Got Milk?? Winter is almost here...

Hello everyone! We hope your summer has been filled with lots of adventures. We've been busy on the Ranch. Can't believe it's almost October. Here's something to think about when placing the next few months orders....

Winter will be here before you know it. Preserving your milk for winter is a great sustainable way to prepare when milk production lessens. You can freeze your milk or dehydrate the milk. Both methods maintain the nutrional value of your "liquid gold". It's a Win Win!!

Through the end of November we will have plenty of milk to order extra. During December and January our production changes. We will only have milk for sale. So, ask us to help you with grains for making your own kefir. We also have yogurt starter. At home yogurt making is tons of fun. We're here to help with your homesteading needs.

A few things we are working on to prepare for winter is making sauerkraut. Kaptains Kraut and Red Zinger will be ready at the end of September. Plus watch for more beef bundles in October. We have five yogurt starters to give away that includes our famous recipe. Text 307-272-5334 if you're interested.

Because of 3 cows freshening in late July and early August we will again be milking year around. However, monthly orders are strongly encouraged to help with our planning.
Returning bottles every week is crucial for us to continue providing and delivering our products to your family. We appreciate your help. 

Dehydrated  Milk Recipe
Dehydrated milk, or powdered instant milk, can be purchased in just about any grocery, but do we know what's in it? The powdered milk from a prepper store’s long-term food storage section will have a life of up to about 20 years – that’s basically 18 years longer than grocery store powdered milk will last. Dehydrated milk cost less to store than freezing it and if you lose power you never have to worry about your milk going bad. Either way of preserving is fine. You may find having a combination of the two methods fits your lifestyle best.

Although many folks do not think it's possible, you can dehydrate milk at home without the needs for extremely expensive equipment.

Dehydrating any dairy product is often thought too arduous a task, but we have not found it difficult at all to successfully dehydrate sour cream, cottage cheese, cheese, and even milk in a low cost under $150 dehydrator.

To dehydrate milk you will need some of the plastic dehydrating trays. Known as fruit roll-up trays to put on each tray row of your machine. We use the same sheets when dehydrating other forms of dairy as well as delicate herbs and spices.

Simply place an insert into each dehydrator tray and slowly pour one cup of milk onto each. If your kitchen cabinet is a bit un-level and you never noticed, you will find that out quickly as the milk fills the trays.

Setting options vary on different home dehydrating machines. We use the fruit and vegetable setting (it's about 135 degree setting)

Dehydrating four to five trays of milk will take approximately 12 hours. The power output of dehydrators vary. Your machine could complete the process in as few as 10 or as many as 12 hours. The more trays stacked in the dehydrator the longer it will take.

We recommend dehydrating just two trays the first time you work with milk to better determine the temperature and time settings required on your dehydrator. Check the milk trays by lifting the top off of the machines and carefully lifting up each tray individually to review your progress about six to eight hours in. If you see the milk is browning....your temperature is set too high. Lower the temperature by 5-10 degrees

The milk will harden and crack into multiple pieces as it dries. When it's done it will feel like a thin piece of peanut brittle. Once the milk has dried remove the flaky pieces from the tray and place them into your blender or food processor to gently pulse into a powder. This compacts which saves room in your storage container for a better air tight seal.

Reconstituting Dehydrated Milk

It takes approximately 13 to15 teaspoons of dehydrated milk powder to equal one cup of reconstituted milk. We suggest to mix together one Tablespoon of warm to hot water with 13 teaspoons of milk powder to make one liquid cup of milk. If the consistency of your batch still seems more sludge than real milk, add more warm to hot water in ½ teaspoon increments until you achieve the consistency you desire.

Our team knows you're enjoying the fruits of our labor and want to ensure you continue to. We strive to do our best to provide you with healthy food alternatives.

From our Family to yours,

Kris, Maddie and Steph.

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