How Long Should Raw Milk Last?

Have you ever wondered how long raw milk can last? It’s a valid question, and today we’re going to delve into that topic. But before we do, let’s talk about something truly delightful: homemade ice cream. Picture this – a creamy, refreshing scoop of ice cream on a warm autumn day that still feels like summer. Ah, pure bliss.

Welcome, my lovely listeners, both new and regulars. Thank you for joining me on the FarmCast. Today, we have a lot to cover, including some updates from our homestead, the shelf life of raw milk, and a delicious ice cream base recipe. So let’s jump right in, shall we?

Today’s Show

Here’s a quick rundown of what we’ll be discussing today:

• Homestead Life Updates
• How Long Does Raw Milk Last?
• Ice Cream Base Recipe

Homestead Life Updates

Garden

Our garden is officially done for the season, except for a few remaining sweet potatoes that we need to dig up. It’s a relief to finally take a break after months of hard work. However, there’s still some tidying up to do. We’ll be preparing the beds for winter by adding compost to improve the soil and covering them to keep out weeds and retain moisture.

Quail

Our quail have slowed down their egg production due to the shorter daylight hours. While we collected around 47 eggs last time, this time it’s less than 30. We can collect eggs for about a week or so and store them in a cool environment, but not in the refrigerator. Most of our quail are brown coturnix with tan and brown plumage, but we also have a couple of white ones. We’ll be selecting some females to maintain our breeding stock and the rest will be sent to the freezer.

Cows

We currently only have one bull left from this year’s calves, and we’ve decided to sell Egwene, our purebred Jersey heifer calf. She’s a lovely calf, but sometimes tough choices need to be made on the homestead. Weaning her is almost complete, and she’ll soon be able to live solely on grass. It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to her, but it’s part of our plan.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

As the cooler weather settles in, I can’t help but rejoice. Summer isn’t my favorite season – it lingers on for far too long. I have a love-hate relationship with winter too. However, my heart truly belongs to spring and fall. Currently, fall has stolen my heart, but I know that come spring, I’ll be infatuated with it once again.

I must admit that I’m prone to seasonal affective disorder. Does anyone else experience this? As the winter drags on and the sun becomes scarce, I find myself lacking vitamin D and slipping into a state of depression. By the end of January, I can feel it creeping in, and by the end of February, I’m almost immobile. My motivation hits rock bottom. These days, I’ve learned to embrace and accept this cycle. I revel in my laziness and enjoy it while it lasts, knowing that spring will soon bring a flurry of activity. It’s like a roller coaster ride I’ve come to accept.

Enough about our updates, let’s move on to the main event.

How Long Does Raw Milk Last?

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The short answer is: almost forever. The only thing that can stop you from consuming raw milk is if you don’t like its taste. Initially, it will turn sour, and eventually, it will thicken into a strong yogurt-like consistency. But here’s the wonderful part – that yogurt is still good! It can last for a month or even longer. During this time, you can still enjoy the milk, use it in cooking, make cultured butter and buttermilk, among other things.

In stark contrast, pasteurized milk doesn’t sour, it simply rots. It goes bad and is unsafe to consume. You definitely don’t want to put that in your mouth. On the other hand, raw milk aging and souring is a good thing. It’s a sign that beneficial probiotic bacteria are increasing and consuming the lactose sugar, resulting in a pleasantly sour taste, much like unsweetened yogurt.

What Makes Milk Sour and What Can You Do with It?

Raw milk sours due to the proliferation of probiotic bacteria that consume the lactose sugar, giving it that tangy taste similar to yogurt. But how long can you expect your raw milk to last once you bring it home? According to Sandra Clark, a respected expert in this field, if you obtain raw milk on the day it’s milked, it can stay fresh for up to two weeks. And even if it does sour, fear not! It will naturally transform into yogurt with no intervention required. You might even find a little sour cream on top which can be scraped off and composted if you don’t enjoy the taste.

If you have leftover milk at the end of the week, you can simply store it in a jar in the fridge, and it will continue to have an amazingly long shelf life as yogurt. When you run out of milk, you can blend the yogurt with some honey and fruit, like berries, to create a delicious yogurt drink. Sandra even mentions having jars in her fridge that are as old as two months, with the yogurt still tasting fine, especially when honey and fruit are added. Store-bought yogurt has a different flavor because it typically uses a bacterial starter, but with the addition of honey and fruit, the homemade yogurt is pure bliss.

In my experience, I’ve managed to keep raw milk for nearly a month before it sours. During the spring when we have an abundance of milk, this happens quite often. We continue to drink it until the flavor changes, and then it serves other purposes in our kitchen.

What’s Our Secret?

So, how do we manage to keep our milk fresh for so long? We have two key strategies. First, we cool our milk quickly. The faster it drops below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the longer it will stay fresh. Second, we ensure the milk remains very cold. The colder it is, the longer it will last. Our milk refrigerator is set to a chilly 34 degrees, which helps preserve its freshness.

Unfortunately, access to raw milk can be a challenge for many people. I’ll discuss how we reached this point in another podcast. For now, let’s focus on the current landscape. There’s a lot of fearmongering surrounding the consumption of raw milk, but I believe it’s mostly propaganda spread by powerful individuals who have lobbyists to appease. If raw milk were truly dangerous, the human species would have become extinct long before the advent of pasteurization. Every food we consume carries some level of risk, and life itself is full of uncertainties. It’s important to assess your own comfort level with the risks and make an informed choice.

Raw Milk Choice

The current problem is that in many states, access to raw milk products is severely limited unless you own your own cow. That’s why we established our herd share program. By owning a share of the herd, you can enjoy the benefits of the cows’ production. We’re based in Patrick County, Virginia, near Mount Airy, NC, and offer an affordable cow herd share program in southern Virginia and the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina.

Here are four reasons why our herd share program is exceptional:

1. We provide 100% heritage breed Normande and Jersey milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, and butter from cows with certified A2A2 genetics. The A2A2 designation signifies the purity of ancient genetics, ensuring high-quality dairy products.
2. We minimize the use of antibiotics and strictly avoid growth hormones. Our cows thrive on nutrient-rich pastures, and only in rare cases do we administer antibiotics. If necessary, we separate the milk from the treated cow until all traces of the medication have cleared. Additionally, we find the idea of using hormones to increase milk production repugnant. It disregards the well-being of the animal and treats cows as mere machines. We prioritize the cow’s health over excessive production.
3. Our cows graze on pasture all year round, only coming into the barn for milking. They receive a small amount of non-soy, non-GMO grain as a supplement. This serves two purposes: enticing the cows into the milking parlor and ensuring they maintain optimal body condition. While Normandes can go without any supplemental feed and still maintain their condition until late in the season, Jerseys require more nutritional support. Our farming practices reflect these breed-specific requirements.
4. Joining our herd share program is affordable, with a one-time cost of $60 and a monthly share fee of $44. We also offer a half-share option for $30 and $22 per month. The herd produces milk from the first week of May to the last week of October, and during that time, yogurt and sometimes cream are also available. Our raw milk cheeses are aged well beyond the legal minimum of 60 days, ensuring the development of complex flavors.

If the herd share program interests you, please visit our website Chefwaynes-bigmamou for more information. We’d love to have a conversation with you and provide you with nutritious, high-quality raw milk products.

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Fun fact: Remember the old wives’ tale of drinking warm milk to fall asleep? It turns out that tryptophan, an amino acid found in milk, may be responsible for inducing sleep. However, this only applies to raw milk since pasteurization destroys tryptophan. Another reason to savor raw milk’s natural goodness.

Now, let’s move on to something equally delightful – a recipe for homemade ice cream.

Ice Cream Base

When the weather heats up, there’s nothing quite like a chilly bowl of ice cream to cool you down. This recipe serves as a versatile base for a variety of flavors. With countless possibilities, you can create an ice cream concoction that tantalizes your taste buds. I’ve even included a link in the show notes for bonus flavoring recipes. So without further ado, here’s what you need:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 6 large egg yolks
• Your choice of flavoring (See bonus recipe link in the show notes)

Instructions:

1. In a small pot, simmer the cream, milk, sugar, and salt until the sugar completely dissolves, approximately 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Gradually and continuously whisk about a third of the hot cream mixture into the yolks, then pour the yolk mixture back into the pot with the remaining cream.
3. Return the pot to medium-low heat and gently cook the mixture until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should reach a temperature of about 170 degrees Fahrenheit on an instant-read thermometer.
4. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, then cover and chill it for at least 4 hours or overnight.
5. Churn the chilled mixture in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Serve directly from the machine for a soft-serve consistency, or store it in the freezer for later use.

Notes:

For additional flavoring recipes, download the flavorings recipes from the link provided in the show notes.

Final Thoughts

I’m delighted that summer is coming to an end. It’s been a long and challenging season, especially with my struggle with appendicitis. Personally, I’m not a fan of the scorching summer heat. If you’re interested in adding a Normande bull to your herd or acquiring an A2A2 Jersey heifer, please reach out to us. We’re here to meet your needs.

For those who prefer not to raise their own cows but still want the benefits of raw milk products, we’re here to assist you. We firmly believe that the benefits of raw milk far outweigh the minimal risks. In a future podcast, I’ll provide statistics showing the number and percentage of illnesses attributed to raw milk consumption compared to other foods. It’s important to gain a broader perspective.

As we bid adieu to summer and welcome the early days of autumn, I encourage you to indulge in some fantastic ice cream recipes. Share your experiences and stories in the comments section on our recipe page. I’ll include the link in the show notes.

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Remember, I’m always here to help you “taste the traditional touch.”

Thank you for joining me on the homestead. Until next time, may grace and peace fill your life.