Monday, April 18, 2011

Canning Milk


This is Bertha.We love Bertha. Every day she gives us 3 1/2 gallons of wonderfully creamy milk that we can then drink and turn into butter and yogurt and cheese and many other things. It is great to open my fridge and see all of the fantastic dairy products that we get from her. Just one problem though. EXCESS. Trust me, I am NOT complaining one bit about this. 3 months of having her though has now filled my freezer with mozzerella cheese and butter and my fridge with milk and yogurt. As a matter of fact, pretty much the only things in my refriderator is milk yougurt and eggs, which I also have a fantastic surplus of. Which leads me to the question, can I can milk at home? I would think so. I mean, the way I have always looked at it, if you can buy it in cans at the grocery store then you should be able to can it at home, right? I I set off to do some searching this last week and found this article on the Mother Earth News site telling how to can milk.So here are my plans for this week. I am going to set out to preserve our abundance of milk for future use when she is not in milk. Will we need it then? I don't know. My 2 goats should be at peak production at that time as long as they are actually pregnate and due in June when I have figured. BUT since this is my first experience breeding goats, I might not have succeeded. Time will tell. But the one thing I do know is that IF those goats aren't pregnate then I will most deffinately have milk canned for those 6 weeks. If the goats are in milk? Well, some problems in life just make you smile!

6 comments:

Anita said...

We are canning milk this afternoon! I can't wait to get started. Came over from the Barn Hop!

Kim said...

We just got our first milk cow, Tilly-mook, last week and I can't wait until she is in milk! What a great "dilemma" to have~too much milk! Found you at the Barn Hop!

Carolyn said...

I so want chickens and a milk cow. I don't think the home owners association would like though! :)

A Heritage From The Lord said...

Once we move onto a bigger piece of land we plan on getting a milk cow.. We buy Raw milk for $8 a gallon right now:( Im not complaining, it would just be nice to have my own and maybe sell some:)

Lady Farmer said...

Bertha is a sweetie! I don't have a cow right now but perhaps someday! I am buying raw milk and hope to learn to make cheese in the near future!
Hope your canning adventures are a success!
Visiting from the Barn Hop!
Blessings!

Kimberly said...

Wow! I cannot imagine having that much fresh milk everyday. I think it's incredible resourceful of you to think about canning milk. If we lived near one another, I'd say we'd be more than happy to take it off your hands!