RE: Raw milk: How long does it last in the refrigerator?

[Guest guest]

Well I used to get my milk from a farm that did what you did and it only lasted about a week or maybe two at the most. I now get mine from a Grade A dairy that is all grassfed and it lasts 3 weeks. Everyone keeps telling me it is how it's cooled but you are proof that maybe that does not matter.

-----Original Message-----From: RawDairy [mailto:RawDairy ] On Behalf Of B DunlapSent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 9:28 AMTo: RawDairy Subject: Raw milk: How long does it last in the refrigerator?

I personally do not get the big deal about cooling, Ibring milk to the house, filter it, put it in glass1/2 gallon jars and into the fridge. Set at 33 degreesF. This summer the cow went dry and we drank the lastfor almost 3 weeks with no problems.Bill Dunlap__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

,

The refrigerator that I use for Milk is not the

regular household one. It is used for milk and beer

and does not get opened but once a day. Sometimes

there is ice in the milk or (oh goody) beer, so it is

very cold. I have an aquaintance who has one of the

old style cold water bath drink coolers. He keeps his

milk and beer in this and has it set for 34 degrees.It

will cool milk very rapidly. I do think glass works

better than plastic, I feel that it is cleaner and

cools quicker.

Bill Dunlap

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

,

The refrigerator that I use for Milk is not the

regular household one. It is used for milk and beer

and does not get opened but once a day. Sometimes

there is ice in the milk or (oh goody) beer, so it is

very cold. I have an aquaintance who has one of the

old style cold water bath drink coolers. He keeps his

milk and beer in this and has it set for 34 degrees.It

will cool milk very rapidly. I do think glass works

better than plastic, I feel that it is cleaner and

cools quicker.

Bill Dunlap

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

I find this to be true as well. My milk will last 3 weeks easy and I do the some thing.

Chris

I personally do not get the big deal about cooling, Ibring milk to the house, filter it, put it in glass1/2 gallon jars and into the fridge. Set at 33 degreesF. This summer the cow went dry and we drank the lastfor almost 3 weeks with no problems.Bill Dunlap__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

This is NOT proof that chilling is not the issue. cleanliness plays a major roll here too. I used to do nearly the same thing before we went Grade A. with a chiller. ( I used to milk, bring to the house, filter and chill in ice water then refrigerate.) Believe me, we can all TASTE the difference and the milk lasts much longer in the fridge because it is already at 35 degrees before it ever hits the bottle. The longer the milk remains at more than 40 degrees the more time coliform bacteria has to grow and multiply. The more coliform bacteria the shorter the shelf life. Plain and Simple. My milk now lasts a whole month (4 weeks) in the fridge! (It may last longer but I haven't tried it after 4 weeks.)

Perhaps you could try what we did, Bill. Use a thermometer and the clock and see just exactly how long the milk takes to cool to 35 degrees with your current process. People tend more to believe science more than speculation.

Also glass is best for storage but we are having these results with plastic single use milk jugs.

Cleanliness: Now that we are Grade A we are required to 'meet the mark' so to speak on cleanliness. Not only is the state sampling and testing our milk but we are too with a private lab. We are required to meet a Coliform count of less than 10 with total plate counts of not more than 240 I think. Our latest private test was Coliform (1) and total plate count (0). I would challenge anyone who is using their own raw milk to send in a sample just for kicks and see where you are at. If anyone is interested email me and I'll send you the address of the lab we use. They are a dairy specific lab, meaning 'this is what they do on a daily basis'.

Jessi

Lucky Hook Grade A DairySetting The Standard for Portable Milking Machines http://www.milking-machines.com

-----Original Message-----From: RawDairy [mailto:RawDairy ]On Behalf Of Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 7:02 AMTo: RawDairy Subject: RE: Raw milk: How long does it last in the refrigerator?

Well I used to get my milk from a farm that did what you did and it only lasted about a week or maybe two at the most. I now get mine from a Grade A dairy that is all grassfed and it lasts 3 weeks. Everyone keeps telling me it is how it's cooled but you are proof that maybe that does not matter.

-----Original Message-----From: RawDairy [mailto:RawDairy ] On Behalf Of B DunlapSent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 9:28 AMTo: RawDairy Subject: Raw milk: How long does it last in the refrigerator?

I personally do not get the big deal about cooling, Ibring milk to the house, filter it, put it in glass1/2 gallon jars and into the fridge. Set at 33 degreesF. This summer the cow went dry and we drank the lastfor almost 3 weeks with no problems.Bill Dunlap

[Guest guest]

Jessi,

I do not doubt that quick cooling makes a difference.

If I ran a test with my current system, it would

surely take a long time to cool because of opening and

closing the fridge so many times.

A dairy I know built a precooler from a food quality

radaitor. In Winter, a fan blows through it to heat

the parlor, in summer it blows to outside, with a

mister in place. Just dropping the milk from cow

temperature to ambient air temp cuts cooling time

signficantly.

But I think you are on the right track with

cleanliness. Our glass jars are washed and rinsed at

high temp and are very clean. For home use single use

plastic is a little out of the question. But it is all

moot for me because I only milk what we need for a

couple of days at a time, the orphan calves get the

rest straight from the cow.

Bill Dunlap

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

What do you use to

clean your equipment with?

www.MajestyFarm.com

" What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from

saying that they don't like something to saying that the government should

forbid it. When you go down that road, don't expect freedom to survive very

long. " Sowell

From:

RawDairy [mailto:RawDairy ] On Behalf Of Lucky Hook Grade A RAW Dairy

Sent: Wednesday, September 27,

2006 10:56 AM

To: RawDairy

Subject: RE: Raw milk:

How long does it last in the refrigerator?

This is NOT proof that

chilling is not the issue. cleanliness plays a major roll here too.

I used to do nearly the same thing before we went Grade A. with a

chiller. ( I used to milk, bring to the house, filter and chill in ice water

then refrigerate.) Believe me, we can all TASTE the

difference and the milk lasts much longer in the fridge because it is already

at 35 degrees before it ever hits the bottle. The longer the milk remains

at more than 40 degrees the more time coliform bacteria has to grow and

multiply. The more coliform bacteria the shorter the shelf life. Plain and

Simple. My milk now lasts a whole month (4 weeks) in the fridge! (It may last

longer but I haven't tried it after 4 weeks.)

Perhaps you could try

what we did, Bill. Use a thermometer and the clock and see just exactly how

long the milk takes to cool to 35 degrees with your current process. People

tend more to believe science more than speculation.

Also glass is best for

storage but we are having these results with plastic single use milk

jugs.

Cleanliness: Now that we

are Grade A we are required to 'meet the mark' so to speak on cleanliness. Not

only is the state sampling and testing our milk but we are too with a private

lab. We are required to meet a Coliform count of less than 10 with total plate

counts of not more than 240 I think. Our latest private test was Coliform (1)

and total plate count (0). I would challenge anyone who is using their own raw

milk to send in a sample just for kicks and see where you are at. If anyone is

interested email me and I'll send you the address of the lab we use. They

are a dairy specific lab, meaning 'this is what they do on a daily basis'.

Jessi

Lucky

Hook Grade A Dairy

Setting The Standard for Portable Milking Machines

http://www.milking-machines.com

Raw milk: How

long does it last in the refrigerator?

I personally do not get the big deal about cooling, I

bring milk to the house, filter it, put it in glass

1/2 gallon jars and into the fridge. Set at 33 degrees

F. This summer the cow went dry and we drank the last

for almost 3 weeks with no problems.

Bill Dunlap

[Guest guest]

This guy is all grass fed with acres of grass to graze in. The milk probably won't last that long around here, gone quickly... I finished off the last of the raw milk Kefir and it really tasted so much better than when it was made with the store bought milk Thanks Sandee wrote: Well I used to get my milk from a farm that did what

you did and it only lasted about a week or maybe two at the most. I now get mine from a Grade A dairy that is all grassfed and it lasts 3 weeks. Everyone keeps telling me it is how it's cooled but you are proof that maybe that does not matter. -----Original Message-----From: RawDairy [mailto:RawDairy ] On Behalf Of B DunlapSent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 9:28 AMTo: RawDairy Subject: Raw milk: How long does it last in the refrigerator?

I personally do not get the big deal about cooling, Ibring milk to the house, filter it, put it in glass1/2 gallon jars and into the fridge. Set at 33 degreesF. This summer the cow went dry and we drank the lastfor almost 3 weeks with no problems.Bill Dunlap__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Thanks I figured it lasted longer than pasturized... I have my half gallon mason jars and a one gallon mason jar... May get one of those 2.6 gal stainless steel milk jug.. Sandee Schlicht wrote: I find this to be true as well. My milk will last 3 weeks easy and I do the some thing. I personally do not get the big deal about cooling, Ibring milk to the house, filter it, put it in glass1/2 gallon jars and into the fridge. Set at 33 degreesF. This summer the cow went dry and we drank the lastfor almost 3 weeks with no problems.Bill Dunlap__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

In the whole grand scheme of things raw milk was never intended to be

consumed three weeks after milking it. I would wonder about the nutritional

integrity at that point.

Debbie Chikousky

Manitoba, Canada

gdchik@...

http://www.winnipegbeach.com/chikouskyfarms/

RE: Raw milk: How long does it last in the refrigerator?

>

>

> Jessi,

> I do not doubt that quick cooling makes a difference.

> If I ran a test with my current system, it would

> surely take a long time to cool because of opening and

> closing the fridge so many times.

> A dairy I know built a precooler from a food quality

> radaitor. In Winter, a fan blows through it to heat

> the parlor, in summer it blows to outside, with a

> mister in place. Just dropping the milk from cow

> temperature to ambient air temp cuts cooling time

> signficantly.

> But I think you are on the right track with

> cleanliness. Our glass jars are washed and rinsed at

> high temp and are very clean. For home use single use

> plastic is a little out of the question. But it is all

> moot for me because I only milk what we need for a

> couple of days at a time, the orphan calves get the

> rest straight from the cow.

> Bill Dunlap

[Guest guest]

The nice thing about raw milk is that instead of going rancid like pasturized milk, raw milk sours. I still have a gallon left from last week and since I am getting 3 more gallons today, I will probably make either cottage cheese or yogurt with it ;-) delish!

Kathy

[Guest guest]

Hi Bill;

Here is how you could do the test: Put milk with the thermometer inside of

milk, in the fridge and come back two hours later and check. If you are at

or below 40 you are in good shape, if not then more aggressive chilling

needs to take place.

We are required by law to have our milk down to 40 degrees inside of two

hours. Not a problem for us with our chiller.

I agree with you on the glass jars. I have tons of them but do not use them

right now. I bottle in plastic so that I don't have to deal with the

returning and washing of containers. It's just easier and really is cost

effective for what I am doing with my dairy.

Jessi

Lucky Hook Grade A Dairy

http://www.milking-machines.com

RE: Raw milk: How long does it last in the

refrigerator?

Jessi,

I do not doubt that quick cooling makes a difference.

If I ran a test with my current system, it would

surely take a long time to cool because of opening and

closing the fridge so many times.

A dairy I know built a precooler from a food quality

radaitor. In Winter, a fan blows through it to heat

the parlor, in summer it blows to outside, with a

mister in place. Just dropping the milk from cow

temperature to ambient air temp cuts cooling time

signficantly.

But I think you are on the right track with

cleanliness. Our glass jars are washed and rinsed at

high temp and are very clean. For home use single use

plastic is a little out of the question. But it is all

moot for me because I only milk what we need for a

couple of days at a time, the orphan calves get the

rest straight from the cow.

Bill Dunlap

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

At my house we drink it within five days. If it's not consumed by

then, it's made into yogurt, cheese or frozen for later use. I been

drinking raw milk all my life, but I just cringe when I hear about

milk that's three weeks old???? being consumed?????? Why????? Fresh

is the whole idea!!! Once it leaves the teat it's decomposing,

rotting, whatever anyone wants to say about it! Chilling only slows

it down to a crawl, but it's still happening. May as well buy it from

the store if you are going to drink it three weeks old!

Donna

Safehaven Nubians

Dandridge, TN

[Guest guest]

Donna, I couldn't agree with you more! We are just talking expected shelf

life here.

Jessi

Lucky Hook Grade A RAW Dairy

http://www.milking-machines.com

Re: Raw milk: How long does it last in the

refrigerator?

At my house we drink it within five days. If it's not consumed by

then, it's made into yogurt, cheese or frozen for later use. I been

drinking raw milk all my life, but I just cringe when I hear about

milk that's three weeks old???? being consumed?????? Why????? Fresh

is the whole idea!!! Once it leaves the teat it's decomposing,

rotting, whatever anyone wants to say about it! Chilling only slows

it down to a crawl, but it's still happening. May as well buy it from

the store if you are going to drink it three weeks old!

Donna

Safehaven Nubians

Dandridge, TN

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[Guest guest]

Donna,

You don't have problems making yogurt with week old milk? I've had it

not turn out so well and have stuck to making yogurt with absolutely

fresh milk. The older stuff gets turned into cheese or butter or

hog/chicken feed.

Belinda

>

> At my house we drink it within five days. If it's not consumed by

> then, it's made into yogurt, cheese or frozen for later use. I been

> drinking raw milk all my life, but I just cringe when I hear about

> milk that's three weeks old???? being consumed?????? Why????? Fresh

> is the whole idea!!! Once it leaves the teat it's decomposing,

> rotting, whatever anyone wants to say about it! Chilling only slows

> it down to a crawl, but it's still happening. May as well buy it from

> the store if you are going to drink it three weeks old!

> Donna

> Safehaven Nubians

> Dandridge, TN

>

[Guest guest]

Oh, my! I can't even fathom our milk lasting for more than a week! I

mean, it's GONE by then. We get 3 gallons a week and if we make it all

the way through without having to ration the last 1/2 gallon, we're

doing good. I'd think you'd be better off freezing and dealing with

that changes from freezing than letting it sit for 3 weeks. But that's

just my very unprofessional opinion. I'm glad to know it lasts

that long, but I don't think we're going to have to worry about that.

It would be worth a pretty good drive to us to get it weekly, but we've

been fortunate that there's delivery site only about 20 minutes from

our house.

~

[Guest guest]

I was not suggest drinking it. I never drink milk that last that long. I was just suggesting shelf life. Our delivery is every other week until we can get more people than the farmer will deliver every week. Actually I usually drink the milk the first week and use the 2nd weeks milk for cooking etc in recipes. The reason I know how long the milk lasts is that I go out of town and leave the milk in the frige and when I come back I see how it smells etc..

-----Original Message-----From: RawDairy [mailto:RawDairy ] On Behalf Of micandme1997Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 12:27 PMTo: RawDairy Subject: Re: Raw milk: How long does it last in the refrigerator?

Oh, my! I can't even fathom our milk lasting for more than a week! I mean, it's GONE by then. We get 3 gallons a week and if we make it all the way through without having to ration the last 1/2 gallon, we're doing good. I'd think you'd be better off freezing and dealing with that changes from freezing than letting it sit for 3 weeks. But that's just my very unprofessional opinion. I'm glad to know it lasts that long, but I don't think we're going to have to worry about that. It would be worth a pretty good drive to us to get it weekly, but we've been fortunate that there's delivery site only about 20 minutes from our house.~

[Guest guest]

Your farmer may already do this but maybe you could ask him to date it? I write on the jars the day they were milked AM and PM. Then I pull the oldest to feed to our bottle lambs etc and we use the youngest for ourselves. This sure has saved us a lot of confusion this year, used to just have a fridge loading system, and time. If I use week old goat milk the flavor is just not the same as day old and my children, being raised with the good stuff, are fussy. The reason I am suggesting this is that if you are only getting your milk every two weeks he cannot possibly be letting the milk build up that long then bringing it to you so if it is dated he can use the old stuff and you can get as close to your delivery dates freshness as possible.

Debbie ChikouskyManitoba, Canadagdchik@...http://www.winnipegbeach.com/chikouskyfarms/

RE: Re: Raw milk: How long does it last in the refrigerator?

I was not suggest drinking it. I never drink milk that last that long. I was just suggesting shelf life. Our delivery is every other week until we can get more people than the farmer will deliver every week. Actually I usually drink the milk the first week and use the 2nd weeks milk for cooking etc in recipes. The reason I know how long the milk lasts is that I go out of town and leave the milk in the frige and when I come back I see how it smells etc..

-----Original Message-----From: RawDairy [mailto:RawDairy ] On Behalf Of micandme1997Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 12:27 PMTo: RawDairy Subject: Re: Raw milk: How long does it last in the refrigerator?

Oh, my! I can't even fathom our milk lasting for more than a week! I mean, it's GONE by then. We get 3 gallons a week and if we make it all the way through without having to ration the last 1/2 gallon, we're doing good. I'd think you'd be better off freezing and dealing with that changes from freezing than letting it sit for 3 weeks. But that's just my very unprofessional opinion. I'm glad to know it lasts that long, but I don't think we're going to have to worry about that. It would be worth a pretty good drive to us to get it weekly, but we've been fortunate that there's delivery site only about 20 minutes from our house.~

[Guest guest]

Debbie I take my own jars and he gets it directly from the tank.. gonna get 2 gallons this week Will play it by ear for the next couple of weeks, Sandee & Debbie Chikousky wrote: Your farmer may already do this but maybe you could ask him to date it? I write on the jars the day they were milked AM and PM. Then I pull the oldest to feed to our bottle lambs etc and we use the youngest for

ourselves. This sure has saved us a lot of confusion this year, used to just have a fridge loading system, and time. If I use week old goat milk the flavor is just not the same as day old and my children, being raised with the good stuff, are fussy. The reason I am suggesting this is that if you are only getting your milk every two weeks he cannot possibly be letting the milk build up that long then bringing it to you so if it is dated he can use the old stuff and you can get as close to your delivery dates freshness as possible. Debbie ChikouskyManitoba, Canadagdchik@...http://www.winnipegbeach.com/chikouskyfarms/ RE: Re: Raw milk: How long does it last in the refrigerator? I was not suggest drinking it. I never drink milk that last that long. I was just suggesting shelf life. Our delivery is every other week until we can get more people than the farmer will deliver every week. Actually I usually drink the milk the first week and use the 2nd weeks milk for cooking etc in recipes. The reason I know how long the milk lasts is that I go out of town and leave the milk in the frige and when I come back I see how it

smells etc.. -----Original Message-----From: RawDairy [mailto:RawDairy ] On Behalf Of micandme1997Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 12:27 PMTo: RawDairy Subject: Re: Raw milk: How long does it last in the refrigerator? Oh, my! I can't even fathom our milk lasting for more than a week! I mean, it's GONE by then. We get 3 gallons a week and if we make it all the way through without having to ration the last 1/2 gallon, we're doing good. I'd think you'd be better off freezing and dealing with that changes from freezing than letting it sit for 3 weeks. But that's just my very unprofessional opinion. I'm glad to know it lasts that long, but I don't think we're going to have to worry about that. It would be worth a pretty good drive to us to get it weekly, but we've been fortunate that there's delivery site only about 20 minutes from our house.~ ~~PEACE~~ HippeeSandee HippeeSandee's Endless Mountains Realm

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[Guest guest]

How often is the tank emptied? In MB a bulk tank, cows, must be emptied every two days. Then it is cleaned and disinfected and ready to fill again. If this is the case your milk would be no more than 48 hours old so you have a baseline from that.

Debbie ChikouskyManitoba, Canadagdchik@...http://www.winnipegbeach.com/chikouskyfarms/

Re: Re: Raw milk: How long does it last in the refrigerator?

DebbieI take my own jars and he gets it directly from the tank.. gonna get 2 gallons this weekWill play it by ear for the next couple of weeks, Sandee