# How to strain milk



## Jerryberry (9 mo ago)

Out of curiosity HT, How do you strain fresh cow milk without an expensive cow milk strainer?


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

With an inexpensive milk strainer.


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## Jerryberry (9 mo ago)

painterswife said:


> With an inexpensive milk strainer.


$50 for a milk strainer?!? How do you strain fresh cow milk without a milk strainer?


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Jerryberry said:


> Out of curiosity HT, How do you strain fresh cow milk without an expensive cow milk strainer?


I use 10" squares of old t-shirts. When you wash them, rinse them three times to get all of the soap out. I put the cloth over the jar and push it down so there is about a cup sized area for the milk to gather as it strains through the cloth. I use one quart Mason jars, and leave two inches of space at the top. Put the lid on snug, not real tight. Last put it in the refrigerator an let it cool. When it is cool all of the cream will be on top of the milk. With my Jersey cow, one quart of raw milk will give me 1/2 quart of cream, and 1/2 quart of skimmed milk.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I use half gallon jars for my goat milk.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Jerryberry said:


> $50 for a milk strainer?!? How do you strain fresh cow milk without a milk strainer?


You let it set in the refrigerator over night, the cream will rise above the milk. With a small dipper, that will fit into the mouth of the jar you can skim the cream off the top. What you have left will be skimmed milk.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> I use half gallon jars for my goat milk.
> 
> View attachment 113413


Much more high tech than what I use. A large mouth quart Mason jar, a piece of cloth, and a small dipper.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I use a bent spoon dipper, too to get the cream for my coffee.


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## IceFire (10 mo ago)

For straining the fresh milk, I use a milk filter (can also use a coffee filter) placed in a canning funnel, which is placed on a quart canning jar. Either use a ladle or CAREFULLY and slowly pour the milk into the filter-lined funnel.


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

same as MS said more or less. we used several thickneses of gauze


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## oldasrocks (Oct 27, 2006)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> I use half gallon jars for my goat milk.
> 
> View attachment 113413


Best way to cool goats milk is in the freezer for 30 minutes. Tastes just like cows milk if cooled faster.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

At one point, I used two buckets when I milked, the outer one half filled with ice water, in order to chill the milk quickly

Straining is essential to remove dust/goat hair from your milk, especially if you are going to store the milk longer than one day.

Coffee filters are ok, but they filter slowly.

Yes, in the old days, pioneers didn’t do this, but they used the milk that day. They also drank the milk even if the cow/goat stepped in the bucket. They MAY have boiled it first, maybe not.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Letting it sit overnight, refrigerated, is a good way to collect the cream. But I would never put unfiltered milk in the 'fridge. For health and safety, filter as soon after it is milked. Then quart jars, sealed and set into a bucket of icy well water to rapidly cool. Inspect the filter after you use it. You may detect the start of mastitis or bits of manure stained straw or hair or bits of fly parts. You can't see the dander or bacteria.


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## Texas23 (6 mo ago)

This……..



Amazon.com : Food Strainers


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

​


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

haypoint said:


> or bits of manure stained straw or hair or bits of fly parts


That is the reason for straining it. When you milk a cow, there is a huge hairy, dirty, dusty, manure factory standing over the bucket swinging her tail.


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## Jerryberry (9 mo ago)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> I use half gallon jars for my goat milk.
> 
> View attachment 113413


How about cow milk?


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## Jerryberry (9 mo ago)

Texas23 said:


> This……..
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Will this work with cow milk?


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## Jerryberry (9 mo ago)

Pony said:


> View attachment 113437
> ​


How much is that? How do you use it?


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## Jerryberry (9 mo ago)

haypoint said:


> Letting it sit overnight, refrigerated, is a good way to collect the cream. But I would never put unfiltered milk in the 'fridge. For health and safety, filter as soon after it is milked. Then quart jars, sealed and set into a bucket of icy well water to rapidly cool. Inspect the filter after you use it. You may detect the start of mastitis or bits of manure stained straw or hair or bits of fly parts. You can't see the dander or bacteria.


How do you effectively filter cow milk without the need of a expensive milk strainer?


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## Jerryberry (9 mo ago)

muleskinner2 said:


> I use 10" squares of old t-shirts. When you wash them, rinse them three times to get all of the soap out. I put the cloth over the jar and push it down so there is about a cup sized area for the milk to gather as it strains through the cloth. I use one quart Mason jars, and leave two inches of space at the top. Put the lid on snug, not real tight. Last put it in the refrigerator an let it cool. When it is cool all of the cream will be on top of the milk. With my Jersey cow, one quart of raw milk will give me 1/2 quart of cream, and 1/2 quart of skimmed milk.


How many old shirts do you need to strain milk?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

One.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Jerryberry said:


> How many old shirts do you need to strain milk?


I can get four squares of fabric from one shirt.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

When you getting your cows?


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Jerryberry said:


> How much is that? How do you use it?


It's a few quid online.

I pop a canning funnel into my jar, put the basket into the funnel, pour the milk through it.

Works great, cleans up like a charm.


ETA: A 2-pack is $12.95 online. Singles are around $7.50.









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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Hey! Found it even cheaper: $5 a pop.









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## IceFire (10 mo ago)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> At one point, I used two buckets when I milked, the outer one half filled with ice water, in order to chill the milk quickly


I do the same thing...one bucket (that I milk into) set inside another bucket filled with ice/water to chill it as the milk goes into the bucket. As soon as I get back into the house, the milk gets filtered, the lid goes on, then put into the fridge. The faster you can get the milk colder, the better it tastes.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Forcast said:


> When you getting your cows?


Does it matter? I love when people want to learn about my homesteading lifestyle.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

newfieannie said:


> same as MS said more or less. we used several thickneses of gauze


It's been a few years but that's what I used as well.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Second hand stores are a great source. A big funnel or an old metal strainer, a bag of old t-shirts, and voila, a milk strainer.


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## Texas23 (6 mo ago)

Jerryberry said:


> Will this work with cow milk?


Using it for goats milk. But milk is milk…….Just a difference in volume. The milk passes through the filter quickly without it getting clogged so I think it would handle a cow’s volume of milk with no problem.


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## doyouknowmyFather (8 mo ago)

We use Swartz strainers. We just put them over our canning jar and strain through. They work really well. We get them locally at our farm store, but we live in an Amish Area.
They are about $8 for 100. Google them or call your farm store. TSC and the bigger stores don't carry them in our area.




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