Trends in Homesteading
It’s become very popular to have a homestead milk cow. I can see why! No running to the store for milk. When my children were little, milk was the item we were always running out of. I love being able to open the “milk fridge” and see gallons of milk sitting there. I love being able to make cream cheese, or ice cream, or whipped cream, or yogurt without having to run to the store. Chocolate milk is a treat and is easily made when there’s plenty of milk. In years past, I would have never drank “raw milk” as I was told it was dirty and full of bacteria. Now I know better. Raw milk doesn’t go bad like pasteurized milk does, unless it becomes contaminated by something outside of itself. It just changes into a cheese like substance (which is, believe it or not, fully edible). Raw milk would have to sit for a really long time to actually go putrid. After having milk cows for a couple of years, I can see why the family milk cow was considered an asset.
I have a neighbor who comes to my house every week to pick up milk. He is an older gentleman who likes to tell me the stories of how he grew up, and even gave me a tour of his property. Oh to have a barn like they have!! He said that the milk truck would come through the countryside picking up milk from various farms for the “city folk”. They would set out large cans of milk for the milk truck and would get paid for their milk. It was a small source of income for their farm. When I had work done on my property, one of the gentlemen stopped to discuss my dairy cows after he had finished working. He told me that he had worked in a dairy long ago and that his granny had a milk cow. I sent milk home with him. I have discovered that many people in this area had milk cows a generation or two ago and remember the fresh, delicious, taste of raw milk. I can tell you that a Jersey cow’s milk can taste like a vanilla milkshake. It’s that good. A Guernsey cow’s milk, often called Golden Milk, is sweet, rich, and buttery. A Brown Swiss cow’s milk is crisp and refreshing. Seriously, the milk is that good. I don’t think I can drink store-bought milk again, even if you paid me.Continue reading“Milk Cows on the Homestead – Part 1, by SaraSue”