Make your own dairy?

[KristinC]

There has been a lot of discussion on this forum about the benefits of raw milk from pastured animals.  Some people have suggested cultured products as the most beneficial.  Could anyone tell me what they think is the best cultured product to go for...kefir?  Are there any books I should know about that teach people how to make their own dairy products from raw milk: butter, yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, etc.?
It is very difficult to get hold of raw milk where I live, and probably even more difficult to find milk from pastured cows, but I will keep trying, even if I have to order it from CA! 

Also, does anyone know of a good way to store these products?  I am single, and if I have to buy in bulk from somewhere in CA, I have to find a way to keep them good, otherwise it's just not worth the cost.

Thanks! 

[DianeR]

Have you heard of the book, Wild Fermentation, by Sandor Ellix Katz? It has information about making different kinds of fermented products, and a chapter about dairy.

Here is a link to the website description of the book:

http://www.wildfermentation.com/books_wildfermentation.php

Good luck -- Diane

[Dixie]

Kes,

Where are you from?  Are you sure you can't get what you need locally??

Dixie

[Alabama]

What about going to www.realmilk.com ?  There is a link to find raw dairy in every state almost.  Give it a try!

[KristinC]

I live in Milwaukee, WI, and raw,organic dairy is several hours drive away. Really, I should only be trying raw goat milk, since I am "intolerant" of diary in general.  I am hoping it will be different with raw milk, especially raw goat milk.
But, for a single gal, I just can't use fresh, raw milk up before it spoils. (maybe there are good ways to freeze it??)  This is why I thought of fermenting it and making kefir. 
I can get raw goat's milk cheese at the health food store, but that is over $7 for one small piece--yikes!  Need to find some less expensive options.

[jodi f.]

I make raw goat milk kefir all the time, except when the goats are in their reproductive stage and the bacteria levels change. I learned this the hard way, meaning I had a couple of bouts of "flu" until the people who raise the goats figured out what was happening.

I purchase Yogourmet brand freeze-dried kefir starter and follow the directions on the back of the package, except that I heat the milk just to 90 degrees. It works quite well. I leave it out to culture in a 100 degree oven in the winter, though I leave the oven door open so the stove doesn't actually get to 100. Helps keep the house warm, too. If you simply leave it on the counter in the winter, it may take longer than 24 hours to culture.

I understand there's a more "kosher" way to make kefir, using special kefir grains. The people who own this herd of goats that provide my milk have tried making raw kefir with these and have had an utter (udder?) failure with this method. Maybe that's just them, and maybe someone else here can provide more information about this.