MAKING CLABBER FROM SCRATCH:
(a) Allow a cup of fresh raw milk to sit covered with a flour sack cloth at room temperature until it has clabbered. This may take several days.
(b) Now, place 1/4 cup of the clabbered milk in a pint mason jar, add a cup of fresh milk, cover, shake to mix, and allow to sit at room temperature until clabbered.
(c) Repeat this process until the milk dependably clabbers in 24 hours.
(d) You can now use this clabber to start larger batches, saving back a little each time to start your next batch.
Note: It is possible to have milk clabber under perfect conditions within 24 hours or less. If your milk clabbers quickly and tastes and smells good, then you do not need to move on to steps b, c, and d. For many years, the conditions in my kitchen were perfect for clabbering milk without using a starter. When we moved to the mountains, I experienced a difference in how quickly my milk would clabber and had to use other methods.
MAKING CLABBER USING PURCHASED BUTTERMILK:
Use 1 cup of buttermilk with live cultures purchased from the grocery store per 1/2 gallon of raw milk. Use milk fresh from the cow or heat milk to around 70 degrees to expedite the culturing process. Clabber that sets up quickly produces a better flavor. (Once you have a good clabber, reserve a little back each time to start your next batch.)
MAKING CLABBER USING MESOPHILIC STARTER:
Use fresh, strained, unrefrigerated milk straight from the cow, or heat your refrigerated raw milk to around 70 degrees. Sprinkle the tiniest bit of mesophylic starter purchased from your favorite cheese-making supply store on top. Allow a minute or two to dissolve, then, mix thoroughly. Cover with a flour sack cloth and allow to set at room temperature until clabbered. Should not take more than 24 hours and typically occurs within 12 hours. A sprinkling of mesophilic culture will help to clabber several gallons of milk.
Notes:
Technically, buttermilk is the milk that is left over once the cream has been agitated, the solids removed, and the skimmed milk is left over and cultured. The culturing of this milk left over after butter making is done when the mesophilic starter is introduced naturally or by introducing the culture. There is really no difference between cultured buttermilk and milk clabber.
One can also use this clabbered milk or buttermilk as the mesophilic culture needed to flavor certain types of cheese. I would caution you, however, that if you are just beginning your cheese journey, it's probably worth the expense to buy the powdered cultures and learn to make cheese using the exact amounts listed in the recipes. When I began making cheese, I did not want to have to buy the cultures, wanting to be as self-sufficient and independent as possible. While I had some successes, I also had a lot of cheese that just wasn't exact. There was a variance in flavors depending on how strong the clabber that was used for a starter. Once I began using powdered mesophilic cultures, I began to consistently have the same flavors each time in the cheese I prepared from a particular recipe. In a pinch, I know that I can use clabber or buttermilk, but for the most consistent results, I use a powdered mesophilic starter.
And, in case you have ever wondered what it was Little Miss Muffet had when she consumed her curds and whey, I am sure you will be happy to know that it was clabbered milk.