A Warm Cup of (RAW) MIlk?

I’ve changed my mind on raw milk.

No really, I have. When we first started drinking raw milk, I heard that the bacteria in milk can double for every 20 minutes it’s left out in warm temperatures. If there were any dangerous bacteria in the milk, the cold could keep it at bay therefore keeping it safe. But when warm, the bacteria could grow to a load that could be dangerous. I was strict that my daughter couldn’t leave her milk out. I stressed out my how long it took to skim cream because my milk was out for maybe (gasp) 5 minutes. I was a nark on keeping the milk cold.

Fast forward to last week. We were outside on a balmy 80 degree May afternoon. My second born, out of nowhere comes strolling up to the duck pen that I was cleaning out. He was chugging a cup of milk that I hadn’t seen in a few days. I gagged a little and told him to put it down. But you know what, he was fine. He was completely healthy after chugging some chunky warm milk. Probably even got a few extra probiotics from it.

To be clear, I’m not recommending you leave your kids milk cup outside for a few days then have them drink it. It’s kinda gross if you ask me. But, I don’t think you need to freak out about it either. And I don’t think that’s just a more chill mom of two now talking.

As I’ve learned more about raw milk and making things with raw milk, my stance of over caution had changed. Here’s what I have learned:

• Bad bacteria can only manifest its in the milk if it’s already there. Well produced raw milk from healthy, clean cows should be free of bad bacteria! If you want to take an abundance of caution with it, I don’t blame you! Keep the milk cold! But healthy, clean cows that are properly cleaned and milk equipment that is well cleaned and sanitized should have only good bacteria in it. Think about life before refrigeration. Milk came out warm and, in the warm weather, stayed warm. It won’t last as long warm, but that doesn’t mean it’s dangerous to drink.

• We warm milk for all kinds of things! Think about kefir. It sits with it’s grains in it on the counter. So many people start out drinking raw milk by making kefir with it. Yes, the grains add probiotics to it that change things, but it is still warmed raw milk. Or, while I have yet to try it, many use clabber as a sort of starter for cheese in a similar way that people use sourdough starter for bread. Clabber is just milk that has been left out until it is nice and thick. Knowing more about how people use milk to make cheese or other products with has helped me feel more comfortable with raw milk being warm.

Now, while I don’t think that we need to be afraid of warm raw milk, your milk will not last as long when it’s been warmed. I had someone day to me that their milk from Wednesday was sour by the weekend! What they failed to mention is that it stayed in their warm vehicle for an hour. Warmed milk will sour faster.

Milk on the first day is very sweet. If properly cooled, it’ll stay sweet! I had a glass of milk the other day that was 2 weeks old and tasted just as sweet as it would on the first day it was bottled. It will gradually lose its sweetness with time. If the milk is from clean, healthy cows, is cooled quickly, and stays cold, it should last over 2 weeks! Cold IS key to longevity! Eventually even milk that is kept cold sours. But milk that gets warm will sour at an even faster rate.

We highly recommend that people bring a cooler year round for their milk to go in. This keeps the sweetness up and you milk lasting!

I enjoy drinking cold, sweet milk. My son seems to not care if it’s cold or chunky. But the point of this blog is to say that while for most of us, sour milk is unenjoyable to drink, it also won’t hurt you or your kids. As long as it is well produced from healthy, clean cows, your little tot who leaves their milk on the counter for an afternoon (or outside for a couple days) will be fine if they drink warm or sour milk. Avoid it if possible for longevity sake! But these second born kids are giving us a run for our money and sometimes warm milk happens. We hope that we do well enough on our farm that a warm cup of milk won’t hurt anyone!