Fresh Raw Milk, Cold Pasturized Milk, Soft Cheese, Hard Cheese, Butter, homemade thick Tangy yogurt, Sweet thinner Store yogurt, Sour Cream, Sharp Buttermilk, Cottage Cheese, Cream Cheese.. All these amazing things are Milk and Cream Products, and who can forget Ice Cream.
Photo Credit to Welsh Milk.
When we lived on the farm, and had our family milk cow Jessie, I remember her cream being so thick in its glass jar that you needed a spoon to get it out, I loved it on heavy thick slices of fresh bread with a sprinkle of sugar on top. We use to make homemade Icecream for Christmas time and have a huge spoon of it on Red River Porridge for our special breakfast. When we moved to town, we all refused to drink that crap they called milk from a store, and I still don’t like it, but give me farm fresh milk, and I love it.
For those of us that don’t have health or moral issues attached to them, they tend to be part of our world and our tables in so many ways.
Have you ever used a old fashioned hand cracked paddles to make butter in the glass jar, so you could see what it looked like.. o and it takes forever to get that last bit of buttermilk out of it, I remember the sound of mom’s big machine that separated the cream from the milk, the skim milk went to fred (our pig was always fred) and to the barn cats and to the chickens.. after all you can only use so much whole milk even for a growing family, but you didn’t want to give up that amazing cream.
I remember milking Jessie, I could only do the front, before Big Brother would take over and do the back and somehow mom always got more when she would finish off. I was always in awe of Jessie, she was a mixed breed milk cow and she never did like my dad as much as she seemed to like mom but she was so good with us kids, I remember being aware of her but I don’t ever remember being afraid of her, but man o man could her tail whap you if she wanted to let you know to hurry up.
I remember aiming that teat and when mom was not looking trying to hit the barn cats in the mouth or general area with it, the swish, swish of it hitting the pail, until it gets more milk, then the sound changes and it becomes almost a pishing sound, and you lean your head into the cows side and listen to her gurgle away, its a calm event, it needs to be as stress free as possable for all, after all its about trust and letting that milk down.
What about you folks, did you have a family milk cow when you were growing up? Do you have a family milk cow now? Do you live where you can get fresh raw local milk? Be it Cow, Goat or Sheep, fresh milk and its many things you can make from it add to my daily life.
Breakfast -Waffles, Butter and Jam
Lunch-Frittata with corn beef, onion, potato, with a bit of yogurt on top.
Supper: Toast and omlets
Snacks: Cookies
Drinks, Water, Tea and Hot Chocolate
Just another Day on the Farm 
I know I’ll probably be excommunicated from this blog, but I’ll tell you anyways! I’ve never had raw milk. It wasn’t around much when I was growing up and, of course, with the silly rules here, we dont see it here either. I am seriouslly thinking of giving up normal dairy, the more I read about the dairy industry, the less I want to do with their products. I wont swop to soy or another substitute, I’ll just stop, if that’s what I decide to do. In the same way we are increasing the welfare standards of the meat we choose to buy, by eating less so we can still afford it, I think we may soon go the same way with dairy. Driving past the veal crates with their tiny, sad looking calves isn’t helping.
Hi Queen
I would never judge someone’s choice in regards to live style, or food choices, please always feel that you can share your thoughts on how you feel about things. I do understand where you are coming from, there are products that I won’t buy if I can’t buy local and know that I am comfortable with how things are done.
Your D.H. probably does not remember but we used to go to my grandfather (his greatgrandfather’s farm) and we would go to the barn when they were milking. I remember the first time Grandpa White squirted D.H. in the face. He was not impressed. He was only a little boy of about 2 yrs old.
Drinking of unpasteurized milk? My parents and 6 of the aunts and uncles allowed us to drink the milk but one uncle and aunt would not allow their children to drink it and always brought their own milk.
I also loved to see the barn cats waiting for their turn.
D.H.’s Ma