It takes a bit more time to feed and milk your own goat than to drive to the store and purchase a carton of milk. Why go to the effort?
In recent years, most dairies have been using pasteurization temperatures above 172F, which
destabilizes the whey proteins therefore preventing the calcium from bonding properly to form structured curd; this makes it more difficult, if not impossible, to make most cheeses with ultrapasteurized milks.
Ultra High-Temperature Sterilization: milk that has been heated to at least 280 degrees Farenheit, and although the process may take only a few seconds, it destroys the good as well as the bad bacteria. The reason it is done, of course, is that the shelf life of milk after UHT sterilization is sixty days instead of the 18-day shelf life of lower pasteurization. Since the many diversified dairies continue to dwindle to a few mega-producers, milk must be shipped much longer distances to reach the consumer, so a longer shelf life created by ultra-pasteurization is necessary without the consumer choosing a local source.
In addition, the prevalence of certain diseases in herds of thousands of animals makes it a necessity; large dairies keep increasing pasteurization temperatures and times in hopes of resolving the problem, but in fact the end product is actually more susceptible to dangerous bad bacteria than milk of past years, retaining some of its live antibacterial cultures and healthy enzymes; the method of treating with higher and higher temperatures has only created more opportunity for bad bacteria (some of which grow at cold temperatures), and has also created a 'dead' food that no longer contains enzymes for its proper digestion.
The real solution? Proper herd management, producing healthier animals and better milk...a step that large dairies, so far, have not been willing to take, because it diminishes some of their profits.
Is milk from my own goat really better than organic milk from the grocery store?
The answer is a resounding yes, for several reasons.
Organic milk is now the fastest growth sales of any dairy product...it seems everyone is getting on the bandwagon, and consumers are willing to pay more for it because they have been told that it is far superior...but is it? The following link is helpful in understanding where the organic milk in your grocery store is coming from, and exactly what it is:
http://cheesemakinghelp.blogspot.com/2010/04/organic-milk-from-big-dairy.html
When you are producing your own milk, you know what is in the milk--how it was handled after milking, whether the animal is healthy, what she was eating, etc. Unfortunately, even milk labeled as "organic" can come from animals eating GMO (genetically-modified foods), and unhealthy animals. I recommend researching why GMO is a bigger issue than whether your milk is organic or not--Jeffrey Smith, the author of Seeds of Deception, is a good place to start, and is well worth your time; GMO foods are more dangerous than hormones or even chemicals in your milk. In this day and age it is imperative to educate yourself in order to avo
In recent years, most dairies have been using pasteurization temperatures above 172F, which
destabilizes the whey proteins therefore preventing the calcium from bonding properly to form structured curd; this makes it more difficult, if not impossible, to make most cheeses with ultrapasteurized milks.
Ultra High-Temperature Sterilization: milk that has been heated to at least 280 degrees Farenheit, and although the process may take only a few seconds, it destroys the good as well as the bad bacteria. The reason it is done, of course, is that the shelf life of milk after UHT sterilization is sixty days instead of the 18-day shelf life of lower pasteurization. Since the many diversified dairies continue to dwindle to a few mega-producers, milk must be shipped much longer distances to reach the consumer, so a longer shelf life created by ultra-pasteurization is necessary without the consumer choosing a local source.
In addition, the prevalence of certain diseases in herds of thousands of animals makes it a necessity; large dairies keep increasing pasteurization temperatures and times in hopes of resolving the problem, but in fact the end product is actually more susceptible to dangerous bad bacteria than milk of past years, retaining some of its live antibacterial cultures and healthy enzymes; the method of treating with higher and higher temperatures has only created more opportunity for bad bacteria (some of which grow at cold temperatures), and has also created a 'dead' food that no longer contains enzymes for its proper digestion.
The real solution? Proper herd management, producing healthier animals and better milk...a step that large dairies, so far, have not been willing to take, because it diminishes some of their profits.
Is milk from my own goat really better than organic milk from the grocery store?
The answer is a resounding yes, for several reasons.
Organic milk is now the fastest growth sales of any dairy product...it seems everyone is getting on the bandwagon, and consumers are willing to pay more for it because they have been told that it is far superior...but is it? The following link is helpful in understanding where the organic milk in your grocery store is coming from, and exactly what it is:
http://cheesemakinghelp.blogspot.com/2010/04/organic-milk-from-big-dairy.html
When you are producing your own milk, you know what is in the milk--how it was handled after milking, whether the animal is healthy, what she was eating, etc. Unfortunately, even milk labeled as "organic" can come from animals eating GMO (genetically-modified foods), and unhealthy animals. I recommend researching why GMO is a bigger issue than whether your milk is organic or not--Jeffrey Smith, the author of Seeds of Deception, is a good place to start, and is well worth your time; GMO foods are more dangerous than hormones or even chemicals in your milk. In this day and age it is imperative to educate yourself in order to avo
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