanthan gum. I am thinking that I will print up some information on them to hand out if people ask, just to overcome the fear of the unknown. Here is a really good article on ice cream stabilizers if you ever want to know all about it.

https://www.dreamscoops.com/ice-cream-science/using-stabilizers-ice-cream/

 

[Baymule]

You can take raw skim milk and mix with water to spray it on your pasture. The bacteria in the milk are beneficial to the soil and will help the grass grow better. The ratio of milk to water is 3 gallons raw milk to 17 gallons water.

 

[babsbag]

I am sick of smoke and sick of coughing goats. I have a sick kid and she isn't responding to antibiotics. I would say that half of this years babies are coughing and even a few adults. I vaccinate my does for pneumonia and usually don't have coughing kids. I am sure that this smoke isn't helping. There are days that I wake up to an overcast morning and it is smoke, like a fog and it has been this way most every day since July 24; I am even coughing. The latest fire is 11% contained and over 53,000 acres.

Not sure what to do about the kids and the coughs...

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Oh babs!!! I’m SO sorry! I can’t imagine how horrible all of that smoke must be. Breathing it has to cause problems for you and the goats!! I’ll be praying!!!!