The Poultry Keeper

CP · Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 12:04 pm Post subject: 'real' milk

I've only had 'real' milk once, several years ago now, but it's a taste I'll never forget. Drool

It would be nice if it were more readily available & if this article is anything to go by, maybe it will be soon. Very Happy

http://tinyurl.com/35kxpk

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2045 Location: North Cornwall

OH has been saying for yonks that the only way forward for farming in this country is to go back to the 1950's way of doing things. Laughing

Milk straight from a cow with high butter fat milk looks nothing like what comes in a plastic bottle Very Happy

but i'm only going on appearance, i dont like milk Laughing

We have beef cattle but some of our friends with dairy herds drink it.

Lisa · Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 12:48 pm Post subject:

I'd love to try it and been trying to get some for ages. Found out a local farmers market have a stall selling it, but were sold out when we went. Roll on next month Very Happy

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1314 Location: Leicestershire

The narrowness of the hoops dairy farmers have to jump through in order to sell unpasteurized milk is unbelievable. pasteurization was brought in to improve the hygiene standards in milk which was at the time often hand milked into an open bucket and then poured into churns to then stand at the farm gate waiting to be collected, it was then poured into the tanker. Modern milk production is somewhat different, milk isn't exposed to air at all - even the bulk tank is sealed it goes through a filter to the tank where it is chilled. Tanker drivers have to take a sample from each tank collected and warm milk cannot be added to the load. The samples are tested for antibiotics and mastitis cell count amongst other things. Antibiotics in the milk will result in the whole tanker load being dumped and the farmer being billed. High mastitis cell count get the farmer finacially penalised. All this is good - it means that British milk is amongst the most hygenically produced in the world. Unfortunately milk also comes into this country from places where the hygiene is not so strict. The licence to produce and sell unpasteurized milk is renewed quarterly and is quite expensive as more checks have to be made.

Pasteurization was introduced to reduce the incidence of tuberculosis in humans which is easily caught from cows, also Brucellosis (contagious abortion) was also rife in cattle. Brucellosis is now eradicated from British cattle but tuberculosis is on the increase and regular tests are still the norm. Any cattle that react to the test are slaughtered so although it is on the increse it doesn't get into the food chain.

Pastrurizing milk (heat treatment) kills bad bacteria that may cause disease, but it also kills good bacteria, which is why pasteurised milk goes sour. unpasturized ripens and although sour as such it is still quite pleasant to drink. Drinking unpasteurized milk may help people with allergy problems.

Modern milk is also standardised and homogonised. Standardised is basically watering it down to a set level and homogonisation reduces the size of the fat globules so it distributed throughout the milk, which is why modern milk doesn't have a cream layer.

Support British Dairy Farmers While We Still Have Some

Itsybitsy

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2045 Location: North Cornwall

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2220 Location: South Cumbria

As a child I used to go with my Gran to collect fresh milk and homemade butter from the farm where Grandad worked, and as a newly marrieds we were once camping near Kilnsey Crag in Yorkshire the campsite sold their own milk the people next to us offered to get us some 'real milk' from the shop and were horrified when we declined, I can remember the milkman delivering green top milk too, those were the days, I now have an allergy to Dairy Sad

but would love to try real milk again Smile

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6797 Location: isle of lewis

well said itsy ,i got really down at the week end about livestock and farming in the country
feel much more positive today ,
had a nice letter from the scottish parilement ,which was positive ,thanking farmers
drink real milk if you can Wink

wonderful stuff Cool

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1314 Location: Leicestershire

CP · Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:26 am Post subject:

I'm on the hunt for some locally...... Cool

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2220 Location: South Cumbria

would be fantastic if it did ! I can eat cheeses such as brie and camembert and blue cheeses or goats cheese, or cheese substitute but not cheddar wensleydale and such:( yoghurt is ok, I crave cheese every time I open the fridge, aslo cannot eat milk choc, plain is ok though ,weird or what !

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1400 Location: Clawddnewydd

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6797 Location: isle of lewis

i was always surprized when nonie told me the milk was skimmed and then the cream to the percent that you wanted added back

nonie would really like milk labeled
as totally housed (did you know that some cows never go outside a barn Crying or Very sad

,same as broiler units)
and cows that are out during the summer and in during winter

something else i found out last week saudi has the biggest dairy herd in the world ,there are 12000 cows in one herd Shocked

,they make uht milk and dried milk products
real milk is Very Happy

i don't like it still warm though Embarassed

Sparklepeeps · Joined: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 1885 Location: Cheshire

I have no concept of what 'real' milk is. I have only ever known semi-skimmed. I am a little bit squeamish so I would have to psych myself up to even try it.

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1400 Location: Clawddnewydd

Yes, I always thought that cows were always out during the spring/summer/early autumn months so was quite shocked when we moved here and a herd down the road was housed permanently. They cut grass for them every day and I thought what a complete waste of time. It turned out that the farm was part of a tiny estate and the bloke who owned the estate was French and didnt want the cows to damage the fields of his estate..........
Its been bought by someone else now who isnt so pernickety and now the cows are part of a large share farming operation that has taken off locally involving 3 farmers and about 8 farms.
I was speaking to someone at the Royal Welsh this time and they have 2000 dairy cows........ Shocked

you'd never be in from milking... Thats worse than lambing Shocked

CP · Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 11:44 am Post subject: