Barn to Kitchen: How to Store Raw Milk

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If you are like many homesteaders, a dairy animal is often a long-awaited addition to the farm. After all, your own milk made from fresh grass and sunshine can help meet the protein needs of the entire homestead. This is why I consider my cows the queens of the homestead! Growing up, I never considered fresh raw milk to be anything special. I certainly never questioned that we would drink it. I’m assuming if you found me, you also believe that raw milk from healthy cows is safe for human consumption. Like any fresh product, safe food handling is essential to maintain the milk’s fresh taste and the quality of the milk. When it comes to milk, whether it’s goat, sheep, or cow’s milk, safe handling of fresh milk starts in the barn. Follow these tips on how to store raw milk, to ensure the freshest, sweetest milk possible. 

Cleanliness

No matter how diligent you are to keep your small farm clean, dairy cows get dirty! Whether you have a fancy milking parlor in your barn, or are milking on a bucket in the pasture, dirt, mud, hair, and manure all find their way into your milking area. While we can’t stop it completely, we can do our best to maintain the cleanest milking area possible. Since we don’t yet have a barn, I created a milking toolkit that allows me to bring everything I need with me. A good brush, extra clean towels, and paper towels all ensure I am ready to clean up my cows before milking no matter what the morning might bring.

Clean the Udder

Always clean your cow’s udder whether or not you see any visible dirt. I’m always amazed at how much dust the cows bring in, no matter how clean they might look upon arrival. I bring a bucket of hot water with just a bit of soap. Inside I layer the towels needed in the order I will use them. Since I am milking two cows, I need an udder towel and a hand towel for myself for each cow I milk. Once a towel is used, I never return it to the bucket to contaminate the water. Should I need any extra towels, spare towels are kept in my milking toolkit. 

Sanitizing the Udder

Once I have washed the udder, I spray each teat with iodine spray kept in a spray bottle. Iodine is used as a teat disinfectant to help prevent mastitis by preventing harmful bacteria from entering the mammary system through the teats. Many people use teat dip cups, however, I choose to use a spray bottle to minimize cross-contamination between animals. Simple spray each teat, making sure not to miss the back. Allow the teat dip to sit according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The iodine dip I use requires one minute to be effective. This is a good time to get my cow into position. I get my milk bucket, and give my hands one final wash before milking. 

Once the udder is clean and sterilized, I strip each teat with just one to two squirts of milk. This flushes any dirt or bacteria in the teat itself. I squirt this milk into a small plastic container so I can inspect it first. Afterwards I set it aside for Trouble the cat or Roxie the dog usually waiting close by. 

Proper Milking Equipment

When it comes to milking equipment stainless steel or glass containers are the best options. Since glass is impractical in a barnyard setting, a stainless steel milk bucket is the best option for milking buckets. While you may see many people using a 5-gallon plastic container, plastic is impossible to thoroughly clean. The porous nature of plastic and any scratches that may be created during use are the perfect breeding grounds for the growth of bacteria that can cause foodborne illness. While stainless steel is a bit more costly, it lasts forever and stainless steel buckets are easily cleaned thoroughly. I find a lid essential to keep any airborne contaminants out of the milk. It also keeps away any dogs or cats looking for a sip of warm milk. 

Some people use stainless steel reusable ice cubes in their milk buckets to begin cooling the milk even before they finish milking.  I have not found that necessary, even though I am milking two cows. Personally, each item you add to your milking routine requires diligent cleaning, so the less equipment needed, the better! 

Processing to Store Milk

Once milking is complete, it’s time to process the raw milk to ensure the longest shelf life possible. Despite other barnyard chores, the milk gets processed first! For milk storage, I use glass half-gallon mason jars. My milk processing is simple, strain any debris out of the milk and cool it quickly. Despite your best efforts to clean and brush your cow, hair happens! Through tail swishing and just working in a barn setting, you will find hair, the occasional fly, or dirt in your milk. Straining is a simple step to remove any contaminants. Always use your discretion of what is acceptable to strain and keep the milk or what needs to be fed to the animals.

While I have tried using canning funnels with milk filters, the best way to strain the milk is a proper milk strainer. The filters fit the strainer, can be properly secured, and allow you to dump the milk in quickly, rather than monitoring the flow to prevent overflow. Prior to getting a proper milking strainer, I was pouring in about a 1/4 cup of milk at a time to prevent overflowing the filter. While a good dairy strainer is an investment, it’s worth it! Be mindful, that not all strainers fit a wide-mouth mason jar, I chose one specifically so that I would not need to clean an additional container to strain the milk. 

Proper Cooling

Once strained, cool the milk quickly.  For the longest shelf life, the optimal temperature to store milk is 33° to 38°. Some people complain that their milk tastes cow-like. This can happen in two possible scenarios: improperly cooling the milk, or improperly cleaning milking equipment. I prefer to put my milk in the freezer for one and a half hours. Be sure to set a timer, so you don’t forget and accidentally break glass jars with frozen milk. Using the freezer also prevents overwhelming my refrigerator with large amounts of warm milk. The other option is to process the new milk immediately, If I need to make yogurt or cheese, I go ahead and start the process, skipping the cooling step altogether. 

Cleaning Milking Equipment

Now for the fun part, cleaning the equipment. In an ideal world, I would clean everything immediately which is best practice. But Philip and I work as a team to complete morning chores, at minimum, I rinse everything with cold water. Cold water best rinses off the fat globules and milk solids found in whole milk. I rinse until I see no visible signs of milk on the equipment. 

Thoroughly Clean and Sanitize

Once the cold water rinse is complete, I turn the water temperature up and use the hottest water I can handle. The high temperatures of the water combined with dish soap ensure I clean the stainless steel buckets as well as possible. On the inside of the buckets, I use a clean washcloth that is not used for anything but dairy.  I never use the same washcloth for washing household dishes as I use for my dairy dishes. I also have a separate sponge that I use on the outsides and bottoms of the buckets. It’s important to never cross between the two.  My special sponge never touches the inside of the bucket and my dairy dishcloth never touches the outside of the bucket where I am most likely to find excess mud and manure. 

Once each bucket is well scrubbed, I spray with 6% food-grade hydrogen peroxide to sanitize my buckets. Allow the hydrogen peroxide to sit for just a few minutes (usually until I have washed everything) and then rinse everything with the hottest water you can stand. Always allow your buckets and glass jars to air dry.  Don’t contaminate your containers with a dish towel. 

Raw Milk Products

With good cleanliness practices from the barn to the kitchen combined with proper milk handling and properly storing milk at the optimal temperature, fresh raw milk should last 7-10 days. However, storing that much milk can be challenging!  Making wholesome raw dairy products is a great way to use extra milk and it’s rewarding to replace grocery store staples with homemade alternatives. Yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, butter, buttermilk, ice cream,  mozzarella, and even a variety of hard cheeses are a great way to preserve the milk and nourish your family.  The good news is older milk not consumed by the family, milk showing signs of spoilage, or the leftover whey after cheesemaking not only helps meet the protein needs of other farm animals, it also stretches your grain dollars even further. 

Raw Milk Sources

Milking our Dexter cows is a dream come true! I have always loved red calves and we are blessed with a field full of them! However, if keeping a dairy animal is not possible, raw milk can be sourced in other ways.  In some states, the sale of raw milk is legal, however, in other states joining a herd share allows you to be a part owner of the herd to enjoy the benefits of using fresh raw milk. Be sure to check the laws regarding the selling and purchasing of raw milk in your state. Regardless of how you source your milk, proper milk handling and storing your milk will ensure you reap the rewards and the nutritional value of fresh raw milk!