"Real" milk

Hi,
Just visited our Amish friends in Lancaster PA where we were served fresh from the cow milk with a meal.I never tasted anything so creamy and good...and I grew up with milk in a bottle..and remember non homogonized milk that would pop in the bottle in winter months when delivered to "our door".. I believe what they served us is called raw milk...and is legal in Penn. Got me to thinking. Anyone get a milk today that tastes as good as those old days...assuming you remember the "old" days?
leethebard

I haven't had "fresh" farm milk since the mid '60's and probably wouldn't drink any now since my system is not use to raw milk any more. I hope your friends strained the hair & blood from the milk before serving it.

Milk at the grocery stores has had the heavy cream removed and FDA allows up to a certain amount of water to be added before it is pasteurized. If you want a fuller and richer milk, try mixing in half & half milk to replace the heavy cream that was removed.

I used to drink raw milk at a friend's farm when I was a kid. Frankly, I didn't care for it, but that's all they served. I remember being very upset with my parents when they switched to that new-fangled homogenized milk when I was a kid. During the winter my sister and I used to go out to bring in the bottles of milk and the first thing we'd do was to eat the frozen cream from the top of the bottle where it had pushed the lid up. In warmer weather we'd get to spin the bottles on the floor to mix the cream into the milk. When the folks switched to homogenized all the fun of milk was gone.

I was born in 1954, and grew up on Long Island (NY). Most of Nassau County was farmland until about the late 1940's, primarily potato farms. Then, beginning with Levittown, the tract-housing suburbs began to swallow up most of the real estate.
When I was a kid, we had daily milk, butter and egg delivery from DIETZ'S DAIRY, one of the few working farms that remained, into the late 1960's.
In retrospect, I have always been amazed (and pleased) that as a suburban kid, I drank milk that came from a farm three blocks away.
I don't know when the milk became homogenized, though. Anyone know when that became ubiquitous?
Ron

I was born in 1959(yikes)and when we moved to Milwaukee, Mom used to find the dairy farms west of the city(I now live in one of those "suburbs")and bought fresh, raw milk.Nothing like it-ever.But I do agree with Mr.Hoffman about the homogenized milk that we eventually got from the milkman-when that stuff on the top froze, it was wonderful.

Into the early 1970s, there was a guy a few miles away -- in South Jersey -- who still kept cows and sold raw milk under the table to people he knew.

It was a bring-your-own-jug deal. And was something of a hassle, in that the jugs had to be carefully cleaned and Cloroxed to sterilize them -- the nonpasteurized milk would go sour much more quickly. But the milk definitely was better than store-bought.

Alas, taxes or land prices or low return from farming or whatever ate the farm, and it's all upscale houses now.

quote:

Originally posted by rongmtek


I don't know when the milk became homogenized, though. Anyone know when that became ubiquitous?
Ron

I believe they started homogenizing milk in the early 1930s, but my family didn't switch till sometime in the 1940s.

My best friends family ran a dairy farm for years. I didnt care for the raw milk. I also wasnt keen about getting up at 5:00am to shovel cow crap when I spent the night at their house either.

I've had both fresh cow and goats milk. It is a little rich, and does need to be filtered.. This was back in the 90's, and I can honestly say I miss it. Far better then the watered down stuff they serve and sell nowdays.

Not raw ... But we have a few dairies around here who sell very fresh, and I assume very minimally processed, milk and it is superb.

Fresh is a key component.

Cold,cold raw milk out of the cooler. Like drinkin ice cream!

quote:

Originally posted by wheregreggeats.com

Not raw ... But we have a few dairies around here who sell very fresh, and I assume very minimally processed, milk and it is superb.

Fresh is a key component.

That said ... This just in:
http://wwlp.com/Global/story.asp?S=7551259
I have no idea if this is pertinent.

I started work on a dairy farm in i942 shortly after my fathers death.
It was only for the summer when the "city folks" came out to "The Lake"
for the season. I worked there for the next 3 summers and we milked 60
cows every morning and evening.

One of my jobs was to take the "raw" milk right from the cows
up to the room where it was pasteurized. Pasteurizing (named for Louis
Pasteur) meant heating the milk to a certain temperature (forgot what)
for a certain length of time to kill disease. An automatic print-out was
created at the heating tub and that was inspected once a month by the
government. One of the germs that caused TB was supposed to be found in
"raw" milk.

Pasteurized milk still seperates, the cream still rises to the top and still
froze so that Michael Hoffman could enjoy it. Our milk was rich and dee-lish-ous
We delivered the milk every AM as soon as milking was done then "cooked" and
bottled the milk as soon as we got back from the milk route. Next I would wash
all the returned bottles and get ready for the evening milking. Up at 4AM and
to bed as soon as dinner was over. I was exhausted------I was 15 in '42.

We didn't homogenize because that was a whole different process that was a
lot more expensive. It was only available from big dairys like Borden and
Sheffield.

I remember when the milk on our doorstep would freeze and expand and a tube of cream would be sticking out above the bottle with the paper lid on top of it. My mother would take out one of the cream tubes, sprinkle sugar on it, and we'd have "ice cream" for breakfast. My dad would always
b!tch about having to have skim milk on his cereal for a couple of days afterwards.

I'm fortunate to live a few miles away from Crystal Springs Farm in Schnecksville PA, which is where we buy all our milk. They don't sell raw milk but even the 1 or 2% milk has a depth of flavor that sets it apart from most grocery store milk. I posted about their store on a recent trip report. You can even sit in an area of the farm, drinking the milk or ice cream made from it, and watch the cows graze (big excitement out here in the country ).



Our daughters live in Florida and they both say what the miss most about home is the milk.

The Allentown Fairground Farmers' Market has one stand that sells raw milk but although the texture is very creamy, the flavor isn't as good as Crystal Springs.

Milk's flavor depends on the butter-fat content.
The butter fat is installed by the cow. The brand of cow
determines the B-F content. Soooooo the Jersey brand of
cow has very, very rich milk---a very,very high B-F content.
The Guernsey gives just a little less B-F and the Holstein
the lest of all------------------but the Holstein produces
the largest volume. Many more gallons a day than the others.

A smart dairy farme has some of each making for the largest
volume of rich milk. And now you know the rest of the story.

Thanks Ancient Mariner...My Amish Farmer friend had explained about butter fat and quantity from the various cow types,,,but I'd forgotten that interesting info. I do remember him saying all commercial milk is a blend.....that is why even when you buy the same brand time after time,the flavor can vary. I've enjoyed all your comments on this thread!!
leethebard

When I lived in France I was in a small farming village. My neighbors were dairy farmers and I drank only "real" milk, fresh butter and creme fraiche that was as thick as ice cream. That milk and all the other products they made were delicious and light years away from what we get in the stores.

We got our milk from Brock-Hall and later Knudsen's. I believe they were both big producers.

My very personal view is that I do not drink milk in any form. It is personal to me as about 20 years ago, I visited a friend who had a a group of cows that he milked. It was in July and it was nasty even though he used all available things to make it sanitary. The smell and other things totally turned me off and I have not used milk as a beverage since then.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

My very personal view is that I do not drink milk in any form. It is personal to me as about 20 years ago, I visited a friend who had a a group of cows that he milked. It was in July and it was nasty even though he used all available things to make it sanitary. The smell and other things totally turned me off and I have not used milk as a beverage since then.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Wow, Sundancer, I had no idea. I have friends who for various reasons will not drink milk and I always think it's a little sad to me personally since I enjoy milk So much! And I also have both cow and goat dairy experience... I'm not big on the taste of goat's milk, but to me there isn't much finer on earth than a nice glass of milk! But to each their own, that's what makes us interesting.

I was about to post a new topic about this but luckily I caught this thread. I am not a milk drinker either. Not as a beverage by itself. It's fine mixed with chocolate mix or in my cereal, but I have never ever--for the life of me--been able to drink it straight out of the glass. It's soooo gross.

And I really do wish I liked it because it looks so good in commercials...a nice tall glass of milk in a cold cold glass. I'm 31 years old and unfortunately never experienced the cream rising to the top kind of milk that was delivered to homes. I don't think I would've liked anyway, but still.

To me milk is milk, but my hubby says he can taste a difference between brands: Bordens, Oak Farms, and the store brand.

Dearfolk,
When I was a kid (now I'm a full-grown Billy goat!), we used to bring home milk from the University Of Georgia Creamery... it came then in returnable glass bottles. I still remember occasionally finding a "cream plug" in the bottle; it was then my privilege to eat it. And -- boy, was it yummy! What a treat!!
Cream plugs don't seem to occur in cartoned milk. The U. Ga. Creamery still produces milk, but only sells it "on draft" and in cartons now, primarily in the school cafeterias. It's been years since I had any of it.
Another "milky" memory comes from my visits to Grandma Carlton in Florida, where Hood Dairies (I wonder if they're still operating?) sold buttermilk with flecks of butter in it. I loved it then, and wish I could find something like it now. This was Grandma's before-bed treat, and she enjoyed sharing it with me.
As for delivered milk, Mathis Dairy on Rainbow Drive in Decatur (about 10 miles east of downtown Atlanta) continued to deliver milk in glass bottles until the owner died. His family sold out and the practice stopped. Mathis sold Certified Raw Milk (the only Georgia dairy to do so).
Recently I read of a milk delivery route in New York City (Eastern Queens, I think it is) and part of Long Island. Hey, if that area can do it, why can't everyplace have such service? -- If anyone out there knows of areas where delivered milk is still available, why not either insert that here, or else start a new thread? I'd like to know, and so probably would a lot of others....
Elliptically, Ort. Carlton in Amazing Athens, Georgia.

After I milked my first cow, by hand, I nearly gave up drinking milk altogether.

My cousin's own a dairy and I'm free to go out and get milk anytime I please, straight from the tank, however, NO offense to any one here, I do love them dearly but their religious beliefs keep me away. We do have one family owned store here that carries "cream top" milk that is pasturiezed but not homogenized or vice-versa. When you first open it you have to push the cream down into jug then re-lid it and shake the crap out of it, and everytime you open it thereafter. The only thing that would make it any better in my opinion is if it came in a glass jug. I do remember getting Borden's delivered to our doorstep in glass quart jars growing up.

We have a store here in Toms River, NJ that still sells milk in half gallon glass jugs

They've tried to legalize raw milk in Maryland, but the General Assembly has yet to pass the legislation.

I've been meaning to drive up to PA and try some. There's a place about an hour or so from Baltimore that sells raw milk 9 months of the year.

Go to the lancaster area. Several of the Amish buffets have fresh raw milk> You can buy it in Lancaster too!

Here in Eastern Lancaster County Pa I buy raw milk for $2.50/gallon.The farmer I get it from has it tested every week.It is Holstein milk but I still think it tastes richer than the milk in stores.I think whole milk in stores is selling for about $4/gallon right now.