Homestead Chore #3 (Skimming Milk for Butter Makin')

We get ALOT of cream from AnnaBelle's milk. She is a full blooded Jersey and they are known for their rich cream. It makes the BEST butter there is. Don't be fooled though, there is a lot of work that goes into getting that rich creamy butter.

After letting the milk sit for about 3 days in the fridge, the first part of the butter making begins.It is easier to *collect* after the 3 days because it has started to thicken. I use a turkey baster to skim every drop of cream the milk has.

This above picture is a half gallon mason jar of milk. The black mark on the jar is where the cream stops and the milk starts. If you look closely, you can see the different coloration between the milk and cream.

This is the same jar after it has been skimmed with the baster.There was about 2 cups cream in that half gallon jar. That's good for this time of year.

This is the inside view of the jar that was skimmed. It's hard to tell but the *swirls* are where the cream ended and the milk started.

Once the jars are skimmed of the cream they are dumped into a bucket to be fed to the animals. That means the pig, chickens, dogs and cat. Do they ever like it;- ) I have also made skim mozzarella with it before and its so good. The skimmed milk is best for mozzarella because it shreds easier.

After all that is done, the jar washing begins. I usually skim when I have 4-5 gallons of milk in the fridge. That means there are 8 to 10 half gallon mason jars filling the fridge and taking up way too much room. That's a lot of washing that takes place about every 3- days ( as long as I am in need of the butter and the pigs not getting it.)

Then the butter making begins. That's another post altogether. ;- )

Happy Homesteading!

Amanda

Matthew 6:33