You can make your own cheese just as well as anyone. A few years ago, I offered a piece of my cheese for tasting to a coworker. Her response was, “cheese can be made?” I’m not sure what she thought about how cheese got to the grocery store. I regret not asking her though I was sensitive to not making her feel uncomfortable about not knowing how cheese is produced. I’ve heard kids sometimes think their food simply comes in cans and boxes. Meat appears in the cooler section by magic. There is no concept of plants and animals as the origination point. Lots of people today have no connection to their food. Since you are listening to this podcast, I’m going to assume you are not one of them. I’m thinking you are very interested in the answers to the question, “from where does my food originate?”

I’ve spoken before about the basis of cheesemaking and today I want to talk about the basics of the equipment and setup you need to be able to make your own cheese at home. Every part is very important and not that expensive. Much of it involves using what you may already have in your kitchen. 

I want to take a minute and say welcome to all the new listeners and welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving regulars who stop by the FarmCast for every episode. I appreciate you all so much. I’m so excited to share with you what’s going on at the farm this week.

Today’s Show

• Homestead Life Updates
• You Can Make Your Own Cheese – Part I
• Greek Meatballs and Yogurt-Mint Sauce

Homestead Life Updates

Creamery

The roof of the creamery is on and dried in. The floors are swept clean and look wonderful. It’s a little dark in there. The doors and windows we purchased last year have been kept under a tarp. They are now inside and safe from the weather. According to Scott, that is the next step, getting all the doors and windows in place. He’s putting the wood frames into the concrete blocks right now.

Cows

The birthing events draw ever nearer each day. Less than two months remain before Claire is scheduled to give birth to a beautiful purebred Normande calf. All is going well with no issues to report.

Sheep, Goats, and Donkeys

The sheep, goats, and donkeys are doing well. They are eating hay and eating hay and eating hay. That’s what they do in the winter.

Quail

Same for the quail. They are eating their 24% protein chick feed ration and huddling together to stay warm. They look great!! Game birds need a higher protein ratio than domestic chickens. Can’t wait until the quail start laying eggs again and we can start hatching out the cute little quail chicks.

Let’s talk cheese.

You Can Make Your Own Cheese

I’m sure many of you want to develop new cooking skills and you can make your own cheese. It does take practice and you may even need to attend a hands-on cheesemaking workshop, but cheesemaking can absolutely happen in your home kitchen. You’ll need some equipment, a cheesemaking space, and sanitation procedures. Having a proper space with the right equipment and knowing how to keep the space and tools properly cleaned and maintained goes a long way to making it fun and successful. You will want cleanable, easily maintained equipment and surfaces that pose no risk when used to manufacture food for human consumption. So, let’s take a look at all of those issues and help you get set up to make cheese! Because there is so much information, this will be two podcasts. This one will cover all the equipment. The next will be about setting up your space and the cleaning requirements and methods.

Choosing Equipment

First, I’ll go over how to choose the things you will need and want to have on hand for cheesemaking. Some are optional, especially at first, depending on the cheese you want to make. And due to the popularity of home cheesemaking, you can often find local stores carrying many cheesemaking supplies as well. I’ll put a link in the show notes for one of my favorite resources, New England cheesemaking. Their website is cheesemaking.com.

Pots and Vats

The primary considerations when choosing the proper receptacle to make your cheese is the material and condition. Whether you make your cheese in a 1-gallon pan on the stove or in a steam jacketed cheese vat, your receptacle is best if made of high-quality stainless steel. You may or may not know this, but stainless steel comes in varying grades. The cheaper it is, the less likely it will hold up well over time. You may even find that it will rust in spots.

For home use stainless steel pots with stainless or tempered glass lids—a type of glass that is fine in high heat situations—can be used. Just be aware that glass can break and ruin a batch of cheese. A coated or enameled surface is also fine for home use, as long as you inspect it before and, even more importantly, after use. If you notice a chip missing from your enameled pot when you’re done making cheese, you should suspect that it is in your cheese. That cheese will need to be thrown away.

In any case, the surface must be easily cleaned. So, any deep scratches or rivets on the inside, the surface, or in nooks are undesirable. In the commercial world they are not allowed.

The next factor for you to consider in choosing your pot will be size. The most common at-home cheese vat is a double-boiler-type set up of a pot set in a sink of warm water or inside a larger pot of water on the stove top. Personally, I have a 12-quart stainless steel pot and a 24-quart stainless steel pot that I use in my kitchen sink. The smaller pot I use to make a one- or 2-gallon cheese in the larger pot I used to make cheese with 4 to 5 gallons of milk. If you choose to use your stovetop, look for a large stainless-steel pot and an enamel or stainless-steel water bath canner. Walmart carries these products as well as canning supply retailers. For the stovetop, you will need a mechanism to keep the inner pot containing the milk off of the bottom of the pot with the heated water. This allows water to circulate underneath your pot of milk. You can use a wire cooling rack or even just a few Mason jar lid rings at the bottom of the canner the rings will rust, but if the water bath pot is not also used for cooking, it is a problem. In general, all of my cheesemaking supplies are used only for cheesemaking.

One other option I will mention is using your slow cooker. I’ve never used mine to make cheese, but I’m pretty sure it would work. A half-gallon to 1 gallon of milk would be the limitation there for me. Speaking of which, I have used my Cosori instant pot to make queso fresco. That cheese is so simple it requires nothing more than the stainless-steel instant pot and a slotted spoon. Check out my website for that recipe. I’ll put a link in the show notes.

Milk Storage Containers

You can skip this section if you are making cheese with milk your purchased from the grocery. Yes, you can use store-bought milk. As long as it is not ultra-pasteurized. Whole, pasteurized milk purchased from the grocery store will make a decent cheese. Obviously, it’s not the same as making it with raw milk from your own cow or from raw milk you obtained via the rules in your state. And there are a few differences in ingredients and amounts of culture, but pasteurized milk will make any cheese your heart desires.

If you are collecting your own milk or buying it from your neighbor, there is a good chance that you will store it for at least one day. We use stainless steel cans with tight-fitting lids but these are expensive. Our 2 ½ gallon stainless steel milk cans were at least $60 each plus shipping. Mason jars are a great option here. We use the ½ gallon size. I also have a bunch of 1 gallon jars. Less jars to empty and clean but harder to find. Just keep in mind that if you find a chip in the glass, it’s likely in the milk. Keep the milk very cold and use it within one day. If you wait longer, the naturally occurring enzymes and bacteria will overpopulate and overrun the cultures you add. You will get cheese, but who knows what it will be.

Forms, Hoops, and Molds

These items usually need to be purchased. It’s one of a few things that is worth the investment. In all honesty, you are probably going to spend more money on cheese forms than you need to. It is pretty much impossible to know early on what types of cheese you will end up making the most, what size wheels you will be happiest with, and how many forms you really need. Don’t get too stressed about it. You may even be able to craft your own. The main thing to remember is that they must be made of some kind of material that is easily cleaned and not negatively affected by the acid produced by the draining cheese—so no aluminum or copper. As an aside, the terms “hoop,” “form,” and “mold” are pretty much interchangeable.

As long as they are easy to clean and made of food grade material, you can come up with some pretty creative options, such as plastic colanders, salad spinner bowls, or even food storage bowls with drainage holes drilled in the sides. Some people even use large diameter PVC pipe or plumbing piping for cold water lines as cheese forms.

Keep in mind the ruggedness of the form if you will be applying weight during draining. The less pressure that is used, the more options you have when selecting forms. If you’re making a cheese that requires a great deal of pressure, such as cheddar, you will need a very sturdy, straight sided form or a curve sided form designed to take the pressure exerted by a mechanical press. More on presses later.

When shopping for forms made specifically for draining cheeses, you will have many choices. You will likely end up with some that you only use once or twice, and maybe you can even give those away to another cheese maker who is in the early experimentation phase. The plastic forms come in four basic types: those meant to be used with cheesecloth and pressure; basket type forms for ladled, unpressed curd; micro perforated forms with many tiny holes to simulate the effect of cheesecloth; and Kadova type forms that had a built in mesh lining. The Kadova and micro perforated forms are notorious for being difficult to clean. But they also eliminate the need for cheesecloth and cleaning involved with its use.

Cheesecloth, Draining Bags, Mats

Cheesecloth serves two purposes during draining: first, it helps keep the loose curd in a shape while it knits back together, and second, it helps wick whey away from the cheese and toward drainage holes in the form. It is important to choose the right fabric to properly drain the type of cheese you are making. In general, you can apply the following policy: the finer and softer the curd, the tighter the weave of the cloth should be. The fabric sold in most kitchen and department stores that is labeled as cheesecloth has a very open, gauze like mesh and is not suitable for draining cheeses. Instead, you will want to buy real cheesecloth from a cheesemaking supply company.

Draining bags are designed specifically for making soft, spreadable cheeses. They have a very fine weave and are sturdily manufactured. A great substitute is a white pillowcase, which you will, of course, clean and sanitize before using. If you have any sewing skills and the right equipment, you can sew your own draining bags.

Draining mats can be used directly under cheeses such as brie and Camembert during draining and aging, under forms during draining (to help keep the form itself up out of the draining way), and under hard cheese during aging (to promote airflow around the cheese).

Many people use plastic needlepoint matting as a substitute. It looks almost the same and works as well. It is low in cost and is usually available for purchase locally (rather than having to be ordered, like the “official” cheese matting). Reed mats, such as those designed to make sushi rolls, can also be a good choice.

Weights and Presses

Creativity is the name of the game here. Some cheese will require a specific press, but most can be improvised. The options are almost limitless when setting up a way to lightly press cheeses—from stackable cheese forms and jugs of water or sand to barbell weights. I’ve used them all. Keep the following things in mind when designing your pressing system: stability—will the weight shift and come crashing down when you are not observing the pressing? And cleanability—are the weights cleanable and contained so they don’t leak or leech any nonfood substances or chemicals in your cheese?

If you find you must move up to a mechanical press, you have two basic options, then multiple choices within those options; a single wheel screw type press or lever press. Your choice will likely revolve around the number of wheels you plan on pressing at the same time. Small single wheel presses that can press 3 to 4-pound wheels can be expensive, and it will be quite time-consuming to have more than one or two wheels that you need to remove from the press, redress, and turn.

When choosing a single screw type press, look for durability, cleanability, and pressure scale. The most expensive are made from all-stainless-steel parts—and of course, these are the most cleanable and durable. Some single presses are made from wood and laminate parts.

Finally, the lever press, also called a Dutch or Holland lever press, because of its long history of manufacture and use in that country. Lever presses designed for home use are usually made of a hard wood such as maple. It is important that they not be made of a softer wood, as the lever arm from which weights will be hung can crack if it is not sturdy enough. Lever presses can be freestanding or attached to a wall. You can purchase a premade kit for single wheel versions of those presses and find plans online. I used to have one of these mounted on the wall. Scott made it for me. Alas, I’ve taken it down and I don’t think I have any pictures. It was my main press when I was making 3 to 5-gallon cheeses. It was simply a long stick of wood that would fold up and out of the way and then fold down when I needed to use it. My weights were 1 gallon and half gallon plastic milk jugs. I put them on the scale and added as much water as I needed to reach a specific weight. I believe I had a 2-pound, a 4-pound, and 8-pound weight. They each had a small piece of rope tied to the handle which I could loop over the arm of the lever press.

Miscellaneous Tools

You will need quite an assortment of miscellaneous tools, such as ladles, curd cutting knife, measuring cups, measuring syringe, colander, thermometer, timer or clock, a scale for weighing curd, and brine “tank.” If you are also waxing cheeses, that will require equipment as well.

A perforated cheese ladle can be either purchased or modified from a long handled, slotted stainless steel skimmer. The ladle is used to gently stir the curds, and the perforations allow for the whey to flow through the spoon, as well as to help disperse coagulant and calcium chloride when being added to the cheese milk.

A curd knife is used to cut the coagulated milk into curds. Again, you can purchase one or use a long, narrow spatula; a frosting spreader; or even a thin piece of stainless steel.

There are some small-scale cheese “harps” on the market, but beware of blades that are too thick or spaced too widely—once you make large cubes, is a bit more difficult to cut them smaller evenly, as they are now moving in the vat as you try to cut them. A small-scale harp can be fabricated by creating a stainless frame that is strung with nylon fishing line. While it is not necessary to invest in such a harp, it will give you the advantage of nearly perfect cubes of curd. When a harp is turned it around about, it cuts concentric circles that must then be cut vertically. Leaving you with more of a pie shaped curd than a square one.

For measuring liquid, you will need a variety of measuring cups, measuring spoons, and a couple of plastic syringes in 5 cc, 3 ml, and 1 ml sizes. A cubic centimeter (CC) is the same as a milliliter. If you have a nice little set of syringes, you will be able to make super accurate measurements of coagulant and calcium chloride.

For measuring dry powders, such as cultures, accurately weighing and dividing into unit doses is always the best choice but is often not practical for home cheesemaking. For measuring really tiny doses of mold and ripening cultures, you can purchase a set of tiny measuring spoons that will help measure amounts from just under a quarter teaspoon (1 mL) down to 1/60 teaspoon (0.05 mL).

It is a good idea to have a plastic or stainless-steel colander for holding draining bags while filling, draining curd, and other surprisingly handy uses. Don’t use aluminum strainers, as the metal will react with the acid in the whey and cheese.

You don’t need a fancy thermometer for making cheese, but you’d do need to make certain it is accurate. You can use the simple, metal probe thermometers you can get for a few dollars at the grocery store. Using a piece of stainless-steel wire, you can fashion a nifty little hanger so the thermometer stays suspended and you can still close the lid on your vat.

A clock or timer should be available for monitoring times during your cheese makes. Your cell phone probably has a timer on it.

If you are brining cheeses—and you will be—you will need a container large enough to float all the wheels in a batch (or you can use multiple containers). Brine should be stored at either aging room temperature of 50 to 55°F or in the refrigerator between use.

If you’ll be waxing cheeses for aging, plan on a double boiler, pan, or dedicated crockpot that is used only for this purpose. The wax pretty much takes forever on all utensils. A variety of natural bristle brushes will also be needed for waxing.

I’m going to stop here for this podcast. In the next one I will finish up this topic covering “creating a cheesemaking space” and “keeping things clean”. Once you have those topics under your belt, you’ll be set to make the best cheese right in your own home.

It’s time for today’s recipe.

Greek Meatballs with Yogurt-Mint Sauce

Slow-simmered in a rich tomato sauce and served over rice with a tangy yogurt sauce and crumbled feta. Yum, yum.

What You Need

Meatballs

• 2 lbs ground lamb
• 4 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
• Zest of ½ lemon
• ½ cup olives, chopped (green, black or mixed)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ red onion, chopped
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• Olive oil for browning meatballs

Tomato Sauce

• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon cumin, ground
• Salt and pepper to taste

Yogurt-Mint Sauce

• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• Zest of ½ lemon
• Juice of one lemon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Garnish

• Feta, crumbled
• Fresh herbs (mint and oregano)

What To Do

Meatballs

1. Combine meatball ingredients in large mixing bowl. Form meatballs.
2. Heat a large pot on medium heat. Add oil to coat the bottom. Add half the meatballs, keeping space between them.
3. Brown well on one side and flip to brown the other side. Roll to sides and brown.
4. When nicely browned, put on a plate and repeat with remaining meatballs. Put on plate.

Tomato Sauce

1. Add crushed tomatoes, garlic and cumin to pan. Scrape bottom and combine well. Add meatballs, season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer. Turn down to low.
2. Cook for about an hour with lid slightly open. Scrape bottom occasionally to prevent burning.
3. Meatballs are done when tomato sauce thickens.

Serve with Mint Sauce and Feta Over Rice

1. Prepare rice of your choice. Combine the yogurt sauce ingredients.
2. Spoon yogurt sauce on top of meatballs and crumble feta over it.
3. Garnish with fresh herbs and olive oil.

Final Thoughts

That’s it for today’s Peaceful Heart FarmCast. I hope you are enjoying your winter wherever you are in the world. Well, I guess if you are south of the equator it is summer. If you are south of the equator, I hope you are enjoying your summer. The winter blues are coming on me in small amounts at the moment. No where near the levels of past winters and for that I am grateful. If it wasn’t raining would go out and watch a few animals grazing peacefully. That can cheer me up any time.

If I had milk, I could make cheese and that can cheer you up as well. I hope this introduction to setting up your own kitchen for cheesemaking is helpful. It really can be done. When I have completed the second half, there will be a written transcript of the two podcasts on my website. I’ll make a downloadable pdf version that you can print and study.

Those Greek meatballs are fabulous. Give it a try and let me know your variations and improvements. We have ground lamb available for purchase at the farmer’s market in Wytheville, 2^nd and 4^th Saturdays and at the farm Tuesday mornings 10am to 12pm or Saturday afternoon 3pm to 5pm.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. Also, please share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content.

As always, I’m here to help you “taste the traditional touch.”

Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

References:

• Queso Fresco Recipe
• New England Cheesemaking Supply

Recipe Link

Greek Meatballs with Yogurt-Mint Sauce

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Nose to tail beef is an important topic for those supporting local, sustainable, regenerative agriculture. I get lots of questions on it. Buying a large quantity of beef can be a daunting prospect. Sure, you know it’s going to help your local farmer. And you know your local farmer is working hard for you, the animals and the environment. But what do you do with all that meat? What are the different cuts and what makes them different? How does a side of beef get broken down? What should you expect? Nose to tail beef is what this episode is all about.

Let me take a minute and say welcome to new listeners and welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving regulars who stop by the FarmCast for every episode. I appreciate you all so much. I’m so excited to share with you what’s going on at the farm this week.

Today’s Show

• Homestead Life Updates
• Nose to Tail Beef
• Moroccan Seasoned Meatballs

Homestead Life Updates

Creamery

You will not believe how quickly that roof is going up. After months and months and months of concrete blocks, in just a few weeks, Scott has those blocks nearly covered with a roof. He tells me once the decking is complete—within the week, he will be starting on the other roof over the barn and milking parlor. That needs to be completed to the same point before putting on the metal roofing. I love going out there and strolling around in the rooms, imagining when it will be complete.

Animals

Winter is coming upon us and it is cold today and will be even colder in the coming days. The animals are all healthy and ready for it. Thick winter coats cover all of them. Thunder had a cut on his cheek that he got from who knows where. It is healing nicely, though it looked quite scary when I first saw it. Blood was running down the side of his head and there was this huge puckered gash in his jaw. But again, he is healing just fine. The girls are grazing calmly each day and growing their calves. The first expected birthing of a calf will be Claire on the 31^st of March and Buttercup right behind her about three days later.

The donkeys, sheep and goats are also grazing along. I was outside yesterday taking a tour of the creamery and saw that one of the goat does was in the pasture adjacent to everyone else. She will find her way back to the rest of the herd whenever she feels the urge. Goats are just gonna be goats.

Still no quail eggs. They don’t eat much so I guess it’s okay. I can’t wait until spring and I start hatching out eggs again. The quail are just fun.

The boys are all still peacefully grazing out front. There are five of them that will eventually make their way to freezer camp. And that brings me to today’s topic.

Nose to Tail Beef

Nose to tail beef is an important topic to understand when purchasing from your local farmer. Often beef is offered to you in quantities such as quarters and halves. Perhaps you will even purchase a whole beef and share the costs with family and friends. I’ll get to the various cuts often offered in one of these large purchases, including the organ and variety meats.

I want to start with a brief history of beef in North America, some basic terminology, muscle composition, the structure of meat, aging, and inspection and grading. I’ll end with the various cuts available in beef and which part of the animal from which it is cut.

This may be a long podcast. And I think the information will be invaluable to you as you develop a relationship with your local farmer.

History of Beef in North America

People have been raising domesticated cattle for some 3,000 years. Christopher Columbus introduced domesticated cattle to the Americas in 1493, and soon after, cattle arrived in present-day Florida and Texas with the Spanish. Cattle have always had many uses: they carry heavy loads and pull carts and plows; supply milk, cheese, and butter; and provide a source for clothing, shelter, and food. Today, Americans prefer beef to all other meats.

As I noted, domesticated cattle first arrived in the Americas in 1493. By 1500 European cookbooks began to specify cuts of beef and other meats. During the period of the mid-1800s through 1900 cattle ranching in the United States reached its peak. In 1906 the meat inspection act was passed by Congress. Finally, beef surpassed pork as the most popular meat in 1950.

Terminology

Cattle is a general term for domesticated bovine animals raised on a farm or ranch for their meat, milk, or hides or for use as draft animals. Further delineation of cattle is characterized by sex and age.

Calves are young cattle of either sex. A male calf is known as a bull calf, and a female Is called a heifer calf.

Bulls are mature, un-castrated male cattle used for breeding.

Steers are male cattle that have been castrated before reaching sexual maturity, making them more docile and easier to maintain on a ranch or in a feedlot. Most beef that Americans eat comes from steers.

Staggs are male cattle that have undergone castration after they have matured.

Heifer calves grow into heifers and eventually become cows.

Cows are mature female cattle, and are usually used as a source of milk. They have to have given birth at least once to earn the title of cow.

Nutritional Make Up

Beef, like other meats, is animal muscle containing various nutrients that form part of a healthful diet.

Muscle Composition

The three main components of muscle are water, protein, and fat. These nutrients appear in the following proportions in most meats:

• 75% water
• 20% protein
• 5% fat

Muscle also contains vitamins, minerals, and very small, trace amounts of carbohydrates.

Although most meats are about three-quarters water, the actual amount of water in meats varies depending on shrinkage. Shrinkage, or moisture loss, is the result of oxidation, which occurs during storage or aging or as a result of high temperatures and long cooking times. Oxidation causes meat to lose both water and weight.

Protein is an essential nutrient that promotes growth, builds tissue, regulates body functions, and serves as an alternative to fats and carbohydrates as a source of energy. Most solid matter in meat is protein. When heat is applied to meat, the protein coagulates, or becomes firm. The degree of coagulation is one gauge for doneness. High heat can cause protein to lose moisture and become too firm, making the meat tough.

Fat surrounds the muscle tissue as a fat and lies within it (marbling). The fat may be left on a piece of meat during cooking to keep the meat moist, but barding or larding are acceptable alternative methods for retaining juice if there is no fat. Marbling also contributes to the juiciness of meat and makes it more tender and flavorful.

Regarding vitamins and minerals, meat is an important source of vitamins A and K as well as several B vitamins, including thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), B6, and B12. Meat also adds minerals such as iron and phosphorus to the diet.

Although carbohydrates are present only in very small amounts, they contribute to the appearance and flavor of meat that is prepared with a dry technique such as roasting, sautéing, or broiling.

Structure of Meat

Meat products consist of bones, muscle fibers, and connective tissue.

Bones: bone color is an indication of an animals age. The redder the bone, the younger the animal. Older animals have white bones. Becoming familiar with the bone structure of an animal helps when learning the different cuts of meat and how to debone them.

Muscle fibers: muscle fibers, or cells bundled together, make up the meat. The thickness of the fibers determines the texture or grain of the meat. Thick, tough fibers bound in large bundles make up coarsely textured meats, such as bottom round or brisket. Thinner, tender fibers in small bundles form finely grained meat, such as tenderloin.

Connective tissue: connective tissue is a web of proteins that perform several functions. It covers individual muscle fibers, bundles them together, and attaches them to bones. Connective tissue helps determine the texture of meat and is tough in general. Some meats are higher in connective tissue than others.

Frequently used muscles such as those in the leg or shoulder have more connective tissue and thus are tougher than those in the back (or loin). Meat from older animals is also tougher because as an animal ages, the connective tissue becomes more resistant to breaking down.

Elastin and collagen—the two kinds of connective tissue—differ in their ability to break down during the cooking process. Elastin is a hard, yellow connective tissue prevalent in older animals because it will not break down during cooking, elastin must be cut away from the meat or physically tenderized to reduce its effects.

By contrast, collagen, the soft, white connective tissue, really breaks down into water and gelatin with slow, moist cooking. Collagen also responds well to tenderizing.

Aging

Aging is the process by which naturally occurring enzymes (lactic acid) tenderize meat. After slaughter, chemical changes in the flesh of an animal cause rigor mortis, or a stiffening of the muscles. As rigor mortis disappears, the meat softens, or ripens, as a result of enzymatic action. This process takes up to several days for beef and must occur in a controlled, refrigerated environment so that the meat does not spoil. The result is flavorful, tender meat.

There are three methods of aging meat under refrigeration. Today I will discuss dry aging as this is the method used by small, independent meatpackers.

Dry aging involves hanging large, unpackaged cuts of meat in a controlled environment for two to six weeks. Temperature, humidity, and air flow must be carefully monitored to prevent spoilage. Two weeks is most common. Small, local meat processing facilities are limited by space and energy cost controls.

Although costly, dry aging produces extremely flavorful meat with a highly desirable texture. However, shrinkage is a major drawback of this method, with some cuts of meat losing as much as 20% of their weight through loss of moisture. Meat aged by this method also can develop mold, which requires trimming—a further reduction in weight.

Inspection and Grading

Inspection and grading systems help producers, distributors, and consumers like you evaluate meat.

Inspection—The Meat Inspection Act, passed in 1906, mandates the examination of all meat transported across state lines. This federal law guarantees that meat is wholesome and fit for consumption and that the animal for which it originated was not diseased; however, inspection is not a mark of quality.

USDA/FSIS—The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), a public health agency within the United States department of agriculture (USDA), is responsible for conducting inspections. The FSIS checks meat to make sure that it is clean, safe, and properly packaged and labeled. Meat that satisfies inspection standards carries a USDA inspection stamp.

Grading—unlike inspection, grading is completely voluntary. Grading measures meat quality, allowing a comparison of meat quality grading indicates tenderness, juiciness, and flavor of the meat.

The USDA has eight quality grades that apply to beef.

• Prime is the highest quality, most expensive, with abundant marbling because of the young age of animals and feed practices. It is extremely juicy and flavorful.
• Choice is high-quality, very juicy and tender, in abundant supply, widely available to the public.
• The select grade is acceptable quality. It is a good buy, generally lean with little marbling, and less juicy and tender.
• Standard grade is lower quality. It is economical and lacking in marbling.
• Commercial grade is low quality. It is produced from older animals is economical and lacking tenderness.
• Utility, cutter, and canner are the lowest quality. This grade of meat is used primarily by canners and processors.

Kobe Beef

Up to now I have been speaking only of US beef grades. Now I will touch upon one other. Kobe Beef.

Cattle raised in Kobe, Japan, are the source of a special grade of beef that is rich in flavor, has abundant marbling, and is extraordinarily tender. Kobe beef comes from the Wagyu breed of cattle and meets rigorous production standards. Wagyu cattle are famous for the extensive marbling of their meat, but this quality characteristic is not entirely the result of genetics.

The daily routine and special diet of cattle raised for Kobe beef are quite unusual. The Wagyu cattle receive energizing massages with sake, the Japanese alcoholic rice beverage, and indulge in huge quantities of beer, making Kobe beef legendary and expensive.

By USDA standards Kobe beef would receive the highest yield and quality grades. It’s marbling and rareness in the marketplace actually put it well above the prime grade.

Once raised only in Kobe, Wagyu cattle now roam ranches in the United States and Australia, where land and feed are cheaper. Fabrication of the prized beef, however, takes place in Kobe, which earns it the name Kobe beef.

Primal, Subprimal, and Fabricated Cuts

Beef and other meats are available for purchase in various forms: carcasses; partial carcasses; and primal, subprimal, and fabricated cuts.

The carcass is the whole animal after slaughter, without head, feet, hide, and entrails. It is typical to split a beef carcass into halves and then to cut each half into a front portion or forequarter and a rear portion or hind quarter. A side or a quarter of beef represents a partial carcass. There are two front quarters, right and left. The front quarter starts at the neck and ends where the ribs end, about halfway down the back of the carcass. The rear quarters pick up from there. Again, there are two, right side of spine and left side of spine.

A primal cut is a large, primary piece of meat, sometimes called a wholesale cut. A subprimal cut is a basic cut made from a primal cut. A fabricated cut is the smaller portion taken from a subprimal cut, such as a roast, steak, and ground meat.

Beef Carcass Forequarter

Now think of the front quarter divided into four smaller pieces. From shoulder to mid back, there are four primal cuts that make up a forequarter of beef: Chuck (shoulder of the animal), primal rib (main rib section), brisket (breast and foreleg or shank), and short plate (directly below the ribs).

Those four primal cuts are broken down into subprimals and finally a fabricated cut.

Chuck

The chuck comes from the animal’s shoulder. It includes part of the backbone and the first five rib bones as well as portions of arm bones and blade bones. The chuck makes up nearly 30% of the weight of the beef carcass. A fairly large portion of the chuck is connective tissue, which accounts for the toughness of this meat. However, chuck has a great deal of flavor when properly prepared. A moist technique or combination method such as stewing or braising is appropriate for this cut. The primal chuck yields various fabricated cuts: shoulder roast, chuck roast, chuck short ribs, cubed or tenderized steaks, stew meat, and ground chuck.

Primal Rib

This primal cut comprises about 10% of the carcass weight. It includes ribs six through 12 and some of the backbone. As it is not well exercised muscle, it is tender, owing its rich flavor to extensive marbling. Primal rib cuts benefit from dry cooking methods such as roasting, broiling, and grilling. Moist heat is the preferred method for short ribs. Fabricated cuts taken from the primal rib include rib roast, boneless ribeye, short ribs, and ribeye steaks. Rib roast, better known as prime rib, is an extremely popular meat dish. The word “prime,” however, does not represent a USDA grade; rather, it indicates that the rib roast makes up most of the primal cut.

Brisket

Located below the chuck, the brisket constitutes a single primal cut. This cut consists of the breast (brisket) of the animal, including the rib bones and Cartledge, and the breastbone. A combination technique such as braising is an excellent choice for beef brisket, which is very tough. Curing, another method of preparation for brisket, is the method used to produce corned beef. Fabricated cuts from this primal cut include boneless brisket and ground meat.

Short Plate

Short plate is the cut below the primal rib on a side of beef. It contains rib bones and Cartledge and the tip of the breastbone. Fabricated cuts from the short plate include ground beef, skirt steak, and short ribs. Moist cooking is appropriate for short ribs, which are quite meaty but also contain a large amount of connective tissue. Marination and grilling are excellent methods for skirt steak, which is sliced for fajitas.

Foreshank

The foreshank is considered a byproduct of the beef forequarter and may be attached to the chuck when purchased. The rich flavor of the four shank and its abundant collagen, which turns to gelatin with moist heat, make it a choice ingredient in stocks and soups. Fabricated cuts include stew meat and ground beef.

Beef Hindquarter

A beef hindquarter also yields four primal cuts: short loin, sirloin, round, and flank. The short loin, sirloin, and round are the rest of the spine divided roughly into thirds. The fourth portion, the flank is directly below the short loin and sirloin. The round primal cut is very large as it is essentially the hind leg.

Short Loin

The short loin is the first primal cut of the hindquarter, forming the front portion of the beef loin. It includes one rib and part of the backbone the yield of this primal cut is substantial and represents the most palatable and popular, as well as the most expensive, cuts of beef. Among these is the tenderloin, the most tender piece of beef. Fabricated cuts from the short loin include T-bone steaks, NY strip steaks, and tenderloin. These cuts are best cooked using dried methods. Broiling, roasting, and grilling.

Sirloin

Located next to the short loin, the sirloin contains a portion of both the backbone and the hip bone. The subprimal and fabricated cuts taken from the sirloin have good flavor and are quite tender, though not as tender as the short loin cuts. Fabricated cuts from the sirloin include top sirloin roasts and steaks and top and bottom sirloin butt roasts and steaks. The dry techniques of broiling, roasting, and grilling are best for these cuts.

Round

The round is the hind leg of the animal, including the round, shank, and tail bones. It is an extremely large cut, constituting approximately 24% of the carcass weight. Very flavorful and fairly tender, the round yields various subprimal and fabricated cuts, including top round, bottom round (eye of round and heel of round), knuckle, and shank. Dry cooking such as roasting is appropriate for top round, which is relatively tender. The top or bottom round benefits from combination cooking such as stewing or braising. Lots of ground beef from this area as well.

Flank

Beneath the loin and behind the short plate (forequarter) is the flank. The flank contains a good amount of fat and connective tissue, which makes it tough. Flank yields flank steak. Moist cooking techniques are best for flank cuts.

One final note. When choosing to purchase a quarter, half, or whole beef, in addition to these cuts somewhere between 35% and 50% of the packaged fabricated cuts will be ground beef.

Variety Meats

Variety meats include internal organs, glands, and other meats that are removed during the processing of the carcass. Traditionally viewed as ethnic food items, variety meats have found their way onto American menus in limited quantities. High in protein, vitamins, and iron, variety meats are features of soups, stews, and other dishes.

All the beef variety meats except kidney are muscle tissue. These meats are tough in general and require long, moist cooking to become tender. Kidneys are the only glance from beef served with much frequency.

Heart

Tough but lean, the heart lends itself to braising or stewing. Ground heart can be added to meatloaves or to casseroles calling for chopped meat. Be sure to remove veins and fibers before cooking.

Liver

Beef liver is dark in color and has a strong flavor. It should be broiled, braised, or panfried. It is often served with onions and is added to pies and puddings.

Tongue

The customary method for cooking tongue is simmering. After cooking, remove the skin and gristle. Cooked and chilled beef tongue is a favorite sliced meat for sandwiches. Smoking and curing are other methods of preparation before cooking.

Oxtail

Before cooking, oxtails need to be cut into sections at the joints. Oxtails are rich in gelatin and also contain tasty meat, both of which augment the texture and flavor of soups and stews.

Kidney

Beef kidney is somewhat tough and has a relatively strong flavor. Braising helps tenderize this variety meat, which is a key ingredient in steak and kidney pie.

I’m currently working on a cookbook that will have at least one recipe for every cut of meat I’ve described in this podcast. One of the challenges when purchasing a quarter, half, or whole beef is what to do with all of those cuts of meat and variety meats. I hope to fill in that gap for you with my whole beef cookbook. You can be confident in being able to use all of the great grass-fed meat in which you invested.

At the last farmers market, I brought Moroccan seasoned meatballs to give customers an opportunity to taste the quality of our lamb. Today’s recipe is in response to a direct request from several of my customers who read my newsletter and love the recipes.

Moroccan Seasoned Meatballs

Seasoned with a Moroccan-style blend of fresh mint, cinnamon, coriander and cumin and simmered in tomato sauce, these tender lamb meatballs make a flavorful change from their Italian-style cousins.

Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 25 minutes Total time: 45 minutes

What You Need

Meatballs

• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 clove garlic, very finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 1 ½ tablespoons fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• ½ cup onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
• 2 cups diced tomatoes, undrained
• ½ to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ to 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• Salt and pepper to taste

What To Do

1. Combine the lamb, egg, garlic, bread crumbs, mint, parsley, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Form the mixture into 16 to 18 meatballs about 1 ¼ inch in diameter.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook until lightly browned on all sides, about three minutes total. Transfer the meatballs to a plate, drain the excess fat from the pan and return it to the stove.
3. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking until fragrant, one minute longer.
4. Stir in the tomatoes. Add ½ teaspoon each of cinnamon and coriander and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook for two minutes, then taste again and adjusted the spices as desired.
5. Return the meatballs to the pan and turn several times to coat them with the sauce cover and simmer slowly until the meatballs are cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.
6. Transfer the meatballs and sauce to a serving dish, garnish with parsley and serve with steamed white rice.

Enjoy!!!

Final Thoughts

That’s it for this podcast. The farmstead keeps on keeping on. The creamery gets closer and closer to completion with every passing day. The animals continue to thrive and enjoy their pasture-based existence.

I hope you enjoyed the ins and outs of beef and you better understand the nose to tail beef option. It is the lifeblood of many local farmers. They invest a great deal of time and energy into a beef product you can trust.

Look for my new Whole Beef Cookbook in the coming weeks. And do give the meatballs a try. I know, I know it’s lamb, not beef. But they are excellent just the same.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. Also, please share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content.

As always, I’m here to help you “taste the traditional touch.”

Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

Recipe Link

Moroccan Seasoned Meatballs

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Using a traditional slow-cooker has taken a back seat to Instapot-type pressure cookers and air fryers. But I still use mine and today’s podcast is all about “why”, “when,” and “how.” In fact, I have 7 tips on using a traditional slow-cooker.

I want to take a minute and say welcome to all the new listeners and welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving regulars who stop by the FarmCast every episode. I appreciate you all so much. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are set up for a fabulous New Year celebration.

We are old fogies and likely won’t even stay awake until the ball drops in Time Square. Well, we might be watching Game of Thrones past midnight. I know it’s so over, but we listened to the audiobooks ages ago and I wasn’t really impressed with the book nor the first adapted to TV season. Anyway, we watched the videos of the first season again after years of it sitting on the shelf. Following that, I decided to finish the series. You know, end of year, cleaning up loose ends and such, so we’re now watching, and are currently in season 3, after staying away for all those years. Still not that impressed, but it is okay.

Truly I’m a Wheel of Time fangirl and am anxiously awaiting Amazon’s original production beginning in the fall next year. I’m counting on it putting Game of Thrones to shame. Anyway, I’m so excited to share with you what’s going on at the farm this week so let’s get to it.

Today’s Show

• Homestead Life Updates
• 7 Tips for Using a Traditional Slow-Cooker
• Easy Barbecued Beef

Homestead Life Updates

Life has slowed down some here as we get into the winter season. Milking is done. Canning is done – for the most part. I will be making bone broth throughout the winter and building up my stores of that tasty burst of nutrition. But as with any homestead situation, stuff is going on year-round.

Goats

The biggest challenge seems to be keeping the goats inside the fence. One in particular, Star, just seems to go wherever she wants. They all got out a week or so ago and there happened to be an open gate to paddock #7 so they are in there while the rest of the girls, the cows and sheep, are rotating through the back pastures 10 through 14. Star is with the cows and sheep – at least the last time we looked she was there. It’s a different day so who knows.

Sheep

The sheep are doing well. Again, we expect our first lambs around the 6^th of May. What do you think about a farm tour in June? The lambs will be really cute at that age.

Cows

The cows are plugging along. Luna is growing like a weed. She is such a beautiful calf. We have received the canister that will house the semen for artificial insemination next season. The boys are slowly getting thinned out. Eventually, we will have only female bovine. I’m looking forward to that day when we have a single herd of cows. Today we have five cows and Luna the heifer in one herd and two steers and three bulls in another herd. The boys are okay, but it’s the girls, Claire, Cloud, Buttercup, Violet, Butter and now Luna that are my treasures.

Quail

Nothing much going on with the Quail. They aren’t laying any eggs. I’m not looking for any new eggs until spring. March, or maybe even April.

The Creamery

It’s so exciting to see the roof going on. At the moment, it is actually the decking for the attic floor. Once Scott completes this part, he will have a platform on which to build the rafters. He is building them, more or less, in place. Once they are complete, our friend Charles will come over and help him literally raise the roof. The carpentry goes much faster than the masonry.

The Garden

I’m mentally planning the garden at this point. Sometime in January or February I’ll order the seeds. I had such a good time growing seedlings last spring that I’m thinking about growing quite a few more and selling them at the farmers market. I already know I’m going to be growing a lot of peas, beans, and tomatoes because I use a lot of them making meals for the women’s homeless shelter. I’ll probably grow squash again. I didn’t grow any last year. And peppers. I think I’ll grow a variety of peppers again.

That’s about it for Homestead updates. Let’s get on with today’s topic.

7 Tips For Using a Traditional Slow-cooker

The slow-cooker offers the home cook a way of making “fast food.” While it may cook slowly, it has a fix-it-and-forget-it feature that other cooking techniques can’t match. Once your ingredients are in the cooker, there is no stirring, no fussing, no additional attention necessary until your dish is ready for the table. My Cosori pressure cooker comes close but there are reasons that I still use my traditional slow-cooker. Feel free to use either.

What Exactly Is a Slow-cooker?

First of all, “slow-cooker” is the generic term used for this appliance, but the company who first designed the slow-cooker (Rival) named their product crockpot. The slow-cooker and crockpot are one and the same. Features that make a slow-cooker or crockpot a slow-cooker are:

• Countertop appliance with low and high settings without a gauge to set a specific temperature
• The inner container is made from stoneware, ceramic or heat resistant glass
• It has wrap around heating elements within a metal casing. This provides indirect heat to the container for even heating and avoids hotspots and stirring is usully not required for most dishes.
• A tightfitting lid to contain the heat and steam.

The combination of low temperature, lengthy cooking times and locked-in moisture work together to cook food thoroughly, while inhibiting the growth of bacteria and eliminating the need for your personal attention during the lengthy cooking process.

Slow-cookers are typically round or oval in shape and range in size from 1 to 7 quarts. Depending on your needs, it may be useful to have a couple of different sizes—a smaller one for side dishes and dips, (try my cheese fondue recipe in a quart sized unit) and another larger size for bigger main meals and to allow room to double or triple a dish for larger gatherings or so you can freeze a portion for later. Current models have digital features, such as an automatic “off” or “keep warm” option. These options allow you to better control how long your dish cooks when you are away from home.

Traditional Origins and Benefits of Slow Cooking

Although slow-cooking was introduced in the early 1970s, it can be considered a modern version of the time-honored tradition of braising, stewing, pot-roasting and Dutch oven cooking methods. All of these use long cooking times, low temperatures with liquid and a tightfitting lid or cover to keep all of the ingredients in a moist environment. All of these slow-cooking methods typically use indirect heat, such as with an oven, compared to the direct heat applied from fire or a stovetop.

As described in Slow-Cookers for Dummies, “for generations, women in small towns throughout Europe. . . Have been using the town bread baker’s cooling ovens to slow-cook their family meals. . . For a small price, the Baker rented oven space to anyone who wanted to slow-cook a joint of meat or fish. The food was left in the oven unattended and picked up in the early afternoon for dinner. Although the practice of slow-cooking in a wood-burning oven was also common practice in the United States during the 1800s, it died out with the introduction of cast-iron stoves. . .”

Just as with any other food preparation technique, flops can happen in a slow-cooker. While it is an easy-to-use appliance, it does take a little more thought to use than just dumping in the ingredients and flipping the on switch. Just as with any cooking method, it is important to know how the appliance functions at its best. With a little knowledge, you will experience many more successes than mishaps. Also, the more you learn about how to operate the slow-cooker, the easier it will be for you to create new or adapt old family recipes to this nourishing, time-saving method of preparing nutritious food.

Let’s get to the heart of today’s topic, 7 tips for using a traditional slow-cooker.

Why? Because It is Practical

Here is a short list of why it is practical:

• You save time in the kitchen
• The meal is portable and perfect for buffets and potlucks
• You save money on electricity
• In the summer, lower heat production is a great boon
• It is safe to leave it unattended at home while you work, shop or chauffeur the family here and there
• You can use up tougher cuts of meat you got with that great ¼ cow, ½ pig or whole lamb package deal
• Your oven is free for other tasks
• You save yourself from cleaning an additional serving dish
• Nutritious broth from meat and bones produces collagens and gelatins and enhances the flavor of the dish

Which Setting to Use and When?

The settings on most slow-cookers include off, low and high. Most slow-cooker recipes are geared to the low setting, which reaches 180 to 200°, that is, a gentle simmer. The high setting hovers between 280 to 300° and will cook food about 2 to 2 ½ times faster than when on low.

Another option is to start a dish out on high for about an hour to get a jump start on heating the container, and then turn it back down to low for the remainder of the time. This method is especially useful when cooking large cuts of meat or whole chickens.

The keep-warm setting is a great way to maximize the usefulness of this appliance. Once the food has been thoroughly cooked, this setting will prevent further cooking or drying out, and will keep food ready-to-eat for at least two hours.

How Long Does It Really Take to Cook?

Besides the chosen setting (high or low), other factors that influence the speed your dish will cook are the liquid and fat content of the dish, temperature of the food, temperature of the container (such as whether it was left in the fridge with pre-prepared ingredients the night before), altitude, size of the pieces of food and of course your specific slow-cooker.

How Much Food Is Too Much?

For the best outcome, the container of your slow-cooker should be half to three-quarters full. Filling the container less than half full is more likely to result in overcooked or burned food. Food in a overfilled container may not cooked thoroughly in the allotted time or get hot enough to inhibit bacteria growth, which is to reach 140° in under four hours. Spillage outside the container is also more likely with expansion of the food.

Do I Still Have to Brown or Sauté?

Some slow-cooker recipes require nothing more than chopping up the ingredients, while others may taste better with a touch more prep. Since slow-cookers don’t reach browning temperatures, browning large cuts of meat or sautéing or softening vegetables (especially onions and garlic) outside the slow-cooker in a separate skillet is an option to impart more depth of flavor to a dish.

Browning ground meat usually results in improved color and texture, but this step is not absolutely necessary, and browning is not recommended for meatloaf and similar dishes.

The downside to browning is that it takes away from the slow-and-low concept I spoke about earlier; however, there may be occasions when Browning is the best way to go for sheer taste and tenderness. Bottom line: Browning meats and sautéing or softening vegetables are unnecessary, but experiment and see what you and your family’s taste buds prefer.

Which Foods and When?

With a few exceptions, most of the ingredients for your slow-cooker dish can be put in all at the same time and still end up evenly cooked. Here are a few brief guidelines.

Vegetables: although it seems counterintuitive, most vegetables (especially roots such as potatoes, carrots and turnips) cook more slowly than meat and poultry do in the slow-cooker. These do best when layered along the bottom under the meat or other ingredients or along the sides of the container. Faster cooking veggies (peas and greens) can be added 20 to 30 minutes before the dish is finished cooking.

Poultry: poultry is easy to overcook and dry out. Leave the skin on a whole chicken to lock in moisture and add flavor.

Beans and legumes: these dried foods are perfectly suited for the slow-cooker, just be sure to properly prepare them beforehand and don’t add salt until after they are cooked, as salt will keep the skins tough.

Dairy: milk, cream, sour cream and yogurt tend to curdle with long simmering and cheese can break down and separate. It is best to leave these foods on the table to get the most from their enzymes and live cultures.

Seafood: foods from the sea also tend to cook fast, thus tend to not fare well with the long cooking times of the slow-cooker. Add them during the last 30 to 60 minutes of cooking.

Herbs and spices: whole herbs and spices release their flavors slowly, while ground versions tend to lose their flavor or even become bitter tasting in the slow-cooker. Chopped fresh herbs should be added during the last hour of cooking.

Converting Recipes

The easiest way to adapt a traditional recipe for the slow-cooker is to find a similar slow-cooker recipe and use it as a guide. Recipes that include some moisture and require longer cooking times, 45 minutes to an hour, in the oven or on the stovetop are good candidates for converting to the slow-cooker since they will most likely finish cooking within eight hours on low in the slow-cooker. In fact, most uncooked meat and veggie combos will take approximately eight hours. Because the enclosed environment of the slow-cooker discourages evaporation and generates liquid, about half the liquid is needed for the same recipe cooked on the stove top or in the oven. However, this does not apply to soups, sauces, chilies or chowders.

The Last Word

Make every effort to obtain the highest quality meats and poultry—it’s safer, it’s much more nutritious, it’s tastier, and the slow-cooker brings out the best in these foods. Worry and anxiety about reaching certain in internal temperatures is less of a concern with these truly healthy foods.

Start taking advantage of this fast food technique today! All you need is a high-quality slow-cooker—and yes that includes your multifunction pressure cooker. While I have one, I still use my traditional slow-cooker. That frees me up to use my Cosori multifunction gadget separately. I might need some boiled eggs that come out of the shell effortlessly or I might make some lovely yogurt at the same time my slow-cooker is making some fantastic barbecued beef.

And that brings us to today’s recipe.

Easy Barbecued Beef

This easy barbecued beef recipe takes advantage of your traditional slow-cooker. It’s great for any cookout or potluck dinner. Chuck roast makes delicious shredded beef sandwiches. The recipe calls for ketchup however, you may substitute tomato paste for a slightly less sweet dish. In any case, this barbecued beef is sure to please your family.

What You Need

• 3-pound boneless grass-fed Chuck roast
• 1 ½ cups ketchup or tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons Dijon style mustard
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 clove garlic, diced

What to Do

1. Place chuck roast in your slow-cooker.
2. Combine remaining ingredients in mixing bowl to make sauce. Pour mixture over Chuck roast.
3. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or 4 to 5 hours on high.
4. Remove roast from slow-cooker and shred meat with a fork. Place shredded meat back into the slow-cooker and stir to evenly coat with sauce.
5. Serve alone or atop whole-grain sandwich buns and top with additional barbecue sauce if desired.

Notes

If you like your meat a touch sweeter, add a tablespoon or two of date sugar while it is still hot to allow it to dissolve.

Final Thoughts

That’s it for today’s podcast. I hope you enjoyed our homestead updates. We love sharing our life with you.

Traditional cooking from scratch doesn’t have to be hard or time-consuming. So, fire up that Instapot or dig out your old, faithful slow-cooker and give that barbecued beef recipe a try.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. And the absolute best thing you can do to help out the show is to share it with any friends or family who might be interested in our content.

As always, I’m here to help you “taste the traditional touch.”

Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

Recipe Link

Easy Barbecued Beef

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• PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW for Peaceful Heart FarmCast on Apple Podcasts.
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For a little change of pace, Popular Cheeses is today’s topic as I’m sure I’ve worn you all out with all of those raw milk podcasts. The recipe today is a fun, quick and easy method of making your own fresh cheese, or as the Mexican cheese lovers call it, queso fresco.

I want to take a minute and say welcome to all the new listeners and welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving regulars who stop by the FarmCast for every episode. I appreciate you all so much. I’m so excited to share with you what’s going on at the farm this week.

Today’s Show

• Homestead Life Updates
• Popular Cheeses
• Queso Fresco

Homestead Life Updates

Just a few quick notes here. The most important news first.

Animals Updates

We have a new calf. Cloud gave birth to Luna on the 23^rd of November. She was a healthy and vigorous 70-pound heifer. Mom and calf are doing really well. The other cows are drying up for their winter respite from producing milk.

Scott finished all of the blocks of the interior walls in the creamery. He is off to other tasks for the past few days. Fixing fences and preparing the pastures for winter grazing and hay-feeding as we move into the winter season on the homestead.

The sheep and goats are doing well, though we are missing two goat girls. All of the goats were escaping, as goats do on a regular basis. Scott fixed the place in the fence where they were escaping but we are still missing two. Scott also moved the goats from one pasture to another so perhaps the stragglers simply haven’t figured out where everyone is at the moment. There are gates open at various places so they can get inside a pasture and closer to the main group. No sign of them for a couple of days. We will keep our eyes open and do some serious searching if needed.

The Homeless Shelter

I had the pleasure of making a meal for the women staying at the homeless shelter sponsored by our church. We always have an abundance of food and this is a great way to help those who are less fortunate. Homelessness is running rampant in the US. I could just complain about how bad it is and look for the government to step in and do something. However, I wanted to make a real difference. Most of these ladies are either mentally ill and incapable of caring for themselves or have issues with drugs and/or alcohol. It’s a difficult situation and one without an easy solution. I do what I can to ease their troubles with a good hot meal on a cold night. I’ll be providing these meals 2 to 4 times per month throughout this winter. Cooking for 30 is a challenge but I’m up to it.

Last night, along with the meat loaf, green beans and chocolate cake, they got to try my very excellent mac and cheese. It was as big hit. The popular cheeses in that recipe are gruyere and cheddar which I will be touching on in today’s podcast.

Popular Cheeses

Let’s talk about some of the popular cheeses; how to recognize them and what to do with them. As I have talked about previously, cheese results from an interaction between milk and bacteria or an enzyme called rennet. For more information on basic cheesemaking please see my previous podcast, “The Basics of Cheesemaking.”

In a nutshell, the milk proteins (casein) coagulate, forming the solid curds, which then are separated and drained from the liquid whey. Additional processing, both before and after coagulation and whey separation, include: adding special cultures and bacteria, yeast or mold; salting; pressing; aging; and curing. Various combination of these processes create the variety of cheeses available today.

There are several subgroups that I will talk about today. Based on processing techniques, cheeses fall into a few select areas. There are hard cheeses, semi-hard cheeses, semi-soft cheeses, and soft cheeses which come in both fresh and ripened varieties.

I’m going to give a very brief overview and description of a few popular cheeses and how each might be used in your home. Brief overviews and a select few is all I will have time for today. If you’d like more information, please comment below the podcast and I will answer your questions to the best of my ability.

Hard cheeses

Hard cheeses have been aged to reduce moisture content to about 30%. Hard cheeses often are used for grating. Maximum flavor comes from freshly grated cheese. Some of the most popular cheese in the category of “hard” follow.

Asiago: asiago is an Italian cow’s milk cheese with a tangy, nutty flavor and a texture that varies depending on the age of the cheese. Asiago is white to pale yellow and melts easily. Wendy’s fast food restaurant makes an asiago chicken sandwich. This asiago is sliced, not grated but certainly melts well. Yum, yum.

Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan): True Parmigiano-Reggiano is a cow’s milk cheese from an area in Italy near Parma. The name is protected and can only be used when strict production guidelines are followed. The least of which is it must be produced in a specific area near Parma, Italy. It has a sharp, spicy taste and a very hard, dry texture. Parmigiano-Reggiano is always used grated or shaved. The knock-off produced in the United States and elsewhere is called Parmesan and does not match the flavor of the original. Parmigiano-Reggiano is used in gratins and pastas and as a topping for salads and other dishes.

Pecorino-Romano: Made in central and southern Italy from sheep’s milk, Pecorino-Romano has a robust and piquant flavor and is noticeably salty. It can be served as a table cheese or grated for cooking. Again, the name is protected. In the US we know this popular cheese as Romano.

Semi-Hard cheeses

Semi-hard cheeses have a little more moisture content than hard cheese. They range from 30% to 40% moisture, giving them a firm, solid texture. Their flavors can range from mild to quite sharp, depending on age.

Cheddar: With origins in Great Britain, cheddar is now the most popular cheese in the world. This cow’s milk cheese ranges from mild to sharp in flavor and has a dense texture. Orange cheddars owe their color to a vegetable die made from annatto seeds. Uncolored cheddars are pale yellow. Colby is a popular mild American cheddar cheese. Use cheddar in grilling and cooking, as well as on sandwiches and snack trays.

Emmental: Emmental is the original cow’s milk Swiss cheese with very large holes caused by gases that form during ripening. It has a mild, nutty taste and comes in 200-pound wheels. Emmental is the classic choice for fondue, but it also is used in sandwiches and snacks and dessert trays. Swiss cheese is the Americanized Emmental cheese.

Jarlsburg: Although jarlsburg is a cow’s milk cheese from Norway, it’s taste, fat content, and appearance are similar to the Swiss Emmental. Jarlsburg is used on cheese boards, in sandwiches and cooking.

Gruyere: Another Swiss cow’s milk cheese, Gruyere, has a mild, nutty taste, moist texture, and small holes. Because Gruyere melts easily, it is suitable for cooking. It also can be served as an appetizer and as a desert cheese. I use it in fondue.

Monterey Jack: Monterey Jack is a rich cow’s milk cheese from California. It ranges from mild and pale to a sharp and pungent yellow cheese. Monterey Jack sometimes contains peppers or herbs for flavor. It melts well, making it an appropriate choice for cooking.

Provolone: Provolone is a cow’s milk cheese from southern Italy. It has pale yellow color and flavor that ranges from mild to sharp, depending on age. Provolone also comes smoked and in a variety of shapes, including cones, rounds, and cylinders. Use provolone in cooking, as well is in sandwiches or as an appetizer.

Semi-soft cheeses

Semi-soft cheeses have a moisture content of 40% to 50%. Their texture is smooth and sliceable but not spreadable. Semi-soft cheeses can be classified into two groups: the smooth, buttery cheeses and the veined cheeses which owe their distinctive appearance and taste to the veins of blue or blue-green mold running through them.

Smooth, Buttery Cheese

Fontina: Fontina is a nutty, rich cow’s milk cheese from Italy. It has a slightly elastic touch and a few small holes. Use fontina on dessert trays and in cooking.

Gouda: Gouda is a Dutch cow’s milk cheese with a pale-yellow color and a mellow, buttery flavor. Mature Gouda has a firmer texture and a more pronounced flavor. Gouda often is packaged in red or yellow wax-covered wheels. Use gouda in cooking and serve it as an appetizer, with fruit, and on dessert trays.

Havarti: Havarti is a cow’s milk cheese from Denmark. This pale creamy cheese is filled with many small irregular holes. These are mechanical holes related to light pressing as opposed to the Swiss cheese holes resulting from ripening cultures that produce gasses that form the holes. It has a mild, buttery taste and sometimes is flavored with caraway seeds. Havarti makes a fine addition to a snack tray or sandwich.

Veined Cheeses

Gorgonzola: Gorgonzola is a blue veined cow’s milk cheese from Italy. It has a distinct aroma and a tangy, pungent flavor that is sharper in mature cheeses. Its texture is smoother than that of other blue-veined cheeses, such as Roquefort or Stilton. Gorgonzola is used in sauces, on cheese trays, with fruit, and in mixed salads.

Roquefort: Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, EU law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon may bear the name Roquefort, as it is a recognized geographical indication. As with Emmental, Camembert de Normandie and many others, it has a protected designation of origin. Made from sheep’s milk, Roquefort is a crumbly blue-veined cheese with a pungent taste and strong aroma. Use Roquefort in mixed salads, Roquefort dressing, cooking, and as an appetizer or dessert cheese.

Stilton: Stilton is an English cow’s milk blue-veined cheese. It has a crumbly texture, edible rind, and pungent tang. Traditional compliments to Stilton are fruit, walnuts, and port.

Fresh soft cheeses

Fresh soft cheeses are unripened cheeses with mild flavors and a moisture content of 40% to 80%. The high moisture content gives these cheeses a soft texture and short shelf life.

Cottage cheese: Cottage cheese gets its name from the fact that it was originally a home or cottage-made cheese. Commercial cottage cheese is made from skim, low fat, reduced fat, or whole cow’s milk and has a bland taste. It comes packed in tubs in small, medium, and large curd forms swimming in cream. Cottage cheese can be used in cooking and as an accompaniment to fruit or raw vegetables and salad.

Queso fresco: queso fresco is literally Spanish for fresh cheese. It is a Mexican cheese, traditionally made from raw cow milk or combination of cow and goat milk. Queso fresco is a soft, moist, curd style fresh cheese that’s bright, creamy, and pleasantly milky. In traditional Mexican cuisine, queso fresco is used as a crumbled or cubed topping to balance out the flavors in rich and spicy dishes. It’s a perfect stuffing cheese because of its soft yet compact consistency. Today’s recipe is how to make this treat quickly and easily.

Feta: Feta is a great cheese traditionally made from sheep’s milk or a combination of sheep and goats’ milk. After the curd forms, it is salted, sliced, and packed in salt brine. Feta is a crumbly, white cheese with a salty tang that grows stronger with age. It is used in cooked dishes and salads and as an accompaniment to olives and bread.

Chevre: chevre frais, French version of fresh cheese. It is fresh goat cheese. Chevre is soft and spreadable with a mild but characteristic goat cheese tang. Many times, you will find herb and spice flavored versions. Use chevre in cooking, as a spread with crackers and raw vegetables, or on sandwiches.

Marscapone: Marscapone is an Italian cow’s milk cream cheese with a rich, creamy taste and the silky, smooth texture. Use marscapone in desserts such as tiramisu, in sauces, and as a spread. Marscapone can also be served plain, with a sprinkle of cocoa or liqueur.

Neufchatel: Neufchatel is a cow’s milk cheese, similar to cream cheese, from the Neufchatel region of Normandy. Neufchatel has a soft, creamy texture, and slightly tart flavor that builds as the cheese ripens. Use it the same way as cream cheese. My recipe, Skillet Chicken with Neufchatel Spinach Artichoke Sauce, can be found here.

Mozzarella: Mozzarella is the firmest of the fresh soft cheeses. Traditionally mozzarella is a small oval cheese made with water-buffalo’s milk, although cow’s milk is now a common substitute. Fresh mozzarella is white and quite mild. It melts well in cooked dishes and often is served in salads with fresh tomatoes and olive oil and as a cold appetizer. Commercial mozzarella has a much firmer texture and a blander flavor. That version is often used shredded in cooked dishes and on pizza.

Ricotta: All of the other cheeses before this one have been made from the curd part of the “curds and whey”. Ricotta is an Italian cheese made from the whey part of the “curds and whey” left after making use of the curds for other cheeses, such as mozzarella and provolone. Its uses are similar to those of cottage cheese, but its flavor is slightly sweeter. Ricotta has a smooth, slightly grainy texture. Use ricotta in baked goods and in pasta dishes such as lasagna. Italians also serve ricotta as a dessert cheese, sprinkled with sugar or salt, and as a filling for pastry.

Ripened soft cheeses

Ripened soft cheeses have rich flavors and a buttery smoothness. They are characterized by thin rinds and soft, creamy centers.

Brie: brie is a French cow’s milk cheese with a white crusty rind and a buttery texture that oozes at room temperature when the cheese is fully ripe. Brie has little flavor before it is ripe and will stop ripening once cut. Overripe brie develops a strong ammonia odor. Serve brie when its center begins to bulge slightly. Include brie on appetizer and dessert trays, in sauces, and in pastry. Brie should be served at room temperature.

Camembert: Similar to brie, Camembert is a cow’s milk cheese that originated in the French village of Camembert. It has a slight tang and the pasteurized version is generally milder than brie. Its shape is round as is brie, but with a smaller diameter. Its uses mirror those of brie.

St. Andre: St. Andre is a French triple-cream cheese with a white downy rind and a slightly sweet, buttery taste. It is most often served as a dessert cheese.

Queso Fresco

Want to make queso fresco at home? Here is an easy recipe to make this homemade cheese that is a popular topping for tacos, nachos, enchiladas and tostadas.  Many Latin foods use this ingredient and it is so easy.

What You Need

• ½-gallon fresh whole, low-fat or skim milk
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 3 Tbsp white vinegar

What To Do

1. Assemble a cheese cloth lined colander.
2. Heat the milk and salt stirring constantly to prevent sticking.
3. Bring it to a boil, turn the heat to low, and add 3 tablespoons of distilled white vinegar.
4. Watch and stir. Almost immediately, the milk will separate into curds and whey. If not, add one more tablespoon of vinegar. Continue to stir gently to encourage whey extraction and curd formation.
5. Drain into the cheesecloth-lined colander in the sink. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is cool enough to handle. Form the curds into a ball or disc while squeezing excess whey through the cheesecloth. At this point the cheese is ready to eat, but if you prefer a drier, firmer cheese, you can set it on a plate or a sheet pan with a plate on top of it. Use some kind of weight — cans, pots and pans, or books — to press it down for 15 more minutes or up to a couple of hours.
6. Crumble over tacos or enchiladas, or sprinkle into a salad. Slice as a side with your morning sausage and eggs.

Notes:

This cheese is not a melting cheese. It is best enjoyed as is, fried or baked — just as long as you don’t need it to become gooey.

Final Thoughts

That’s a wrap for today’s podcast. I hope your holiday season is going well and you find it in your heart to help those less fortunate than you in whatever way you can. We are blessed with food that others need and, though time is often short, I’m making it happen and getting it to them.

There is a lot more information on types of cheeses available for download in pdf form on our website. Link in the show notes. And give that queso fresco recipe a try. Less that a half hour and you can have your very own homemade cheese.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. Also, please share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content.

As always, I’m here to help you “taste the traditional touch.”

Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

 

References

• The Basics of Cheesemaking
• Taste of Cheese Free Downloads
• Skillet Chicken with Neufchatel Spinach Artichoke Sauce

Recipe Link

Queso Fresco

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• Leave a comment on our Facebook Page
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Raw Milk to Ultra-Pasteurized Milk and everything in between is the topic of today’s podcast. I’m going to talk all about all sorts of milk and milk products. I’ll give a brief definition of each one along with various commentary about development and uses of these nutrient-dense sources of food.

But first, I want to welcome each and every new listener. I hope you enjoy this content and share it with your friends and family. And as always, a heart-felt welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving regulars who stop by the FarmCast every week. I appreciate you all so much. There is no show without you and your input.

Exciting news is happening at the homestead. Are you ready? Let’s get to it.

Today’s Show

• Homestead Life Updates
• From Raw Milk to Ultra-Pasteurized Milk, and everything in between
• Recipe – Crème Fraîche

Homestead Life Updates

It seems as though we skipped from summer to winter with only a few days of fall in between. Oh well, perhaps it will be warmer in December. Sometimes it is. When I first moved to Virginia, we experienced winters that had about 5 days of weather that would get down into the 20’s at night. Occasionally, we would have a night where it slipped into the teens. The past couple of years we have had some really cold winters with many days in the low-teens and even single digits at night with highs in the 20’s. This year, this fall, we have already had nights in the 20’s if you can believe it. Who knows what the winter will hold? Perhaps it will actually be warmer.

The Cows

Any day now we will have a new calf. Cloud is showing signs of the last stages. She moves very slowly and with difficulty as the calf has dropped down quite a bit. She waddles. Her udder is larger than Violet’s at this late point in her lactation cycle. Violet’s udder was larger at the onset of her lactation. She is at the end of her lactation cycle and producing much less milk at this point.

The Quail

The quail are doing well with the cold. Unfortunately, we lost 4 of the 6 to a predator. It happens. There were signs of an animal laying underneath the top cage. There are two sets of cages one on top of the other. Under the top cage is a slanted board with plastic so we can scrape off the manure. It looks like that plan will have to be modified in some way if predators are going to reach up from underneath and snag the birds. Anyway, the remaining two were put in with the main flocks on the lower level and all are doing well. Their waste goes straight through the bottom of the cage to the ground. There is extra board below them so no way to get up underneath that bottom set of cages. They are well off of the ground.

The Sheep, Goats, and Donkeys

All are doing well. I don’t remember if I mentioned that we lost a couple of lambs to predators. The rest are doing fine. The donkeys have been really good at keeping the predators away from the sheep and lambs. I’m not sure what happened there.

The Creamery

The inner walls are complete. Scott is going to take a break from all that block work and start back on fencing. The work is never done. While fixing fence he will also be creating firewood. We have been using standard heating during the unseasonably cold fall weather. But soon we will have wood to use in the wood stove for heating. It will be so warm and toasty in here. For the past week or so I’ve been closing myself into the office and running the small heater that we have in there to keep warm while the rest of the house is about 68 degrees. That’s really cold for me. It probably wouldn’t be so bad if I just surrendered and put some socks on to keep my feet warm. I don’t know about you, but when my feet and hands get cold the rest of me feels like it is freezing and will never be warm again.

Enough about that. Let’s get on to today’s topic.

From Raw Milk to Ultra-Pasteurized Milk

And everything in between

Dairy products have long been favored for their contributions to the human diet. Cave paintings made in the Libyan Sahara in 5000 BC show people milking animals and making cheese. Some research indicates that goats and sheep provided the first dairy products for humans. Later, cows supplied dairy products for much of the world.

Before refrigeration was invented milk spoiled rapidly. However, we humans quickly learned to preserve milk by making butter, ghee, cheese and other fermented products. By the first century A.D., the Romans were master cheesemakers, even using cheese presses to aid in separating the whey from the curd. Over the years, people have experimented with many variations in milk—and cheesemaking processes. (See my podcast on The History of Cheese. Link in the show notes.) As a result, a great diversity of fermented milk and cheese products are available today. I gave the basics of cheese styles in a previous podcast. In a future podcast, I’ll go over more details of some common cheeses you might find in your local supermarket and what distinguishes them one from another. I’ll include information on our lovely cheeses as well.

Milk

Milk is a dairy product that is valued as a nutritious beverage, and ingredient in cooking, and the foundation of other dairy products, including butter, cheese, and yogurt.

The composition of milk varies, depending on the type of animal, the breed, the animal’s diet, the season, and even the time of day the animal is milked. Unless I mention it as otherwise, milk in this podcast is about cow’s milk. Cow’s milk from a grocery in the US is composed primarily of water (88%). It contains about 3.5% milk fat and about 8.5% milk solids in the form of proteins (primarily casein), lactose (milk sugar), minerals, and vitamins. Milk provides a rich source of calcium, as well as vitamins A, D, E, K, C, and B. Commercial milk is fortified with additional vitamin D. To replace the vitamin A drawn off with the removal of milk fat, low fat and skim milk products are fortified with vitamin A.

Casein is the primary protein in milk. It causes milk to clump and curdle in the presence of acid, too much salt, or too-high heat. When milk is heated, a skin can form on top. The skin is actually coagulated protein and fat. Milk also can coagulate and then burn on the bottom of a pan if you are not careful when heating it. Continuous stirring, heavy cookware, moderate heat, and minimal cook times help limit coagulation.

Milk Processing Methods

Milk, like all food products, provides a favorable host for the growth of bacteria, some of which can cause serious illness. Because of this, almost all milk is treated with some kind of pasteurization to kill bacteria and increase its shelf life.

Pasteurization

In the 1860s, French chemist Louis Pasteur discovered a way to use heat to prevent spoilage of beer and wine without destroying their flavor. Pasteurization applies the same theory to the treatment of milk. Personally, I think pasteurization does destroy the flavor of milk. See my previous podcast, Benefits of Raw Milk, for more on that. The law requires all Grade A milk to be pasteurized. In fact, nearly all milk sold commercially in Western countries is pasteurized. The most common pasteurization technique heats milk to 161°F for 15 seconds and then rapidly cools the milk to 45°F. Pasteurization is used to kill bacteria and extends the keeping qualities of milk by killing naturally occurring enzymes that cause milk to sour and ferment. Unlike raw milk, pasteurized milk does not become sour and naturally ferment into other products. Pasteurized milk, properly refrigerated, keeps for about a week before it rots and becomes completely unusable even for cooking.

Ultra-pasteurization

Ultra-pasteurization is often used to extend the shelf life of cream. Ultra-pasteurization subjects dairy products to much higher temperatures for shorter periods, destroying nearly all bacteria. Unopened, refrigerated ultra-pasteurized milk and cream stays fresh for 2 to 3 months. Once opened, the product will stay fresh about as long as conventionally pasteurized milk products.

Ultra High Temperature Processing

Ultra high temperature (UHT) processing combines the process of ultra-pasteurization with specialized packaging. Holding the milk for 2 to 6 seconds at 280°F to 300°F sterilizes it. Hermetically sealed sterile containers block out bacteria, gases, and light. Unopened UHT milk can safely be stored without refrigeration for up to three months. After it is opened, you handle UHT milk in the same way as conventionally pasteurized milk products. If you are making your own cheese at home, never use UHT milk. It has been damaged too badly to be useful in making cheese, yogurt and so on. 

Homogenization

In raw milk, the milk fat particles float to the top, creating a layer of cream sometimes called the “cream line.” This happens because the fat globules, which are lighter than the surrounding water, are too large to stay suspended in the emulsion. To prevent the separation of milk fat, most commercially sold milk is homogenized. Homogenization breaks down fat globules by forcing the warm milk through a very fine nozzle. This process reduces the fat particles to 1/10 their original size, thus allowing the milk fat to stay suspended in liquid.

Removal of Milk Fat

Removing milk fat fills the demand for additional variety in milk and cream products. To remove milk fat, milk is processed in a separator, a type of centrifuge. The milk spins at high speeds, causing the lighter milk to collect at the outer wall of the separator, while the denser cream collects in the center, where it is piped off. Modern separators can produce a range of milk products from whole milk to low-fat or reduced fat to skim.

Description of Milk Products

Liquid Whole Milk

Whole milk contains not less than 3.25% milk fat and 8.25% milk solids. Vitamins A and D are optional additions, as our flavoring ingredients, such as chocolate.

Liquid Low-Fat Or Reduced-Fat Milk

Milk with some fat removed will contain between 0.5% and 2% milk fat and not less than 8.25% milk solids. Common low-fat milk includes 1% milk; reduced fat milk includes 2% milk. Low-fat and reduced-fat milks must contain added vitamin A and vitamin D is optional.

Liquid Skim Milk

Skim milk is also called fat-free or nonfat milk. All or most of the fat has been removed. Skim milk is less than 0.5% milk fat and not less than 8.25% milk solids. Vitamin A must be added. Vitamin D is optional.

Evaporated Milk

Canned concentrated milk, called evaporated milk, is formed by evaporating about 60% of the water from whole or skim milk. It has a cooked flavor and darker color than regular milk. Evaporated or condensed whole milk contains at least twice the milk fat and solids of whole milk – 6.5% milk fat and 16.5% milk solids.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Sweetened condensed milk is whole milk with 60% of its water removed and a large quantity of sugar added. It’s pasteurized and usually sold in cans. Sweetened condensed milk is not an acceptable substitute for whole or evaporated milk because of the added sugar.

Dry Milk Powder

Milk with nearly all moisture removed is called powered milk or dry milk. It is usually made from skim milk, although whole milk powder is also available. Dry milk can be used to enrich baked goods or it can be reconstituted in water.

Varieties of Cream

Half-And-Half

A mixture of milk and cream is labeled half-and-half. It contains at least 10.5% but no more than 18% milk fat. We use it in coffee. Some use it in cereal. It is often used in baking and as an enrichment to other foods.

Light Cream

The next step up in thickness of cream is light cream. Also called coffee cream or table cream. It contains between 18% and 30% milk fat. It is also used in baking and as an enrichment for other foods. The higher you go in cream content the higher you go in calories. So, keep that in mind when deciding whether to use it in coffee or cereal.

Light Whipping Cream

Light whipping cream, also just called whipping cream, contains between 30% and 36% milk fat. It can be whipped or used to make sauces, ice cream, and other desserts.

Heavy Whipping Cream

Heavy whipping cream (HWC for the keto/carnivore crowds) is also called heavy cream. It contains at least 36% milk fat. As you would expect, it whips well and is used as a topping for desserts. It is also used for thickening, and as enrichment for sauces and various desserts.

Other Milks

All female mammals produce milk to feed their young, so it is not surprising that humans over the years have taken and continue to take milk from a variety of species. People in parts of Africa and the Middle East prize camel milk. Some groups in northern Scandinavia and Russia milk reindeer. It is said that Genghis Khan and the Mongolians conquered vast lands living on meat, blood and mare’s milk. Although cow’s milk is the most common today, people in many parts of the world use milk from sheep, water buffalo, and goats.

Sheep’s Milk

Sheep’s milk is higher in fat (6.5%) and protein (5.8%) content than cow’s milk. People drink sheep’s milk and make yogurt and cheese from it. True Roquefort cheese is made from sheep’s milk. Feta is traditionally made with sheep’s milk or a mixture of sheep’s and goat’s milk.

Water Buffalo’s Milk

Water buffalo’s milk has a high percentage of fat (7.2%) and a protein count comparable to that of cow’s milk (3.8%). Provolone cheese was first made with water buffalo’s milk. Today Italy prides itself on making the highest quality mozzarella cheese from water buffalo milk.

Goat’s Milk

Goat’s milk contains a similar amount of fat and protein as cow’s milk, but the smaller fat globules in goat’s milk stay suspended, making homogenization unnecessary. Cheese made from goat’s milk is referred to as chèvre (the French word for “goat”) and is noted for its sharp, tangy flavor.

Cultured Products

Fermented dairy products, also called cultured dairy products, are the result of adding a starter bacterial culture to fluid dairy products. Under the right temperature conditions, these lactic acid producing bacteria reproduce rapidly, causing milk or cream to ferment. The fermentation process gives dairy products a tangy flavor and thicker consistency.

Buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, and crème fraîche are the most common cultured dairy products.

Buttermilk

Traditionally, buttermilk was a byproduct of the butter-making process. Today people make buttermilk by introducing starter cultures from bacterial strains into skim or low-fat milk and then holding the milk at a controlled temperature for 12 to 14 hours. Buttermilk adds a distinctive, tart taste to baked goods and other dishes. Some people enjoy buttermilk as a beverage.

Yogurt

Yogurt adds a tangy flavor to sauces and other dishes and provides a low-fat substitute for sour cream. Yogurt is made by the same process as that for buttermilk but with different bacterial strains. This causes the milk to ferment and coagulate into a custard like consistency. Some yogurt contains live active bacteria. Medical research shows that yogurt with live active cultures helps the body produce lactase, an enzyme that breaks down lactose. This aids digestion, especially in those who have difficulty digesting milk products because of lactose intolerance. Research also suggests that eating yogurt with live active culture speeds recovery from some forms of intestinal illness.

Sour Cream

Sour cream is made using the same process and bacteria as those for buttermilk, but it typically uses cream with 18% milk fat as its base. Sour cream is smooth, thick, and tangy.

Crème Fraîche

Commercial crème fraîche is cultured, heavy cream that resembles a thinner, richer version of sour cream. Widely available in Europe, crème fraîche is expensive in the United States. Better to make it yourself with this easy recipe.

Crème Fraîche Recipe

Use it anywhere you would use sour cream. Because sour cream has less fat but more protein, simmering or boiling it will result in curdling. Crème fraîche is a better choice for sauces or soups.

In France, crème fraîche was traditionally made from unpasteurized cream that naturally contained the right bacteria to thicken it. Since our cream is pasteurized here in the US, this crème fraîche is made by adding a fermenting agent with bacteria to heavy cream.

What You Need

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons cultured buttermilk

What To Do

1. In a glass jar, combine the buttermilk with the heavy cream.
2. Cover the jar tightly with cheesecloth or other breathable material. Let sit at room temperature (70 to 75 degrees) for 24 hours.
3. Remove cloth, stir. It will be thick but will get thicker. Screw on a lid, and refrigerate for another 24 hours before using.

Final Thoughts

Whew that was a lot of information about milk and milk products packed into one podcast. You might want to listen to that again and take notes. Or hop over to peacefulheartfarm.com and click or tap “Podcast” on the menu to read and bookmark the show notes.

The homestead is perking along well. I’m so excited about the impending arrival of a newborn calf. Even though she wasn’t planned, life is precious to us and we will welcome this calf with open arms. We will figure out what to do with her. I’m sure it’s going to be a heifer. Ok, I’m not really sure. We don’t do ultrasounds to determine the sex of our calves, but it’s great to say out loud what I want.

I hope you’ll experiment with brewing up some homemade crème fraîche. Remember, don’t use ultra-high temperature pasteurized cream. It simply will not produce the product you are looking to create.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please go to Apple Podcasts, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. And the best way to help out this show is to share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content.

As always, I’m here to help you “taste the traditional touch.”

Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

References

• The History of Cheese
• Benefits of Raw Milk Podcast

Recipe Link

Crème Fraîche

To share your thoughts:

• Leave a comment on our Facebook Page
• Share this show on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

To help the show:

• PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW for Peaceful Heart FarmCast on Apple Podcasts.
• Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play Music, TuneIn or Spotify
• Donate on Patreon

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Last time it was all about whether raw milk is safe and this week it’s about the benefits of raw milk. There are quite a few, though I only need one. Taste is the one for me. But as I said, there are lots of benefits of raw milk.

Before I get into our homestead updates, I want to take a minute and say welcome to all the new listeners and welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving regulars who stop by the FarmCast every episode. I appreciate you all so much. And if you love this content, the best thing you can do to help us in getting the word out is to share, share, share it on all of your social media. There is so much talk today of whose voice might be throttled. But I’m here to tell you that when you share content that you like, there is no way for anyone to silence it.

Onward. I’m so excited to share with YOU what’s going on at the farm this week, the benefits of raw milk and a recipe for vanilla cream cheesecake fat bombs.

Today’s Show

• Homestead Life Updates
• Benefits of Raw Milk
• Vanilla Cream Cheesecake Fat Bombs

Homestead Life Updates

It’s fall here in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The leaves reached their peak last week. Today the ground is covered with the nourishing foliage that has fallen to return nutrients to the land, providing the next year’s food for each and every plant and tree. It is the absolute best time of year. Tourists come from all over the world to visit our little place of heaven on Earth at this time each year.

Cows

We are still waiting on our new calf. It is still obvious she is pregnant, but the signs of imminent birth are still lacking. It’s an adventure every day waiting on her udder to fill up to bursting. Even then it can be a week or more before that calf appears. I’m praying for a heifer. That’s a girl for you city-folk. We always want girls. They are either added to our herd of beauties or sold to another farm to increase their herd. Bulls are sold to others as well, but we still prefer the option of adding to the herd. On a homestead, one bull may be one too many.

In the future we will be breeding all of our girls via artificial insemination with sexed semen. It gives us much greater control of our genetics. We want heifers and we want cows that have A2A2 genetics. If you are not familiar with that I refer you to my podcast on “What is A2A2 Milk?”. Link in the show notes.

Other Livestock

The sheep, goats, and donkeys have wonderful winter coats. They look ready for the winter. The goat girls in particular look fat and sassy. We still have grass for them, but hay is standing by when they finish eating all of the summer grass. It’s kind of like hay still standing in the field that was never baled and there is some green grass. They have variety in their diet right now with the tall dried stuff and the fresh green stuff lower down as their dessert.

Quail

The quail are still not laying any eggs to speak of, but that may change in the next week or so. Scott changed the setup of the lights. Still it takes a week, 10 days or even longer to produce an egg. We shall see. The new babies – who are no longer babies – will be going outside in the next few days. They are fully feathered and we have turned off their warming lamp. So far all is good. They are hardy and will adapt to the cooler temps just fine.

Creamery

Please follow us on Facebook to see the pictorial view of the creamery. In less than 2 weeks, weather permitting, the rest of the inside walls should be complete. Isn’t that amazing. It seems like only last month that I was walking around our there with no walls at all. Now I can clearly experience each and every room.

On with today’s topic, the Benefits of Raw Milk.

Benefits of Raw Milk

Last time I talked about the dangers and time I want to talk about the benefits of raw milk. There are dangers in consuming any food. However, as small as the risk of drinking raw milk is, we still need to answer the question: why take the risk? What benefits does raw milk have over pasteurized milk that have convinced so many people in the US and around the world to actively seek it out?

Why drink raw milk in the first place? Today I will cover a variety of reasons. Different people will resonate with different reasons, depending on their value system, worldview and priorities. Here are the highlights:

• Raw Milk Nutrition
• Lactose Tolerance
• Overall Health
• Flavor
• Community
• Environment
• Ethics

That’s quite the list so let’s get started.

Raw Milk Nutrition

Many consumers believe that raw milk is higher in nutritional content than conventional milk, which may have some merit. This is especially true when applied to operations such as ours which are very small and pasture-based. Our cows graze every day, all day on grass or stored and preserved grass called hay.

There is evidence that milk from grass-fed cows is likely to have higher levels of fat-soluble vitamins and other nutrients. Grass-fed cow products have been shown to have higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and essential fatty acids in their milk. CLA is important because it helps your body build muscle rather than store fat and has anti-inflammatory properties. The best natural sources of CLA are grass-fed beef, butter and full-fat dairy products such as cheese and yogurt. Here is a quote from a study published in 2006 titled “Modifying milk composition through forage” (Link in the show notes.)

“The fatty acid (FA) composition of cows milk has become less favorable to human health in the last four decades due to changed feeding and management practices, notably higher proportions of concentrates and silages in diets with less grazing.”

Another quote from this abstract is quite interesting to small farmers like myself. There are financial benefits when you produce a superior product.

“Farmers from some dairy cooperatives in The Netherlands that produce milk from grazed grass now receive a premium payment in addition to the base milk price, so that primary producers can benefit from the higher market value at the end of the production chain.”

On that note, I’ll include another link from a paper published by the National Institutes of Health, “Conjugated linoleic acid content of milk from cows fed different diets.”

The pasteurization process also reduces the nutritional quality of milk products. Research has shown a decrease in manganese, copper, and iron after heat treatment. The FDA acknowledges that pasteurization destroys a substantial portion of the vitamin C in milk, and sterilization via pasteurization is also known to significantly impair the bioactivity of the vitamin B6 contained in fresh, raw milk. Beta-lactoglobulin is a heat-sensitive protein found in milk. It is destroyed by pasteurization. Why is it important? It increases absorption of vitamin A. The bottom line is that the supplemental vitamin A added to conventional milk may be harder to absorb.

Lactose Tolerance

Many people experience digestive and other problems when they consume pasteurized milk, but have no trouble with raw milk. There is no one answer as to why this is the case. The FDA insists that unpasteurized milk has no probiotic effect or any other characteristic that could explain this phenomenon. But the collective experience of raw milk consumers suggests otherwise. The Weston A. Price Foundation conducted an informal survey of over 700 families, and determined that over eighty percent of those diagnosed with lactose intolerance no longer suffer from symptoms after switching to raw milk. The “Lactose Intolerance Survey” was published in March 2008 (Link in show notes.)

It’s hard to make decisions these days. The Weston A Price Survey included over 700 families and I don’t know how many total people. They say “Yay”. Stanford University performed a clinical study to help determine whether raw milk reduces the incidence of lactose intolerance. They had a whopping 16 people in their “study” which said no difference in symptom severity between pasteurized and unpasteurized milk. I found it hilarious that they included soy “milk” in their study and found no lactose intolerance symptoms in that part of the study. UMMMM Let me see. Perhaps that’s because soy is a bean and not milk, therefore no lactose involved and no lactose intolerance. Anyway, I laugh at these “studies” that are produced these days. But you will be told that you must believe the science.

Health

There is substantial epidemiological evidence from studies in Europe that consumption of raw milk during childhood may protect against asthma, allergies and other immune-mediated diseases.

A large cross-sectional study demonstrated a significant inverse association between “farm milk” consumption and childhood asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, sensitization to pollen and other allergens. That study “Inverse association of farm milk consumption with asthma and allergy in rural and suburban populations across Europe” is also found on the National Institutes of Health website, link in the show notes. While we must always remember that correlation does not prove causation, the findings were consistent across children from farming and non-farming environments, indicating that farm milk consumption may have had an independent effect on allergy development.

Flavor

Many people think that raw milk has a better flavor and texture in comparison to pasteurized, homogenized milk. The words “fresh”, “real”, “alive” and “rich” are often used to describe it. There also exists a subtle shift in flavor of the milk through the seasons as the grasses change. Consumer research demonstrates that flavor is one of the top reasons that consumers choose raw milk whenever possible.

I’m sure those of you who drink raw milk can attest to the significant flavor differences between raw, fresh from the cow and the store-bought stuff. While flavor alone is not reason enough for choosing raw milk, it is clearly a driving force in my decisions and perhaps yours as well.

Community

Raw milk is almost exclusively produced by local farmers. A growing segment of the population is choosing to support local, family farms and businesses over multi-national conglomerates. In Virginia, we support it by actually buying stock in the farm. Literally, buying part of the herd.

Our herd share owners are reconnected with their food supply. They are stimulating the local economy and promoting sustainable farming practices.

Environment

Similar to above, consuming milk that is produced by local farmers using sustainable methods has far less of an environmental impact than drinking milk produced in large confinement feeding operations thousands of miles away.  Conventional dairy operations are highly destructive to the environment. Air and water pollution from dust and feedlot manure, plus fertilizers and pesticides used in grain production, are damaging to the environment and to the health of farmers, farm workers, and nearby residents. Manure runoff into water can cause the death of aquatic life, as well as contamination of drinking water by nitrate, harmful microorganisms, and antibiotics and hormones.

Raising dairy cows on well-managed pastures decreases soil erosion, increases soil fertility, and improves water quality due to decreased pollution. Cows grazing on pasture reduce the energy needed to grow large acreages of grains. Large-scale, confinement dairy operations are energy intensive.

Ethics

Cows that live on small farms and spend their days on green pasture live a happier and healthier life than those that live in overcrowded and inhumane “factory farm” conditions. This is important to those of us that care how animals are treated. When confined in small spaces under stressful conditions, cows often become ill and are treated with large quantities of antibiotics. Pasture-raised cows have longer lifespans than conventionally raised cows, as corn-based diets contribute to health problems, and breeding practices designed to maximize milk production have caused reproductive problems. Our Normande cows and bulls are often sought out by dairy farmers looking to improve the depleted genetics of their herds.

As far as I know we have never sold any of our livestock to a conventional dairy. There are plenty of horror stories and disturbing videos that portray the inhumane treatment of cows in conventional dairy operations. Working with our small farm or one in your area assures you, the compassionate consumer, that the animals are properly treated.

Putting It All Together

Any one of these reasons might be enough justification for choosing raw milk for a given individual or family. But when viewed together, it’s easy to understand why raw milk consumption has increased so significantly over the last two decades. Consuming unpasteurized milk and dairy products has several positive benefits that, for many people, far outweigh the possible risks. As I have said often, you must consider both the positive and negative qualities of raw milk consumption when making the decision for you and your family.

Please let me know if you have questions. On to our recipe of the day.

Vanilla Cream Cheesecake Fat Bombs

Those living the Keto lifestyle will understand what I just said. For those of you unfamiliar, living the keto lifestyle involves getting your body into ketosis and keeping it there. When you body is in a state of ketosis, you burn fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates. It completely alters your reality around food. Carb burners are constantly looking for and planning their next food fix. Keto fat burners may only eat once or twice a day and never think about food between meals. It can be quite freeing mentally. So much of my time used to be wrapped up in thinking about food. Now it is more of a bother.

Having said that, we do want to plan ahead so that when that urge to eat finally does hit, we can get something quick and then get back to doing other things with our lives. This recipe will help with that.

These delicious vanilla cheesecake fat bombs are high on taste and will give you a long-lasting boost of energy. They are deliciously creamy and taste just like cheesecake.

A word of caution to anyone not living the keto lifestyle. If you are primarily burning carbohydrates and just add a lot fat such as in these luscious fat bombs, you will not induce ketosis and you will likely put on weight. There is a science to it. Ketosis first, then fat bombs for fun.

What You Need

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 oz erythritol (or other no carb sweetener of choice)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

What To Do

1. Add cream cheese, vanilla and sweetener together in a mixing bowl. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes or until you reach a smooth consistent texture.
2. Add half the heavy whipping cream and mix for another 2 minutes. Let the mixture sit for 3-5 minutes to allow the erythritol time to dissolve.
3. Add the other half of the heavy whipping cream and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes or until the mixture is thick with firm peaks.
4. Gently spoon mixture into molds of your choice. Set in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Notes

Suggested molds: mini cupcake pan with liners or 2 oz acrylic soap molds. The cupcake method with liners is much less messy.

Final Thoughts

That’s it for today’s podcast on the benefits of raw milk. I hope you enjoyed learning more about our homestead and our wonderful animals. I can’t tell you what a joy it is for us every single day as we go about living the sustainable life in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. We love sharing it all with you.

Let me know why you do or do not drink raw milk. And feel free to ask questions if you haven’t decided and would like more information. I’m always happy to help in any way that I can. If you are like me then you don’t trust much coming out of today’s industrial food systems. As much as possible I raise my own and buy what I don’t produce from those that I trust. Visit us at the farmer’s market in Wytheville, Virginia. Get to know us and the other producers in the area. Find out why and how we do what we do. Ask questions and get to know all of us personally. We’d love to meet you.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. Also, please share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content.

As always, I’m here to help you “taste the traditional touch.”

Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

References

• Science Direct: Modifying milk composition through forage
• National Institutes of Health: Conjugated linoleic acid content of milk from cows fed different diets.
• Weston A Price: Lactose Intolerance Survey
• National Institutes of Health: Inverse association of farm milk consumption with asthma and allergy in rural and suburban populations across Europe

Recipe Link

Vanilla Cream Cheesecake Fat Bombs

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