The End of Raw Milk??

12/3/2012

Goat's milk Valencay

Say it isn't so!

Our friend Anna has informed us that there is a new bit of legislation being introduced that could either stop the sale of raw milk in Indiana or open up sales statewide with better safety standards. (Click here to view the link she shared with us.) I sure hope for the latter!

While there is plenty to be made from store-bought milk, access to raw milk enables the home cheese maker to really perfect the craft without having to own a farm! Speaking of farms, a shout out must go to Copper Creek Farms in Kokomo. We own a herd share through Copper Creek and they provide us with raw goat's milk weekly. From that great raw product we are able t produce our Valencay cheese (pictured here looking spectacular after 6 days in the cave). So, here's to hoping the law bends our direction and opens up further avenues for home cheese makers statewide!

Tommy Reddicks
www.cheesedesert.com

5 Comments

Rob

12/3/2012 09:37:45 am

What are the advantages of using raw milk?

Tommy Reddicks link

12/3/2012 10:39:55 am

Good question Rob.

We've been quick studies on the topic, especially in light of our early struggles to find goat's milk.

In speaking about the raw state of milk for milk's sake, purists will claim that the taste of raw milk is substantially better. With cow's milk, this has more to do with the cream. Goat's milk is similar, but not as sweet as cow's milk, and is known for its good bacteria in the raw state. In terms of tolerance, many lactose intolerant folks have no reaction to raw milk.

As for why "raw milk for cheese", the nutrient level is higher prior to pasteurization as the heat that kills the bad stuff ("potentially" harmful bacteria) also kills plenty of the good stuff (good bacteria and the chemical balance/make-up of the milk). Because it's free of the extra processing for the sake of safety and shelf life, raw milk is more stable and more naturally designed for separating the curds from the whey. Pasteurized (and homogenized) milk needs the addition of Calcium Chloride in the cheese making process in order to help return it closer to its original state.

Generally, I find that pasteurized-homogenized milk takes quite a bit longer than raw milk to set (to a clean curd break). Ultra-pasteurized milk will typically not set at all, no matter how much you try. The "ultra" process allows the milk to survive on a shelf for quite a bit longer than pasteurized, but kills nearly all the natural properties of the milk.

Tommy Reddicks
www.cheesedesert.com

Anna link

12/4/2012 01:24:10 pm

got milk? : ) I hope that the committee takes the time to really consider the issue, and it opens up conversation for raw milk advocates! Anything for the good cheese....

Tommy Reddicks link

12/4/2012 10:01:10 pm

Yeah - there is a bit of swirling controversy from the milk lobby if you can believe it. Milk is a 19 Billion Dollar industry. Check out these two stories to get a feel for the debate: (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/07/20/raw-milk-bans-are-about-protecting-big-dairy.aspx, http://www.economist.com/node/16322762).

Making raw milk more accessible has the potential to hurt milk sales from the larger providers, so there are some very deliberate financial pushes to advocate for pasteurized milk from "Big Dairy". Wisconsin's Governor just vetoed a bill that would allow raw milk sales there, and the largest guess as to why was that he was worried that one bad batch of raw milk would ruin the state's enormous dairy reputation. There are also some interesting stories online connecting the deliberate spread of fear and panic over non-pastuerized milk as a vice for increasing sales of pasteurized milk (http://americanvisionnews.com/1960/cdc-steps-up-attack-on-raw-milk-naturals-fire-back). So, instead of "Who Killed the Electric Car?", the conspiracy theorists should be making a movie about "Who Sold My Milk?". Maybe Michael Moore is reading this...

Danny Bittman link

5/22/2023 06:22:50 am

Hii great reading your post

The End of Raw Milk??

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