Re: All puckered up

[Guest guest]

All puckered up

> Oh, my! We've certainly entered a new realm of food flavors . . .

> ranging from tart to sour to hair-raising! Oodles of questions for

> you:

>

> 1. With all these " sour " raw milk products, how do you know when

> they are really too far gone to use? Will they look different or

> smell different?

In my experience, the amount of sourness one enjoys is entirely subjective.

I have never known a raw fermented dairy product to go truly " bad " or

rancid. Pasteurized milk products do indeed get super nasty--nobody would

THINK of eating rancid past. milk as it smells too awful. My keifer, if

left for long periods of time (3-4 weeks) will get " ripe " the way some

strong cheeses do, but I still eat it. My husband doesn't like it, though.

>

> 2. Whey: My first batch of whey, made from raw milk yoghurt, is a

> golden yellow with little floaties on top and about 1/2 inch of

> white solids in the bottom. Should I strain it? Should I leave the

> floaties in and stir each time before I use it?

I would skim the floaties off the top and not worry about the milk solids at

the bottom. I doubt that there is anything wrong, per se, about the

floaties, but for aesthetics, I would remove them.

>

> 3. Cream cheese: I used my farm-fresh yoghurt to make whey and

> cream cheese. This cheese is REALLY sour tasting. Did I leave it

> out too long? I went ahead and used it to make Fallon's Cream

> Cheese Breakfast Rolls, but even then the tartness overwhelms the

> dough.

Probably not--homemade yogurt cheese will be pretty tart, as yogurt is.

>

> 4. I have a pint of cream that has soured . . . can I go ahead and

> make butter from it?

I would!

>

> 5. I've shamelessly tricked my family into drinking whey water! I

> fill their dinner glasses with water, add a teaspoon of whey, then

> float just the thinnest slice of lemon on top. (Works great except

> for the little floaties!)

>

> 6. Milk & honey--Old Testament style? Our yoghurt is pretty tart

> and I discovered that it transforms into something addicting if I

> add raw honey to it. It's wonderful then--but is it legal?

Totally legal and delicious! Welcome to real eating.

>

> Well, that should keep you busy for a while!

> Danelle in Kansas, full of questions

HTH,

in New York City

[Guest guest]

@@@ Danelle:

Oh, my! We've certainly entered a new realm of food flavors . . .

ranging from tart to sour to hair-raising! Oodles of questions for

you:

1. With all these " sour " raw milk products, how do you know when

they are really too far gone to use? Will they look different or

smell different?

@@@@@@

Based on my experiences, there's pretty much no such thing as " too far

gone " ! I've drank fermented milks that sat around for weeks, and

they just get more sour, but they don't go bad. Once I accidentally

left a jar of kefir in my trunk for about a week in the hottest period

of summer and it tasted like vinegar! I could only drink like a

tablespoon or two at at time, but it was perfectly good food. The

only change in appearance you might see is some white molds on the

top--you can just remove them or ignore them--their flavor is very

mild. I've had jars of clabbered milk sit out for well over a month

(because I put them in a place where I forget about them) and they

didn't show any signs of problems beyond a little white mold, which

isn't a problem. Often there are dry and crusty parts on the jars,

but that's just accidentally made hard cheese. I can't think of any

smells I associate with fermented milk in any stages.

@@@@

2. Whey: My first batch of whey, made from raw milk yoghurt, is a

golden yellow with little floaties on top and about 1/2 inch of

white solids in the bottom. Should I strain it? Should I leave the

floaties in and stir each time before I use it?

@@@@@

Sounds like normal whey. If you're gonna just drink it, it really

doesn't matter whether you strain it further or what you do with the

floaties. It's all good. If you're gonna use it for fermenting stuff

where it'll sit for a long time, or if you want to store the whey in

the fridge for a few months, then I'd strain it once or twice more to

get rid of those milk solids.

@@@

3. Cream cheese: I used my farm-fresh yoghurt to make whey and

cream cheese. This cheese is REALLY sour tasting. Did I leave it

out too long? I went ahead and used it to make Fallon's Cream

Cheese Breakfast Rolls, but even then the tartness overwhelms the

dough.

@@@@

All this stuff should be based on your personal flavor preferences, so

I'd just try letting it sit out less next time. By the way, you can

get the same curds and whey by just leaving the milk to sit out and

clabber instead of hassling with yogurt. You can also experiment with

other cultures, like kefir, to get different flavors. But I think

time and temperature are the two most natural variables to play around

with in your case.

@@@

4. I have a pint of cream that has soured . . . can I go ahead and

make butter from it?

@@@

Absolutely! That's the normal old-fashioned way to make butter.

Mike

SE Pennsylvania

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. --Alan Kay