Lacto-Fermentation Milk Test--WOW!
Oct 15, 2018 18:41:23 GMT -5
rosalind, eljay, and 4 more like this
Post by thystledown on Oct 15, 2018 18:41:23 GMT -5
Saw this test in Gianaclis Caldwell's book The Small Scale Dairy pg 143. I tried it and wondered about my results. So I looked on the internet and did find the method there with a good pdf at
static1.squarespace.com/static/552d4535e4b03d0c390b51a0/t/55638b3de4b00576f841c509/1432587069199/Milk_and_cheese_tests.pdf .
But I am wondering about my results. I actually incubated the milk too warm. I used the lowest setting which was 100F when I needed 98F. But I figured the result would be good enough for the project. More on that later. Anyway, I got great yogurt. I left it 24 hours and got a solid jar of yogurt--tastes very good. This raises more questions: Should I have gotten yogurt? Was it due to the 2 degrees extra? If I got thick yogurt without a culture, what does that say about my raw yogurt technique I've shared on here? So the book says homogenous curd, 40-50% plus whey is A quality milk. B quality milk is Homogenous yogurt-like gel, 100%. That would be what I got. But it notes: "Contains low levels of enzymatic reaction inhibitors. Inherent in some breeds or individuals . . . ." The only other explanation is too much sanitizer (I didn't use any, Or antibiotic residue. That's possible since I had treated a quarter for mastitis but had done the proper withhold time plus did not milk that quarter. Besides, remember I almost always got great thick yogurt with this Jersey cow's milk in the past. Not so good with the Guernsey I had last year. The on-line PDF likes either A or B for cheese making. Now, my milk keeps good in the fridge for two weeks. So I already felt I had good sanitation. But I'm wondering why the book says it is okay to use in processed products? The author only likes the A quality for raw fluid milk and aged cheeses. Why? I'm feeling really confident that this is a result of the type of milk Heiferlump gives--not sanitation or antibiotic results. So do you think the reason it is B is because the test does not differentiate between sanitizer/antibiotic residue and cows that naturally produce low enzymatic reaction inhibitors? Since the PDF likes both A and B results for cheese making, I'm thinking that must be the case, but would love to hear from anyone with input on this.
Then again, 2 degrees may have affected my results enough to invalidate the test. I will have to do this again if I can figure out how to do 98F exactly.
Now, why I did this: I'm teaching a high school biology lab for homeschooled students. I used to be a science teacher. Their text book says: "From the time milk leaves the cow, it is laden with bacteria. If something is not done, the bacteria count will rise to a dangerous level in just a few days, even if it is stored in a refrigerator." I am NOT going to let that stand unchallenged! So we talked about it and I wanted to show them the milk sample. It wasn't ready by class time so we just talked about it. Half the kids in the class have drunk my milk at some point anyway, but others had no clue about raw milk. Makes me angry that such a statement would be in a text book. Why? Why even broach the subject? I suppose to introduce pasteurization. But they already said that Pasteur invented the process for wine. Just mention it is also used for milk and move on. Don't bash raw milk with misinformation. So I used it as an example of why they should not trust textbooks or anything else they read--be skeptical and fact check anything that they think is important. Don't assume truth even in a text book. This was a Christian group, so I could have made an exception for the Bible, but since they are all reading translations, they probably need to check those too. God's Word may be infallible truth, but I'm not always so sure about the translators. But I digress.
I really wanted to know what you think about the milk test and my results.
static1.squarespace.com/static/552d4535e4b03d0c390b51a0/t/55638b3de4b00576f841c509/1432587069199/Milk_and_cheese_tests.pdf .
But I am wondering about my results. I actually incubated the milk too warm. I used the lowest setting which was 100F when I needed 98F. But I figured the result would be good enough for the project. More on that later. Anyway, I got great yogurt. I left it 24 hours and got a solid jar of yogurt--tastes very good. This raises more questions: Should I have gotten yogurt? Was it due to the 2 degrees extra? If I got thick yogurt without a culture, what does that say about my raw yogurt technique I've shared on here? So the book says homogenous curd, 40-50% plus whey is A quality milk. B quality milk is Homogenous yogurt-like gel, 100%. That would be what I got. But it notes: "Contains low levels of enzymatic reaction inhibitors. Inherent in some breeds or individuals . . . ." The only other explanation is too much sanitizer (I didn't use any, Or antibiotic residue. That's possible since I had treated a quarter for mastitis but had done the proper withhold time plus did not milk that quarter. Besides, remember I almost always got great thick yogurt with this Jersey cow's milk in the past. Not so good with the Guernsey I had last year. The on-line PDF likes either A or B for cheese making. Now, my milk keeps good in the fridge for two weeks. So I already felt I had good sanitation. But I'm wondering why the book says it is okay to use in processed products? The author only likes the A quality for raw fluid milk and aged cheeses. Why? I'm feeling really confident that this is a result of the type of milk Heiferlump gives--not sanitation or antibiotic results. So do you think the reason it is B is because the test does not differentiate between sanitizer/antibiotic residue and cows that naturally produce low enzymatic reaction inhibitors? Since the PDF likes both A and B results for cheese making, I'm thinking that must be the case, but would love to hear from anyone with input on this.
Then again, 2 degrees may have affected my results enough to invalidate the test. I will have to do this again if I can figure out how to do 98F exactly.
Now, why I did this: I'm teaching a high school biology lab for homeschooled students. I used to be a science teacher. Their text book says: "From the time milk leaves the cow, it is laden with bacteria. If something is not done, the bacteria count will rise to a dangerous level in just a few days, even if it is stored in a refrigerator." I am NOT going to let that stand unchallenged! So we talked about it and I wanted to show them the milk sample. It wasn't ready by class time so we just talked about it. Half the kids in the class have drunk my milk at some point anyway, but others had no clue about raw milk. Makes me angry that such a statement would be in a text book. Why? Why even broach the subject? I suppose to introduce pasteurization. But they already said that Pasteur invented the process for wine. Just mention it is also used for milk and move on. Don't bash raw milk with misinformation. So I used it as an example of why they should not trust textbooks or anything else they read--be skeptical and fact check anything that they think is important. Don't assume truth even in a text book. This was a Christian group, so I could have made an exception for the Bible, but since they are all reading translations, they probably need to check those too. God's Word may be infallible truth, but I'm not always so sure about the translators. But I digress.
I really wanted to know what you think about the milk test and my results.