Ways to Use Up Raw Milk
Here's a recent reader question that came to my inbox:
Hi Kelly,
I was wondering if at some point you could do a blog post including all the things people can do or make with raw milk. We are new drinkers of raw milk and the only way it's available to buy locally is in gallon containers, which is a lot for my little family of three to get through in a week. I'd like to try making some of the things you post about, like cream cheese, buttermilk, etc. but I get a little overwhelmed trying to find the different posts, decide on what to make, and then actually start making whatever I've decided upon. I would really appreciate it! Thanks for all you do.
Thank you, Kara, for giving me a great post idea!
By the time you read this and all the comments from my awesome readers, I’ll bet you’ll be ready to get at least another gallon each week! (Learn why raw milk is the best milk for us: Raw Milk Benefits and Information: Q & A with Mark McAfee).
What are some of the ways to use up raw milk?
Here are some ways to use up raw milk, or what we do anyway…
- Mostly we drink lots of it straight – it’s so yummy and fresh tasting! Read all about raw milk in these posts and here you can read more about why nutritionally it is leaps and bounds above store-bought milk. (Tastes better, too.)
- How to make buttermilk (and what I use it for) – find buttermilk and yogurt starters here.
- How to make yogurt, whey, cream cheese
- More Cheese making: Queso Fresco!
- Non-alcoholic egg nog – a super tasty & nutritious beverage!
- Here’s a Fettuccine Alfredo recipe that you can use raw milk in when you have plenty – I just made this tonight as a matter of fact. (It was a busy night with kids going all different directions, so I made it early this afternoon and put it in the crock pot on warm so everyone could grab some whenever. It was great having dinner done by 1:00!) Really any recipe that calls for milk and/or a cream sauce.
- Our Homemade “Ketchup” Soup also comes to mind, everyone loves that, too!
- Gourmet hot cocoa! (Well, not really gourmet, but that's what I tell the kids.)
- If we've been gone a lot and have extra raw milk and no time to do anything with it, I'll sometimes water our outside herbs with it! (Don't water inside plants, because it will smell, trust me.)
What else do YOU use raw milk for? Do you ever struggle figuring out ways to use up your raw milk? I’m sure I missed some good ideas, but you guys always fill in the gaps for me – thank you for commenting!
- Have you read this book? The Untold Story of Milk, Revised & Updated: The History, Politics and Science of Nature's Perfect Food: Raw Milk from Pasture-Fed Cows
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- Here's a new one by David Gumpert: The Raw Milk Answer Book.
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Chahna says
Doesn’t the cooking process of making custards, soups, and hot cocoa defeat the purpose of buying raw milk?
KitchenKop says
Yes, it does take away some of the extra nutrition you get with raw milk BUT it’s better than wasting it. 🙂
Also, heated raw milk is still better for you than conventional milk because of their additives, homogenization, and the fact that it comes from factory farms with sick cows, etc.
Kelly
Khaled says
Thanks, it is challenging to find it, but I think it will be easier to grow a cow or goat and dot it myself.
Thanks
Khaled says
Hi,
Do you drink raw milk directly without boiling? is there any precautions?
Thx
KitchenKop says
Yes, we don’t boil it so all the good stuff is still intact! The main precaution is finding a safe, clean farm to get it from: https://kellythekitchenkop.com/how-to-choose-a-raw-milk-farmer-raw-milk-safety/
Kelly
Ashley says
Hi Teena,
Mayo actually isn’t a dairy product – it’s emulsified oil (generally canola – olive can be too flavourful) and egg yolk. plus a little salt, a little sugar, and some other flavours, and boom! I prefer to make aioli which is very similar in style but with added garlic, either roasted or fresh. yum!
KitchenKop says
Ashley, I loooove aioli!
Rhiannon F S Knight says
Make cheese. 😀
Renee says
I’m curious as to the “order” in which I can use up raw milk and it’s byproducts. We are joining a group to get 4 gallons a week. With our 4 children, we’ll easily finish 2 (with the various cooking I do). I wonder how I can responsibly use up the other two? For example, maybe I put two on the counter, make butter from them. Then, what do I do with the rest? Would I then make ricotta or kefir, and have buttermilk and whey left? Do you see what I mean? I’d like a plan of action in place so that I don’t waste it. We just normally don’t use buttermilk on a regular basis, and our family is not ready for the grassy taste in the “skimmer” version of the milk (without the butterfat). Suggestions– other than books? We’re spending our precious money on the more expensive raw milk, and don’t have the $ to spare to get books on it. Looking for free ideas. 🙂 TIA- Renee
Monie says
I am so glad I googled how to use raw milk. I really want to use raw milk, but it had me a little scared because of everything said about it. I don’t have kids, but my husband and I are doing all natural and organic and I am just learning about some foods… I didn’t know I could make kefir! My biggest shock is that I can drink it raw! Seriously? do i have to like take a little at a time to prepare my system or something? I know I sound like an idiot! But thanks everyone for posting. I am happy to learn about raw milk!
Monie
KitchenKop says
Hi Monie, I know it’s crazy when you first hear some of this stuff isn’t it? 🙂
Here’s more info for you to check out on raw milk:
https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/12/raw-milk-posts.html
Kelly
Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen says
I make kefir too! I also make cheese – like fromage blanc. So yummy!
Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen says
I make kefir too! So yummy!
KitchenKop says
Paula, check out the comments at today’s post for more info on keeping raw milk longer: https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2010/01/what-to-do-with-raw-milk-before-it-sours-we-need-your-ideas.html
Also, did your milk *smell* bad when you used it in the pancakes? What recipe did you use? Here’s mine: https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/01/recipe-for-healthy-and-tasty-waffles.html
Kelly
Paula says
Well, I made pancakes and soaked overnight. They were awful! Very sour! But I used some raw milk that was around 1 month of age, is that why? Researched online before I made the pancakes, and there were people saying it is still edible after 6 months! So I thought I was okay. But I threw it all out. My son and I had 2-3 pancakes each, so I guess that wasn’t a total waste. I think I’ll go the cheese route next time. By the way, how long does raw milk keep anyway?
Paula in Omaha, NE
Kelly says
Amy, ditto what Sara said. 🙂
Sara says
Amy, you can use it for anything you would use sour milk for—-like pancakes or biscuits. I don’t know about sour cream or anything like that—-we haven’t gotten that adventurous and it doesn’t go bad anymore since I keep my fridge colder.
Amy says
Was just looking at Sarah’s comment WAY above. I bought my first quart of raw milk last week (awesome!) and then went out of town before I could finish it. Now I have some sour milk in my fridge – a little curdled and really don’t want to throw it away. Any thoughts from all these raw milk lovers on what I can use it for?
Amy
Godspocket says
It makes awesome mozzarella. Cheese in about two hours.
The whey makes an awesome sorbet
3cups whey
1/2 to 3/4 cup of liquid honey
Mashed berries…1 cup or more to your taste
After it is mostly frozen stir in 2 tablespoons of vodka and mix very well. …in ice cream freezer about two minutes.
This keeps it from freezing to hard and easy to scoup. Yummy.
Butter is made from the cream …not the milk.
Also try making your own ice cream with mix of cream and milk, or straight cream.
Charles Welling says
For those who may be interested in learning more about the curative powers of raw milk I would like to draw your readers attention to a new post called The Raw Milk Cure which I have just put up at https://www.CampaignForRealHealth.com.
I began drinking raw milk at the age of 16 and have never looked back. I really look forward to trying out some of the ways to use raw milk here on this page!
Charles Welling
Kelly says
Teena, forgot to tell you – I LOVE Daisy brand sour cream (I don’t make my own sour cream yet) – SUCH a short ingredient label! You can get it anywhere.
Kelly says
I’m so glad I could finally check these comments, I knew there would be great stuff here!
Teena, recipes are in the book mentioned above, or in Nourishing Traditions, OR you could google for how to make those things. Here’s my mayo post: https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/09/which-mayonnaise-should-you-buy.html – but I’m posting more on this on Monday, too.
Tiffany, whole milk is always best – here’s more:
https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/02/healthy-milk.html
Tiffany says
I keep reading that drinking whole milk is the healthiest way to drink milk. Is it still the healthiest if the milk we drink is pasturized and homogenized? Could you also explain why if so? Thank you!
Kylie Thomas says
I of course love drinking my raw milk straight, I love having a glass with dinner! So nourishing! Other things I do with it are culture it into different raw milk products..kefir, yogurt, buttermilk, cheeses, chocolate milk (this seems to be popular! I however love to make mine with cocoa & molasses…..)
Girl Gone Domestic says
@Kelli, I buy raw goat’s milk for my son at a certified farm, we pay $14. a gallon, so your price is pretty comparable.
I use my raw milk for making cream cheese, kefir, butter, and I just love the raw cream in a cup of good coffee! When it sours, I use it to soak pancake and waffle batter, but we drink it so fast, this rarely happens.
My kids love it with chocolate flavored stevia drops, me? not so much.
Girl Gone Domestic
Kelli says
I live in Oregon where raw milk is illegal. I know a lady with goats who will sell it to me for $8 a half gallon. Is this a good price, is seems high to me?
Genevieve says
Oh, thanks for posting the raw egg nog recipe. I didn’t like the one I had.
I’ll have to try that sometime!
Genevieve
My Boys' Teacher says
I just read and loved this book “Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages” by Anne Mendelson. The last 1/3 to 1/2 of the book is completely devoted to answering your reader’s question. It is recipes for anything you can possible make or do with milk. The author’s main motivation for writing the book seemed to be (my impression, forgive any misjudgments) that people don’t do enough with milk other than drink it plain and there are many (400+ pages of) other things to do with it.
Thanks for the recommendation for “The Untold Story of Milk,” I’ll be reading that next.
My Boys’ Teacher
Catherine says
My kids love sugar free chocolate milk. Some cacao, banana, stevia, vanilla in a blender and it is an easy yummy chocolaty treat.
Catherine
Rosy says
My fav is with to make chocolate milk with Raw caco and maple syrup! So yummy, it’s sinful!
Raine Saunders says
We eat our yogurt (made with raw milk) with fruit and cinnamon . It’s one of my son and husband’s favorite treats and he always looks forward to it. His favorite fruits to eat the yogurt with are strawberries, pears, and bananas. We also eat the yogurt with organic applesauce. It’s divine and takes just a minute to prepare.
Teena says
Okay, I just googled kefir and how to make both. Does any one make their own mayo or sour cream? Any tips?
Teena says
What is Kefir? Can you make your own sour cream and mayo? I was going to use a recipe for homemade ranch dressing (called for mayo but most have soybean oil) and the ranch dip called for sour cream (the one I looked at had a lot of stuff I couldn’t pronounce so I want to avoid that).
Julie says
Mainly I just drink mine but I also make raw kefir and raw yogurt. If you use a yogurt starter that cultures at room temperature (rather than one you have to heat), you can preserve the benefits of the raw milk while also having the probiotic benefits of yogurt. Check out my website https://www.culturesforhealth.com for milk kefir grains and a selection of yogurt starters that culture at room temperature on the counter (no yogurt maker required!).
Julie
Pamela says
I make Kefir with Raw Milk…….probiotic levels are booted boosted.
Pamela
Jenny @ Nourished Kitchen says
Invariably we go through the raw milk as it is in all its luscious glory, but occasionally I’ll make labneh or raw milk feta out of it and it’s super yummy that way.
Jenny @ Nourished Kitchen
Sara says
For a while, we weren’t drinking ours fast enough and I ended up making pancakes or biscuits when it started to sour and no one would drink it. Because, as you all know, 😉 , sour raw milk is still edible, while sour pasteurized milk will make you sick!
Local Nourishment says
Almost every day in the summertime we’ll have fruit soup after a morning trip to the pool. It’s just a piece of bread, torn up in the bottom of a bowl, then whatever fresh, seasonal fruit is available chunked on top, with fresh cold milk poured over. Peaches and strawberries are our favorites!
Local Nourishment
Henriette says
Homemade custards with egg yolks and maplesyrup.
If you do grains ( I only do very little ) then homemade cold ricepudding is soooooo delicious in the summer with fresh berries and more cream on top.
Henriette