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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2006 19:53:47 GMT -5
Well, guys, I made something really good with some of that fresh milk I've been getting. I made a batch of homemade sour cream and a batch of cultured buttermilk. Both turned out great!
I only made small batches - 1 cup of sour cream and a pint of buttermilk - just to see if it would work. I drank all the buttermilk this morning! So I have another batch (a quart this time) sitting over by the woodstove. I'll keep making batches from each previous one for a while, then start with a fresh starter when it starts to deteriorate, which I assume it will (like yogurt does).
Anyway, it was fun and very easy to make, and I can't tell the difference from store-bought as far as taste goes, although I know where mine came from and nothing has been added! Well, almost nothing. The cultured buttermilk from the store was the starter for both of them, but it's only a small fraction of the total finished product.
Now I need to get some cheesemaking supplies and start making cheeses!
~Lannie
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Post by bergere on Mar 12, 2006 20:27:03 GMT -5
Sounds like you are having fun Lannie!!
PS.. how is the horse shopping?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2006 20:33:12 GMT -5
There are no horses for sale in South Dakota. I guess I shoulda thunk o' that before I left Orygun. I just thought we'd have our three for a bit longer than we did. Oh, there ARE horses for sale, but they're reining competition or barrel competition which means they're up there in the $5,000 and up range, or they're somebody's work horse which means they're flatly not for sale. sigh...
But I'm having fun with the milk, and I AM getting my chickens this year, so that's good. We're still looking for a horse, but my hopes are not too high. We'll probably have our cow before we find another horse.
~Lannie
(Sheesh, I can't believe I spelled competition wrong...)
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Post by bergere on Mar 12, 2006 20:47:38 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that Lannie,, I am not having much luck either in the buying horse department. Don't worry about miss spelling... I do it all the time.  Glad you hear you are getting chickens! What breed are you going to get? |
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Post by bergere on Mar 12, 2006 22:34:49 GMT -5
Hay Lannie,, was just thinking.
How about a PMU weanling?
I know they are not spendy,,and know of a few people that have gotten them. Turned out to be really nice horses.
Just a thought.
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Post by bergere on Mar 12, 2006 23:47:58 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2006 15:43:45 GMT -5
LOL! I can just imagine Rich on a Fjord! LOL! The foals were priced right, but they're in Canada, so by the time we got one here, the price wouldn't be right anymore.  And anyway, Rich can't get his lawn tractor running - he thinks it's died for good this time - so now we need to get another one of those. So no horse this year, anyway. sigh... Regarding the birds, I'm going to get Light Brahmas for the laying hens (I think they're pretty, and they're supposed to be gentle and lay in cold weather), then I'm getting some Cornish Rocks for meat birds, and 15 guineas (going to split that order with the neighbor) and a couple of geese. We were going to start working on refurbishing the chicken house and putting up the run this week, but we've had snow and sub-freezing weather for the past few days, so now that's on hold again. It shouldn't take us very long to complete it, but I don't even want to order chickens until it's either done or 90% done, just in case. I'm going to get the geese as soon as they come in to the feed store, though, which should be 2 more weeks. I'd like to get two males, but the lady at the store said they'd fight a lot. And the guy at the feed counter said they're not sexed anyway, so I'll just pick 2 and see what I get. It could be interesting. ;D ~Lannie |
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Post by bergere on Mar 13, 2006 19:09:44 GMT -5
Well,,,,you know Lannie. I know someone that bought this neat all terrian lawn mower. She asked her hubby if she could get a riding lawn mower. Hubby did not tell her what type to get.  Looked rather like this one. ;D   |
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Post by bergere on Mar 13, 2006 19:14:00 GMT -5
Light Brahama's tend to be nice birds,,, great at catching and eating mice. The ones I had did not lay many eggs though.
I have been wanting to get some Shetland Island Geese again. Can you tell I like miniature animals. <LOL>
What kind of geese are you going to get?
So back to the milk. How is that going?
Are you going to try to make double cream sometime?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2006 20:07:56 GMT -5
Very sneaky, your friend! I like HER lawnmower. Unfortunately, Rich wants one that will mow where HE wants mowed!
I don't know what kind of geese I'm going to get. Whatever they have in the store, probably Toulouse or Embden (I hope I got those names right). One gosling will be yellow (the Embden) and one will be splotchy (the Toulouse) and that's about all I know. I don't want pure white geese, so I'll pick splotchy ones if they have them. But I only want a couple, so I have to take what they have. I don't want to order 10 from a hatchery.
What's double cream? I gotta know, girl! I love cream! What is it?
~Lannie
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Post by bergere on Mar 13, 2006 21:08:40 GMT -5
Well,, I had to try you know. It would make a nice riding lawn mower!! Devon Double clotted cream!! Clotted cream Wait for it – this is the big one! Perhaps you’d rather not know, but it has at least 55 per cent butterfat. Clotted cream has a unique and special dairy colour, like pale buttercups, and is thick, rich and utterly irresistible. It is a speciality of the rich pastureland of the West Country, and is made by heating the cream to evaporate some of the liquids, so, in a sense, you could call it concentrated cream. It is heaven spread on scones with home-made preserves and extra special on tart fruit pies. It’s not for every day, but everyone should treat themselves to some just once in a while. OR Both Devon and Cornwall - counties in the South West of England - are famous for their thick cream, which is mainly produced on farms, and in small dairies. The most famous of all is 'Clotted Cream' which achieves its thick clotted texture by heating cream of high-fat breed cows, such as the Jersey type, in pans, traditionally made of copper but latterly stainless steel, to about 190°f and allowing it to cool slowly. In the farmhouses, the pans were heated crudely over a fire or stove and the cream was rich in acid and aroma-producing bacteria. Dairy or factory methods were much better controlled, using steam heated pans. The cream is usually packed in shallow trays a few inches deep and forms a yellow crusty surface. The consistency is thick and heavy, almost like treacle, and is traditionally served by scooping the cream out into cups or small cartons. Back when I could have Dairy....this stuff is heaven!! The place I buy Hubby's treats from the UK. Best place to deal with. He can get his Ribena and other stuff there. www.ukgoods.com |
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Post by auntieemu on Mar 14, 2006 9:24:08 GMT -5
Well,,,,you know Lannie. I know someone that bought this neat all terrian lawn mower. She asked her hubby if she could get a riding lawn mower. Hubby did not tell her what type to get. Looked rather like this one. ;D |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2006 20:39:49 GMT -5
Wow, Bergere, I missed your post somehow...  I was just reading today about clotted cream, and I haven't actually made that yet (by heating it), so I'll have to give it a whirl. I don't have any sweets to put it on, though, so I'll have to think of a good use for it. Maybe just eat it with a spoon? ;D (You know, it's a wonder I haven't gained a bunch of weight lately, what with all this fresh cream, buttermilk, sour cream and ice cream I've been eating, but I haven't gained a pound - yet!) The good news is Rich got his lawnmower running again, and the bad news is he still wants to get a new one because this one's just about on it's last leg. Er, I mean, tire. And now I'm off to order some rennet and get serious making some cheese! ~Lannie |
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Post by bergere on Mar 20, 2006 10:05:34 GMT -5
Double Cream is good on.... fruit.... just put some fruit in a bowl and pile the cream on.
On biscuits, muffins....oh you name it!!
Northern Tool has some good lawn mowers..prices are good too.
We bought a Husqvarna with a Honda Engine,, have had it a year and a half...my hubby hasn't killed it yet!
That is impressive! ;D
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2006 21:09:10 GMT -5
Oh, I don't even want to THINK about what the shipping would be on a riding mower! He'll probably pick one up at one of the local stores here (but NOT Wal-Mart!) I ordered some cheesemaking supplies today, so as soon as I get them, I'm going to try my hand at mozzarella. That's my favorite kind of cheese. Then I'll probably make some white cheddar and some cream cheese and cottage cheese. My tummy's growling just thinking about all that good stuff. ;D I, um, ahem, DRANK all my cream from this last batch of milk... so next trip I'll try to skim some off and try that clotted cream on some berries. That's the only "sweet" I eat anymore. Usually I just pour some cream over them, but a big pile of clotted cream sounds divine. Thanks! ~Lannie |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2006 8:35:40 GMT -5
Hey Lannie, let me know how your cheese turns out.Who knows......maybe a swap of some sort, tnborn |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2006 14:55:30 GMT -5
TN, my mozzarella is chillin' in the fridge as we speak. I don't think I did it quite right, though, because the balls didn't come out smooth enough. I think I let the water get too cool. I only made a tiny batch to try out (1/2 gallon of milk), and even though they're bumpy, they'll probably taste good. I'm draining the whey off the ricotta now, too. You take the whey left over from making cheese, heat it almost to boiling, let it cool, then drain the "new" whey out of the little curds that form.
Rich is going to make me a cheese press so I can try my hand at cheddar (white cheddar because I won't add any dye to it!). I really need to get my own cow! I'm going to be going over to the neighbors a lot to get enough milk to make some good cheeses. ;D
~Lannie
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2006 14:57:50 GMT -5
P.S. Tonight I'm going to start a batch of cream cheese. That's my favorite!
~Lannie
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2006 15:12:39 GMT -5
OK, thought I'd post the results of my first cheesemaking adventure. The mozzarella we had to eat fast, as it was slowly dissolving in the brine solution that was supposed to firm it up. I'm pretty sure I should have used hotter water to "spin" the cheese (it's actually folding and kneading). It started out alright, but it seemed to firm up too fast, so I'll try it next time with a LARGE bowl of hot water that I can keep dunking the blobs in until they at least look like the pictures in the book. The ricotta cheese turned out fine, but is a much finer grain than what I've been buying at the store. As far as texture and taste, though, it's wonderful! That one was a success! The cream cheese was less than perfect, because I was getting cocky by this point and didn't read the directions fully. There was a little footnote at the bottom that said "If using liquid rennet (which I am), use 4 drops per gallon of milk." Well, I had 3 quarts of milk and I used about 1/8 of a teaspoon (I was trying to convert rennet tablet v.s. liquid rennet amounts in my head). That was waaaay too much! So even though it's smooshy and it tastes like cream cheese, it's grainy like ricotta, and if you put it in something hot, it congeals into long strings like heated mozzarella. It's REAL good wrapped up in a flour tortilla, though! So, I made a few mistakes, but hopefully I've learned how to avoid them next time. Tomorrow I'm going after another batch of milk, so I'll try the mozzarella and cream cheese again and see how they turn out. Even though the first ones I made weren't "right," at least they still tasted good! We live and learn! ;D ~Lannie |
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Post by bergere on Mar 31, 2006 16:47:49 GMT -5
<LOL> Lannie,, sounds like you are having fun and inventing your own types of special Cheese! ;D  |
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