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Ron
4666 Posts
Ronnie
Peever
SD
USA
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 Posted - Jan 16 2016 : 05:51:25 AM
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| Looks like a challenge for Mike.. |
With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo. |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - Jan 16 2016 : 06:32:07 AM
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| That looks like quite the challenge, Keeley. I have a similar separator that's a manual hand crank and like yours, has all the little cups, etc. It sits on a shelf looking like a proper antique. Retired, like Janet said. I've never wanted to take it apart and use it--very complicated! We drink our milk whole and use whole milk for cheese making (Mozarella yesterday), and because we use an obscene amount of butter for recipe testing, we buy Organic Valley butter by the case load. We make some butter for eating, like on pancakes or for flavored butters but really have no use for a cream separator so far. All of us coffee drinkers use a ladle for cream for our coffee. If you figure it out, I might get brave and use mine just to see if I can. But as Lover Boy has demonstrated, getting all the screws adjusted just so requires some tinkering. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Jan 16 2016 : 06:58:46 AM
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keeley, for some strange reason i am more excited about your cream separator than mine! i truly looked all over ebay and the internet for a functioning antique before lover boy bought the new one.
when we next make cream, in the next four days, i will take pictures of ours to show you how it goes together... because i DO recognize most of your parts, and they look just like our new machine. amazing how certain technology doesn't change.
i have to admit i was firmly in janets camp, but as she wisely predicted the aspirations of lover boy indicated a cream separator was in my future. now with him by my side i am open to doing this once a week, as in no time at all we get 1.5 gallons of cream and then why he cleans the separator i make butter and we are both done at the same time.
give me some time and i'll get you those photos. this is exciting. and see my post above, i think if someone wanted to do cream once a week and had 5+ gallons of milk then it would be worth it, but more often than that or for less milk it wouldn't be worth the effort/clean up to me. |
_(199x300)_(66x100).jpg?v 93697001) Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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farmlife
1413 Posts
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Posted - Jan 16 2016 : 8:01:50 PM
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Right now I get two gallons of milk a day. Honestly, I don't see myself being all that serious about it unless I do it when the milk is warm out of the cow. Who am I kidding? I'm not really serious about it at all, but it might be fun to try once. I did watch a video of someone using a manual cream separator on youtube. When she was done she ran hot soapy water through the machine and then put the disks in the dishwasher. That might make clean up a little easier.
I'm with MaryJane for the most part. I'm really happy with my ladle. I picture me thinking that I would have the cream separator all put together and try it out only to have it vibrate off the counter while making horrible mechanical noises. |
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CloversMum
3486 Posts
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Posted - Jan 17 2016 : 2:22:32 PM
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With the prospect of a butter business for our daughter, I am actually more interested in finding a cream separator and hearing from all of you how it works. We do have over 5 gallons at a time that Cecily could process to get the cream for her business. Thank you, Flossie and Clover!
Otherwise the ladle works fantastic in the big beverage jar that Cindy recommended. But I am thinking for a business that a cream separator would be the way to go. |
Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens |
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CloversMum
3486 Posts
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Posted - May 21 2016 : 8:15:29 PM
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| We are making the plunge and will order a cream separator for Cecily's butter business this next week. I am planning on ordering the same one that Cindy has. Any further advice, Cindy? |
Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - May 22 2016 : 06:18:42 AM
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well charlene, you and cecily are gonna be busy! advice...
- make sure you plan to spend time getting it dialed in. remember that it took us twice before even any success, and it was the third time we felt actually good about it, and the fourth we felt like it was gonna be a good thing. the first was such a failure it was disapointing.
- i can't remember if you are a good machine troubleshooter or not. if not, get ethan in on it with you so that you have someone who had read up on the creamer and watched the youtube videos so you know what the adjustments do for you.
- one thing you should think of with cecily, where will you do the creaming? this machine is quite tall by the time you add the milk hopper, and a normal counter means it is super tall and you have to stand on a kitchen stool to dip milk from the milk pot into the hopper. to make this a success for her, i would plan to have a small place to eventually put the creamer while working it. even if she has help during the process, it would make it more of a success for her to see the process and be able to access the hopper , etc. i would use a short chest, or sofa side table - a reduction of even 1-1.5 foot off the counter height would make it very accessible for her.
- consider running warm water through the creamer before milk. even if your milk is warm, the moment it hits the cool parts it changes temperature immediately and that effects cream production.
- and then doing the same at the end of the process does truly help clean up.
- consider making cream RIGHT after milking. your milk is at its best temperature to do so. if not, you'll have to warm your milk from the refrig to make cream - and that adds a step. not a hard one, but another step. it also adds the carrying of a large pot of milk to t he creamer, and thats heavy.
- if you are making cream right after milking, when you process the milk (whether you just strain or thermize) consider putting it into jars that cecily could handle. could she do half gallon mason jars? because then if you have put the creamer on the shorter table she could take a half gallon jar and pour it in. we actually saved up several days milk, so we always had to warm our milk first. because of that, we had our huge stockpot full of milk next to the creamer and then we took one of those super large measuring cups and dipped milk from the pot into the creamer. it would probably b e less messy to have half gallon jars full of the just processed milk and let her pour them in. more clean up, but she could be independent.
- do a dry run before the real time, even using water to simulate how much milk you feel you will process. you'll find you need extra vessels to capture the excess milk and cream - and that the excess milk builds up so fast you'll need to swap out those vessels. you don't want to shut off the machine midway through your first time because you dont have enough vessels to capture the milk ;> we had so much we actually had lover boy take a run with milk out to the chickens and dump it there while i managed the cream process.
- i also had a lot of extra plates/trivets and flour sack towels. it just seemed like the first few times we were using spatulas and utensils to help with the cream and who wants all that milk product just laying around on the counter. clean up is bad enough.
- now that i said all that, you'll do it once and cream will come out and it will be super easy peasy for you!
i know you don't envision cecily doing all this herself, but i mention the height especially as i know this is something to support her independence and we all need challenges in life to give us purpose - and i don't think the height of this on the counter would be a positive thing for her. it would make the process less hers as she might need so much help it hinders any sort of independence. i truly think once it is dialed in it could be her process, and she just needs a physically able assistant to follow her orders. she could manage it - but would need to see it all to do it. does that make sense? you mentioned before how with the younger neighbor kid around once helping a bit you saw her management skills and such in place, so this could be an area that expands that with her knowing what she is doing but needs some assistance. just some thoughts.
don't let anything i said here discourage you, you can do this and i think it will be great. but like anything , planning is more than half the key to success so doing a mockup and then a dry run would really give y'all confidence in this thing.
may the force be with you!
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Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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CloversMum
3486 Posts
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Posted - May 22 2016 : 9:06:47 PM
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Thank you, thank you, Cindy, for all of your suggestions! And taking the time to explain all of them. I ordered the cream separator and a hand-crank butter churn tonight. I think we have a stool that Cecily will be able to use to get the right heighth. Otherwise I will create a lower table like you suggested.
it will be busy but so good to teach Cecily a new skill and one that can help create a business for her. |
Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens |
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CloversMum
3486 Posts
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Posted - May 25 2016 : 5:42:11 PM
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We assembled our new cream separator today and processed 2.5 gallons today!
I'm thinking the cream was too thin, meaning there was too much milk mixed into the cream. So, Cindy, which way should I turn the internal screw? Cecily tried to shake butter right afterwards with the "cream" and it wouldn't turn into butter.
I had the top white plug all the way open. I do think once I make all the necessary adjustments, Cecily will be able to do this! |
Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - May 25 2016 : 7:52:48 PM
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lover boy says too thin means you are running the milk through it too fast. he says start the process with the top white plug all the way open to get it flowing, but once if flows out the bottom back off of it 1/3 of the opening.
he also says make sure the internal thing is flush, flush means you can barely remove the plastic innercone from the metal.
OH!! big huge thing - lover boy just reminded me that our first cream appeared too thin, but when it cooled over night in the fridge it was like cool whip. seriously. remember it is coming out quite warm still, so it needs to cool a bit. probably a few hours.
if it was me charlene, i would start a creamer diary. write down the positions of the two adjustments and even the temp of the cream when it comes out. that way you'll remember which way to adjust things later on. once you have it dialed in you will probably not have to adjust it often. here in texas, it is so humid that impacts everything we do as it drastically changes from day to day - so everything from baking to cream seperating can change ;> |
Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
Edited by - txbikergirl on May 25 2016 7:53:38 PM |
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Manual cream separator
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