Laraba's Homeschool Blog - We bought (part of) a cow!

Oct. 18, 2009 - We bought (part of) a cow!

IMG_6280 by you.

Around here, life gets quirky fast.

A couple of weeks ago, we got an email through our homeschooling group offering a piece of a cow. Not a piece of a cow in the sense of eating the cow, but a "milk share". See, here in Ohio, no one is allowed to have and consume raw milk unless they own the cow from which the milk comes. It is perfectly legal for a number of people to own part of a cow, since a nice cow like this one will produce 4 gallons of milk a day and that is more than most families can handle!

So, we decided to buy a "milk share" so that we can get raw milk. Yesterday, we went to visit her and took the pictures shown above. She has a name, but I've forgotten it. Alice, perhaps? Jenny? I'll have to ask.

Now truthfully, I'm a germophobe type of lady. Germs make me nervous, and I know there were reasons why pasteurization was introduced. It was and is easy for nasty microbes to make it into raw milk.

On the other hand, there is evidence that pasteurization and homogenization destroy some good things in milk. There are various enzymes that are destroyed in the pasteurization process, and the homogenization process changes the structure of the fat in possibly unhealthy ways. Oh, the milk is also completely free of any foreign hormones or other problematic additions.

An interesting study out of England showed that farm children who drank raw milk had fewer allergies than those who didn't drink raw milk.

The family milking "our" cow is super careful to keep the milk and associated utensil sterilized and clean. My gut instinct is that large herds of cows with a huge number of workers are more likely to have cleanliness issues than one careful family with one fat cow.

So, we're embarking on a raw milk journey. I do intend to learn more about making kefir, which is supposed to be wonderful stuff. I'm always intimidated by a learning curve and I don't know HOW to make kefir, but I can read directions. I'll figure it out.

For now, we’re just enjoying the raw milk as is. It tastes delightful.

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Comments

Oct. 19, 2009 - Untitled Comment

With raw, pure milk you can also just leave it on the counter (covered) and it will--according to my Polish aquaintances--naturally thicken. This is apparently not only yummy but also healthy, and the good bacteria involved in the process will crowd out any of the bad germs you're worried about.

It is a steep learning curve, but it will be an exciting one!

Please tell us about all the things you try and learn.

Blessings,

Annie Kate

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Oct. 19, 2009 - Untitled Comment

I would personally home-pasteurize the milk. You just have to get it to the boiling point. This will kill any bacteria. I agree raw milk is best and I have thought of going this route. I've seen people milk cows for raw milk and there are multiple issues, like dirt/manure on the cow that can drop into the bucket without knowing about it. No one bathes cows prior to milking them so there are still good reasons to mildly heat the milk. :) Have fun on your new journey.

As for Kefir, I bought packets of Kefir starter and I think you could buy it from a health food store, especially a larger one. It's not hard to make.

Pam (not logged in)

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Oct. 19, 2009 - love to try it

I've talked to DH about raw milk but he isn't convinced. I'd love to taste it though, does it taste different? My mom gave us some of her meat from a cow she shared in buying and the ground beef was so wonderful and tasted much better than store bought :)

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Oct. 19, 2009 - Raw milk

I think it does taste different, but very good.

I also feel a bit nervous about it, as I said. The people with the cow are not hand milking her, but using a milking machine that they sterilize carefully.

I need to read up on this more. Like the chickens, we leaped in without knowing as much as I would have perhaps liked to know.

Regarding beef, we just bought a quarter of a cow and our freezer is jammed. It was raised on grass and nursed from its mother for 9 months. So it does taste differently from store bought beef. But it is good, and healthy too.

Laraba

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Oct. 25, 2009 - Untitled Comment

What a wonderful opportunity!
I'll have to see if anyone is doing that in this part of Ohio. I've been frustrated that we'd have to travel an hour to get raw milk and the one place about twenty mins away just isn't open to new customers. Praise the Lord for the raw milk and I'll be looking forward to your kefir experiments!
Jacinda

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Oct. 25, 2009 - BTW

The closest we've had to grass fed beef is Bison/ buffalo meat and we love it! It is more expensive than grocery store beef but it is like a lean sirloin steak and whether ground or cut into stew meat it is very tasty and small amounts are filling!

Enjoy!

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