Straining whole milk

[tommyg130]

How do you get rid of the fat from whole milk?
I buy raw whole milk. I can’t get skim milk.

There’s no obvious really fat layer like I’ve seen in some milks. Nonetheless it’s whole milk as I can tell from taste and texture. I’m not against fat by any means, but it adds up when you drink a lot and have a meal w fat already. I can’t do more then 15-20g fat per meal.

Is there a way I can remove the fat?

 

[xeliex]

When I was a kid, my mom used to heat up the raw milk a bit and we'd see all the fat rise to the top. That fat can be then skimmed easily into another vessel for culinary purposes or to be discarded.

 

[Bingo]

I strained raw milk for years. I buy organic 1%now but sometimes I miss the great taste of fresh raw milk. The raw milk we used to buy irritated my thyroid! I asked the farmer if he washed the udders with iodine, and it turns out he did use iodine because they don’t have to wash it off. So my source was too high in iodine to use every day. Maybe your source doesn’t use iodine, or it doesn’t bother you, or you aren’t using it as a dietary staple. Anyway here is the easiest way to get all the cream out:

For this to work your milk needs to be sold in plastic gallon jugs. Buy the milk fresh with plenty of time on the sell by date. Ours was at least 10 days! Then let it sit in the refrigerator for two to three days. You will easily see the cream line.
Find your containers! You will need at least 5 quart jars or you can use a gallon pitcher and one quart jar. This is important as once you start this process you have to have the jars ready right next to your kitchen sink. I used one quart jar and a couple of pitchers from the dollar tree.
Carry the gallon jug to the sink carefully so as not to disturbed the separation. Loosen or remove the cap on top of the jar. Do not skip this step, you can not do it later! Place the jug on the kitchen counter next to the sink with the handle pointing towards the sink and that corner of the jug sticking out over the sink. You will use a narrow pairing knife to pierce the bottom of the jug. The best place to do this is one inch up the side of the jug and directly below the handle. The reason it’s one inch up is because the jug has a thicker reinforced plastic bottom. It’s much easier to pierce it on the side, but down at the bottom. Now all the milk is streaming out! If you just loosened the cap it’s not coming out too fast. If you took the cap all the way off, it’s pouring out. It should be a narrow knife and a small stream. You can rest the jug beside your sink and lower the jar below the jug inside you sink to collect the milk that drains out of the hole. The first time you do this will likely make a terrific mess. But after a while filling and changing the jars or pitchers gets pretty easy and there isn’t a mess. I always did it over the sink though. When you get to the cream line you will see the milk turn thick and white and you just turn the jug upside down into a quart jar and let the cream drain into that. After the cream drained out the top of the jug you can shake it into butter right in the jar or use it for ice cream or whatever. If you shake it into butter it should not be too cold. Cold cream take a looong time to separate into butter. Good luck. Several family members watched me do this and then tried it at home. They all made a mess!

 

[Bingo]