Post by epitts75 on Mar 27, 2009 9:44:11 GMT -5
Our milk only tends to keep for about 4 days in the fridge. I don't know if it is because we are not clean enough in our routine. Here is what we do:
1- Wash Molly's udder before each milking with vinegar water.
2- Milk into a seemless, stainless steel bucket.
3- Strain using purchased milk filters into clean jars. We do not set up the jars and filters and such until after milking. So the milk does sit on the counter for a few minutes while we collect equipment. Dh does the milking...he's not one to plan in advace...especially on the few hours of sleep he gets each night. I can suggest he do things differently, but it would take months for that to become a habit. ;-)
4- Rinse the bucket with cold water to remove residue, then wash in hot soapy water using clean paper towels instead of a sponge. It is not unusual for the bucket to get rinsed and then sit for awhile before I can get to cleaning it. That time of morning is hard with baby/little kids schedules. And Dh has to run out the door to work very early. I do think we get the bucket spotless, though.
My other concern is our barnyard. We keep Molly penned at night since we have alot of weeds in the field. The milk tends to taste weedy if we let her out at night. BUT, the barnyard is filthy, at least to my eye. The vet, however, comments on how clean things are every time he comes out here. But, we don't clean it daily so there's lots of poo. There is also plenty of clean straw for her to lie in, though. My concern is that she's got poo particles on her that may be dropping into the milk. I'm not really concerned for the safety of the milk. We've been drinking it like this for a long time. It always tastes great and no one's ever gotten so much as a stomache ache. But, a friend of a friend has contacted me wanting to buy fresh milk. I've never sold it before. I was thinking that even if we're not so picky for ourselves, we should be for a customer.
What do you guys think?
Ellen
1- Wash Molly's udder before each milking with vinegar water.
2- Milk into a seemless, stainless steel bucket.
3- Strain using purchased milk filters into clean jars. We do not set up the jars and filters and such until after milking. So the milk does sit on the counter for a few minutes while we collect equipment. Dh does the milking...he's not one to plan in advace...especially on the few hours of sleep he gets each night. I can suggest he do things differently, but it would take months for that to become a habit. ;-)
4- Rinse the bucket with cold water to remove residue, then wash in hot soapy water using clean paper towels instead of a sponge. It is not unusual for the bucket to get rinsed and then sit for awhile before I can get to cleaning it. That time of morning is hard with baby/little kids schedules. And Dh has to run out the door to work very early. I do think we get the bucket spotless, though.
My other concern is our barnyard. We keep Molly penned at night since we have alot of weeds in the field. The milk tends to taste weedy if we let her out at night. BUT, the barnyard is filthy, at least to my eye. The vet, however, comments on how clean things are every time he comes out here. But, we don't clean it daily so there's lots of poo. There is also plenty of clean straw for her to lie in, though. My concern is that she's got poo particles on her that may be dropping into the milk. I'm not really concerned for the safety of the milk. We've been drinking it like this for a long time. It always tastes great and no one's ever gotten so much as a stomache ache. But, a friend of a friend has contacted me wanting to buy fresh milk. I've never sold it before. I was thinking that even if we're not so picky for ourselves, we should be for a customer.
What do you guys think?
Ellen
