# Canned Milk.er..um..Cheese again-GAAAAA



## [email protected]

Last year when I canned milk, I did 10# pressure for 25 min. Some would turn out fine, while some would separate and have curdy cheese stuff--CHICKEN FOOD! :crazy
So this year, I decide to experiment. Did 5# pressure for 15 minutes. Didn't turn as dark or separate as bad, but did turn *thick*. :sniffle
I'm running out of freezer space...I think DH gave away all my freezer bowls :really and I'm tired of buying more (I just don't like freezer bags)....and I'm sick of feeding canned cheese to the chickens.

Can anyone tell me how to can milk so that it stays liquid milk?


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## [email protected]

So, does everyone end up with cheese sometimes when they can their milk? 

Or--more likely--I'm the only one and nobody has a clue what I'm doing wrong cuz it always works fine. LOL


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## nightskyfarm

Did you pasteurize before canning?


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## Trysta

I'm following this post because it intrigues me: I never knew you could can (glass jar, I'm assuming) milk! Would this be a product like UHT milk (Ultra High Temperature) that you can keep much longer?


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## [email protected]

Nope, never pasturized before putting in the jars. I heat it like I would anything else, put in jars, add hot lid and ring and put into heated canner. I'll try it, though.

Marion--FDA says canning milk is not safe for human consumption....but alot of folks do it.  I only use mine for soap/lotion and feeding kids in the spring (it's already pasturized by canning and I can just dump it in the lambar), then I can start using fresh milk for ME sooner.


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## nightskyfarm

from what I could research, there is no way to can milk and have it emerge looking like drinking milk. The sugars in the milk caramelize with the high heat. The canned milk is then used for baking or as an ingredient not for drinking. I have never canned milk and remember only the dreadful Meyenberg canned milk available in stores.


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## Ozark Lady

I can milk from time to time.
I don't recall the exact time or pressure. I simply use a meat pressure guideline.
If I do it well, and keep the pressure in the right area, then I get something that looks like any canned milk. It is fine for cooking, but it tastes like the milk in tin cans, not fresh milk.
I do not pasteurize it before canning, but I do make sure that all equipment is sterile prior to adding milk.
Last year, I had 'getting the gauge right issues', and made... chicken or dog food!
You simply can't mess around with milk, you have to be correct in the pressure and the timing!


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## [email protected]

Correction: It is not the FDA. It's USDA or some such. Sorry--brain slipped outa gear again. :/


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## Trysta

Couldn't you make UHT milk yourself? You'd have to research it, becauseI'm not sure how high the temp is you have to heat it to, but the result is milk you can keep unrefrigerated for 6-9 months (as long as it's unopened). It would be perfect to use for soap, animals, cooking, just not that great for drinking and I have no clue what would happen if you would make cheese with it.....

The taste is off, not bad, just off, I remember this, because growing up (not on a farm) in The Netherlands we'd buy 'real milk' at the store for drinking and the UHT milk for making desserts and for use in cooking, because it was handy to always have, plus it was a lot cheaper than fresh milk. In the summer in France UHT milk was all you could buy, because the dairy cows would all be up in the mountains and all that milk was made into cheese.


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## [email protected]

Well, I looked up meat times in my Ball Blue Book--10# for 90 minutes for quarts. Got pudding.  I'm thinking of trying water bath canning, but have no idea how long it would take to make sure jars stay sealed. That and botulism scares the crap outa me. :/ Maybe I just need to buy another freezer...$$$.  I'm only milking two does and have 14 jars of chicken food, so I do know I can't afford to keep 'experimenting'. <sigh>


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## Trysta

Have you tried pasteurizing first? And then doing the canning with that milk? It all does sound like a lot of work to me, I'd definitely go with the freezer option, or (haha that's what I do) even milking year round sounds easier!!


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## [email protected]

Actually, pasturizing first isn't that much more work. I heat the milk in a double boiler before canning, so I just stuck a thermometer in it and got it up to 165* before putting it in the jars. So, nope... didn't make a difference.


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## Ozark Lady

I didn't pasturize, I didn't even chill the milk. I simply milked, strained, put in half pints and pints and pressure canned it. Do not boiling water bath it, it is not possible to get it hot enough with boiling water! You want it hot for the least time possible, so use small containers, to get those temps quickly. Meat can cook for hours and still be meat, milk is too fragile. Please try one more time in small containers.


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## lovinglife

I saw a lady can milk, she just got her canner up to 10 pounds pressure (of course it took her an hour and a half to get it there) then turned it off. The milk still looked like milk, not sure how it kept, but worth a try once anyway.


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## swgoats

Here are the instructions from Storey's Guide that I used - fill jars with 120F milk, 1 inch head space, process 25 min at 10lbs pressure. I used pint jars.


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## [email protected]

I've been water bath canning. <shrug> No more cheese. I do only use the milk for soap and kids (goats) when I have too many and am short or need the fresh goat milk for the house. It's GREAT for kids since it's already been pasturized by canning. I can just pop a top(s) and dump it in the lambar.


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## [email protected]

Should mention... I did figure out how to salvage the *cheese* milk for soaping. When I open the jar, I just take my stick blender and give it a whirl right in the jar. Then pour it into my freezer container to freeze for soap making.


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## upsidedown

I have canned milk 10 pounds for 10 min. For quarts..did 50 quarts..more like evaporated milk...which I then use for cooking. I did them last winter, the only separation I have had is with the cream at the top. . Yes it is not a recommended practice, one does this at their own risk.


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## mammabooh

I've done milk in the pressure canner for a couple of years and tried it in the hot water bath last fall. I do believe I'll be doing hot water bath from now on. I mostly use it for cooked puddings, gravy, and cream soups, so the milk gets heated to boiling anyway. It is much more visually-pleasing and not carmelized when done in the hot water bath.


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## upsidedown

I did can milk and it was 10# for ten minutes. Used it for cooking all winter. The only separation I had was what I would assume is cream on the top. Good luck.


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