RE: clabber

[Guest guest]

Carma-

> " Ma Baxter needed rain-water, too, to clabber the milk. The milk turned

>rankly sour in the heat but would not clabber. In hot weather, she

>always depended on a few drops of rain-water to clabber it, and at every

>shower would send Jody to a hickory tree to catch some, for rain-water

>dripped from a hickory was best for the purpose. "

I've heard various descriptions of what clabber and clabbering are supposed

to be, but I still have no idea what they actually involves. Do you know

what the heck they're talking about?

-

[Guest guest]

At 05:49 PM 5/4/02 -0400, you wrote:

>Carma-

>

>> " Ma Baxter needed rain-water, too, to clabber the milk. The milk turned

>>rankly sour in the heat but would not clabber. In hot weather, she

>>always depended on a few drops of rain-water to clabber it, and at every

>>shower would send Jody to a hickory tree to catch some, for rain-water

>>dripped from a hickory was best for the purpose. "

>

>I've heard various descriptions of what clabber and clabbering are supposed

>to be, but I still have no idea what they actually involves.  Do you know

>what the heck they're talking about?

>

>-

According to my Encyclopedia of Country Living clabbered milk is when its

thoroughly soured, setting up into a thick part (curds) and a thin clear

liquid

(whey). Always thought it to be a southern term that spread as I remember

reading clabbered milk was what most households drank, especially children in

the south. It was pretty much standard everywhere for the milk left at the end

of the day to be placed on the back of the wood cookstove as it cooled down to

clabber overnight.

Interesting addition here for people raising chickens. Says the old timers fed

the clabbered milk to their chickens as it was more digestable and had more

protein than fresh milk. They need water too if fed clabbered milk. They fed

little if any grain doing this.

Wanita

[Guest guest]

>Interesting addition here for people raising chickens. Says the old >timers fed

>the clabbered milk to their chickens as it was more digestable and >had more

>protein than fresh milk

The person I purchase eggs from says her chickens will not eat fresh milk, they

will wait for it to clabber and then drink it...

Grace,

a Augustine

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough ''Hello's " to get you through the final goodbye.

--anonymous

of the day to be placed on the back of the wood cookstove as it cooled down to

clabber overnight.

. They need water too if fed clabbered milk. They fed

little if any grain doing this.

Wanita

[Guest guest]

Clabbering milk is basically just letting it culture long enough to separate

into curd and whey. The Lactobacilli metabolize lactose producing lactic

acid. As the pH decreases due to lactic acid formation, the casein is

denatured and precipitates out into a gelled mass which is commonly referred

to as the curd.

I put a picture of curds that were cut below. It may not come through on

, so just go to the url listed below the text. I hope this info helps.

I suspect the reference to rain water from the hickory tree being better as

it would probably have a higher acid content. You can also clabber milk by

adding something acidic like vinegar or lemon juice (why milk curdles if you

add lemon juice to it.) ine in SC

This site has great pictures and lots more info.

" In the natural clabbering of milk, Lactobacillus metabolizes the milk sugar

lactose into lactic acid. The decrease in pH of fresh milk from pH 6.6

towards the isoelectric point of pH 4.6 brings about precipitation.

Certainly, yogurt and cheese producers do not rely on the natural bacteria

in milk but rather add bacteria and/or an acid. This information is

diagrammed as follows:

[see website for chart]

Acid precipitation is the major step in the production of cheese. However,

there are other instances of acid precipitation of casein which affect the

quality of the food product. Some processes improve a product and some

decrease its quality. "

http://www.orst.edu/instruct/nfm236/milk/index.cfm

" 75 degrees is the temperature to strive for through the clabbering process.

Leave the milk on the warming shelf of your wood stove. Temperatures too low

allow the proliferation of less desirable bacteria. Temperatures too high

will kill your bacteria and stop the creation of the lactic acid that you

need to clabber the milk.

The clabbering might take a few hours, or a few days depending on the

temperature. When the milk is set it will have the sonsistency of something

like jell. The solids will have formed one large curd which floats on the

whey on the bottom. When the milk is sour and clabbered you are ready to cut

the curd and heat it to get just the right firmness. "

From Early Recipes: Cottage Cheese

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/6470/wildp16.html

[Guest guest]

Wanita-

>According to my Encyclopedia of Country Living clabbered milk is when its

>thoroughly soured, setting up into a thick part (curds) and a thin clear

>liquid

>(whey).

Do you have any idea what this meant, then?

> >> " Ma Baxter needed rain-water, too, to clabber the milk. The milk turned

> >>rankly sour in the heat but would not clabber.

Was the " rankly sour " milk just rotting because the temperature was too

high for the proper bacteria? And what about the rain water? So is

clabber just a particular kind of sour curd?

-

[Guest guest]

At the right temperature, the good bacteria in raw milk normally outgrow the

bad by using up the oxygen in the milk faster and producing lactic acid

which creates an acidic environment which is less favorable to pathogenic

bacterial growth. At higher temperatures, this balance is altered.

I suspect the rain water from the hickory (whose leaves are high in tannins)

added enough acidity to the mixture to help it achieve the right pH more

quickly and thus " clabber " before the pathogenic bacteria had a chance to

multiply as rapidly.

This is all speculation on my part. I'm glad I don't have to catch

rainwater dripping off a tree to clabber my milk.

ine in SC

[Guest guest]

ine-

This sounds like a likely explanation. Thanks!

>At the right temperature, the good bacteria in raw milk normally outgrow the

>bad by using up the oxygen in the milk faster and producing lactic acid

>which creates an acidic environment which is less favorable to pathogenic

>bacterial growth. At higher temperatures, this balance is altered.

>

>I suspect the rain water from the hickory (whose leaves are high in tannins)

>added enough acidity to the mixture to help it achieve the right pH more

>quickly and thus " clabber " before the pathogenic bacteria had a chance to

>multiply as rapidly.

-

[Guest guest]

At 09:48 PM 5/4/02 -0400, you wrote:

>Clabbering milk is basically just letting it culture long enough to separate

>into curd and whey.  The Lactobacilli metabolize lactose producing lactic

>acid.  As the pH decreases due to lactic acid formation, the casein is

>denatured and precipitates out into a gelled mass which is commonly referred

>to as the curd.

>

>I put a picture of curds that were cut below.  It may not come through on

>, so just go to the url listed below the text.  I hope this info helps.

>I suspect the reference to rain water from the hickory tree being better as

>it would probably have a higher acid content.  You can also clabber milk by

>adding something acidic like vinegar or lemon juice (why milk curdles if you

>add lemon juice to it.)  ine in SC

>

Thanks, ine for the science behind this for . I tend to look at these

traditions as being worked at until they worked through much trial and error.

Wanita