I milked Purl...my ewe! Pics pg 3!

[aggieterpkatie]

I weaned my Romney lambs yesterday, and for the heck of it I decided to milk Purl, their mother. I haltered her and tied her to the gate, then stooped down with the bucket under her. She did amazingly well! She hardly moved at all! Her teats are fairly big for a sheep, so I had a pretty easy time milking her. In just a few minutes I had a quart of milk!

Now, what should I do with it? Drink it? Make farmers cheese? Put it in a recipe? I'm trying to decide if I'm going to keep milking her or let her dry off. Decisions decisions....

 

[Neko-chan]

Make yogurt! Sheeps milk makes the best yogurt I've ever tasted.

Also, I dunno how it tastes when drunk (drank?) as milk, but sheeps milk cheese is excellent as well.

If anyone has lactose intolerance problems, it's good for them too.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Oh yeah, I can make yogurt! I just made a quart of goat milk yogurt, but I can make more!

 

[miss_thenorth]

Noooooo!!!!! drink it straight up!!!!!!!!! It is delish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[freemotion]

A quart in one milking? Think you'll get 2 quarts a day? I'd milk her!!!! And use it with the goat's milk to make some marvelous cheeses, or just drink it. It has higher solids than goat's or cow's milk and is very good for cheese making, or so I've read.

My European client shows me cheese labels now and then....they like really good and really expensive cheeses and she is my primary taste tester....and many of the pricy cheeses use a mixture of milks from goats/sheep/cows. In any combination.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Yeah, a quart in one milking, but she hadn't been nursed in a day. I may try milking her again this afternoon and see how she does!

I heard Manchego cheese is delicious, but I looked up the recipe and it sounds very complicated! I'm going to taste the milk this morning and see how it tastes!

 

[freemotion]

Have you made any cheeses yet that require cultures and rennet? They kind you have to have 5 hours available to make? I can't keep track of who does what, sorry! If you haven't, then reading about it is much more intimidating than doing it. By the time you've done it 2-3 times it will start to become old hat. Remember, too, that most mistakes still make cheese....just not what you'd planned. Cheesemaking is always an adventure.

When I was just starting out, I printed out the recipe I'd chosen and highlighted it and wrote in the times, and counted up all the waiting periods and the variables of time and then added an hour so I'd know how long I needed. I was a bit shocked. But most of the time spent is waiting, doing other things around the house and waiting for the timer to go off so you can stir something else in.

 

[Neko-chan]

Just to put it in there for ya: Queso manchego is our favorite cheese. if you can figure out how to make it, do so, because here at least, it's like a bazillon dollars a kilo. You won't regret it!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

No Free, I haven't ventured into making "real" cheese yet. Someday I will though. I did taste the milk this morning, and it is SO good and creamy! I didn't get a chance to milk Purl this afternoon, but I may try again tomorrow afternoon. I think I'm going to do ricotta this time. I think some phyllo dough tarts with ricotta and asparagus sounds so good!

 

[Denim Deb]

You're in MD, right? I'll be right over.