Preserving Fresh Milk ~ Reviewed and Updated August 9, 2024

Canning fresh milk is something I have done with success for a number of years but before you get too excited about canning milk, I must warn you that the USDA does not recommend it.   Some sources, such as  Perky Prepping Grandma,  feel that pressure-canned milk is safe.  She does not advocate the water bath method of canning milk, however.   

In spite of these warnings, there are some family cow owners, including myself,  who still can their milk in a hot water bath canner.   

For over thirty years, I have looked to Carla Emery's book THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COUNTRY LIVING as a guide in my quest for homesteading and farming information. The following is a summary of  Carla's recipe for hot water bath canning and includes my personal notes:

*Wash and sterilize your quart jars.  (I sterilize by placing my clean jars in a canner of boiling water, allowing the jars to boil for at least ten minutes.) 

*Fill your clean, sterilized jars with fresh milk from the cow after straining, leaving about one-half an inch of head space. (You don't want to pour cold milk into hot jars or the jars will break.   Using fresh, warm milk straight from the cow is ideal if your jars are still hot from being sterilized, or you can heat your milk to at least 100 degrees, before pouring it into your hot jars.)

*Wipe rims clean and place lids and rings on jars.  Screw down to finger-tight only.

*Place jars in a hot water bath canner.  Jars should be submerged about an inch under the water.  

*Heat to a gentle, rolling boil and then process for 60 minutes.  Make sure the water is boiling before you start your processing time.  

*Carefully remove hot jars from the boiling water bath and allow them to cool.   Make sure they have all sealed before storing them.  Date your jars so that you know how long they have been stored.  Six-month shelf life is recommended, but I have used them up to two years later.    

Many of the people I know who use the hot water bath method process their milk for three hours.  At one time this was the USDA's recommendation for processing proteins (such as meat).   Because I trusted and followed Carla Emory's guide to canning milk and did not know about the three-hour recommendation,  boiling for only 60 minutes is the way I have always proceeded.  Individuals will have to make their own decisions on what they consider safe. 

I did try the pressure canning method of processing milk one time and I didn't care for the results but many people concerned about the hot water bath method feel comfortable with pressure canning milk and it is an option.   The recommendations I have seen say to pressure can quart jars for 15 minutes at ten pounds of pressure.  

Note:

In the spring of 2023, I processed milk using the hot water bath method as described above and used room temperature jars and COLD milk instead of hot jars and hot milk.  I poured the cold milk into sterile jars, wiped the rims, added the rings and lids, and placed the jars in the hot water bath canner in COLD water.  I then heated the canner to boiling and began my processing time of 60 minutes.  The jars of canned milk turned out beautiful and sealed perfectly.  In July of 2023, when we began using milk canned in this manner, we found the flavor to be very close to fresh milk instead of the evaporated milk taste that had been our experience previously.  Pre-sterilized room temperature jars, cold milk, and cold water in the canner to start will be my preferred method of canning from now on.  

  

Another way to preserve milk is to store it in the freezer.  Frozen milk is best used within six months before it begins to get a freezer-burned taste.  A lot of people are put off by the texture of frozen milk because it becomes lumpy when the cream separates.   If that is something that is of concern to your family, you can warm your milk up to body temperature (99-101 degrees approximately) and stir vigorously.  This will give it more of a fresh milk texture and help to remove those unappetizing lumps.  Frozen milk can be used to make cheese.

Where Have All the Farmers Gone?

Are farmers at risk of becoming extinct?  Possibly to some extent.  While there are many reasons for the decline in agriculture as the chosen profession for today's younger adults, the fact remains that we may very well see a time when the majority of our farmers pass on and there are not enough younger farmers to take their place.


According to the Start2Farm.gov, a service of the National Agricultural Library (USDA):

"“We have an aging farming population. If left unchecked, this could threaten our ability to produce the food we need – and also result in the loss of tens of thousands of acres of working lands that we rely on to clean our air and water.” – Secretary Vilsack, August 12 Opening Comments to the Drake Forum on America’s New Farmers.

The average age of a farmer today in America is 57 years of age. Five years ago it was 55. We have had an increase of 30% of the farmers over the age of 75 and a decrease in the number of farmers under the age of 25 by 20%."

This subject happens to be one close to my heart.  My husband, Mike is a third generation farmer, is 54 years old and I am 47 years old.  None of our children or any of our nieces and nephews have chosen to pursue farming as an occupation.  Unless some of our grandchildren develop a love of farming, then what has been lovingly nurtured and tended to for three generations at the Cupp Farm will be no more.  This breaks my heart.  Of course, we would never try to coerce our children or grandchildren into a career that they don't willingly choose for themselves, but I do feel there are things we can do as adults to help the children learn to appreciate their farming heritage.  This doesn't just apply to farming families.  We need to be educating all of the children in our country of the importance of farming.  We should do so  not in an effort to convert them to choosing farming as a career choice (although that would be an awesome benefit) but rather to insure that regardless of a child's chosen path, he/she learns to really appreciate and support the farmers that put food on their table.  At one time it was common to have a kitchen garden and a family milk cow.  Now most of the families in the United States rely on a farmer to provide their produce, milk, and meat.  So many times, children are so far removed from their food source, that they don't even make the connection.  Unfortunately, a lot of adults are similarly removed.  I will never forget a conversation with a lady almost old enough to be my mother, who stated she didn't want my farm fresh eggs because eggs from chickens were disgusting and she would rather buy her eggs in the store.  I just had to shake my head and wonder if she knew that the eggs in the store came from chickens as well.

I believe educating our children is the key to insuring that we continue to grow future farmers and equally important,  a society that supports those farmers.  And how do we do that?  I have a few ideas that I would like to share.

1.  Make everyday activities into educational opportunities:  Talk to children of all ages about where their food originates.  Having eggs for breakfast?  This is a great opportunity to talk about chickens and the farmers that care for them.  Making a salad for dinner?  This is a good time to discuss how things grow seasonally.  One can expand the conversation to fit the age of the child. Look for opportunities to discuss farming and agriculture as you travel in the car or watch a movie.  Any opportunity you can find to discuss agriculture with your children is a learning opportunity for them as well as a way for the two of you to connect on this important issue.  

2.  Grow something.  Anything.  Even if you don't have ground to grow a garden or access to a community garden, plant something simple in containers and let the children in your life help.  Let them see the progress as the plant grows and produces.  And, if what your planted ends up dying, use it as an opportunity to explain that many times farmers face crop failure.  Anyone who gardens, produces crops, or tends to animals is going to eventually have loss and failure.  In addition, empathy for the farmer who struggles and joy for the farmer when he is successful is a good lesson.  

3.  I am not one to advocate everyone trying their hand at raising livestock.  There are so many people who do not understand the level of expense and commitment it takes to raise their own livestock.  However, if you are up to the challenge and have done your homework, raising livestock is a great way for children to learn more about the agricultural lifestyle.  If raising animals is not the right choice for your family for whatever reason, then see if you can find a working farm with livestock for your child to visit.  (Please be considerate of the fact that not every farm has very expensive liability insurance it takes to welcome visitors and be respectful of the fact that not every farm can accommodate visitors for this reasons or simply because of their work load.  Consider it a privilege when you are able to visit a working farm and don't begrudge any cover charge for your visit as it helps to offset the expense of the insurance needed to provide the opportunity to the public.)

4.  Support your local farm stands produce auctions, and farmer's markets and take the children in your life along with you.  In this manner your are teaching your children to support local business, and to make healthy choices while they absorb the ongoing educational opportunities of being submersed in agricultural environment.

5.  Introduce your kids of all ages to books and literature that promotes farming.  Even the smallest of children love books of farm animals.  Read with them and discuss the things your read.  If you are unsure of something, then take the opportunity to research an agricultural subject together.

6.  Take your kids to the pumpkin patch, the local orchard, or the small family owned creamery if you have one locally.  Visiting the County or State Fair is a fun agricultural related field trip for the family.  (Make sure to visit the livestock and home preservation sections of the fair and discuss what you see!)  Some areas host Agricultural Field Days which can be a great conversation starter for you and your children.

7.  Get involved in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program.  Don't just buy the products but talk to the children in your life about the products you receive and the work that was put into producing them.  Teach your children that we shouldn't take these things for granted and that someone worked very hard to provide this service to them.  

8.  Buy your milk from a local farmer if possible.  Depending on where you live and your personal preferences, you might be able to purchase raw milk or buy pasteurized milk from a small farm with a creamery.  Let your children help you make simple dairy products such as butter.

9.  Find blogs and Facebook pages on the internet that are age appropriate for the children in your life and share the pictures and stories with them.  A few to consider:  USDA for Kids, National Agriculture in the Classroom, My American Farm, National Agriculture in the Classroom, Education World, and others.   

10.  Get kids involved in agriculturally minded programs such as 4-H, Farm Based Education Programs, and  Farm to School among others.  

11.  Learn about food preservation, buy produce locally, and spend time together drying, canning or freezing summer garden goodness for future enjoyment.  A few links to help you get started:  National Center for Home Preservation, Ball Canning, and Canning Granny.  Here is a fairly simple and great starter project that I posted earlier on our blog for home canned grape juice.

My desire is that this blog entry will be an encouragement to all of us to support agriculture in every way that we can.  It may sound trite but No Farms/No Food is not just a nice bumper sticker but a reality.  It's up to all of us to see that our farms remain and that farming continues to be a career choice for our children.

Note:  Educating children about farm life is so important to me that I recently started a blog specifically for children.  I would love it if you would check it out and share it with the children in your life.  You can find T. Cupp's Junior Farm Friends at this link.  

Preserving Grape Juice ~ An Old-Fashioned Method (Reviewed and Updated September 17, 2022)

If you have never tasted homemade grape juice, then you need to try it!  The old-fashioned method for canning grape juice is simple. One can put up a large batch of juice in a short amount of time.

This is a great activity in which to enlist the help of children to give them a "taste" of home preservation.  They will feel great pride in being a part of the process, especially when they are able to sample the juice and know their efforts helped produce it.

CAUTION:  Don't allow children to assist in the pouring of boiling water or in taking the jars in and out of the hot water bath canner.  These steps should be done only by a responsible adult.

Items needed:

Hot Water Bath Canner (Or pot large enough to hold jars covered with boiling water)

Rack for canner 

Quart Glass Jars produced specifically for canning (Jars not designated for canning can crack and break during processing.)

New lids (small or wide mouth depending on the size of your jars)

Metal Rings/bands to screw down on top of the lids

Sugar (optional)

Pot or Kettle to boil hot water

Old Kitchen Towels and cloths for cleaning up spills and to set the hot jars on once removed from the canner (Grapes/Grape Juice will stain, so it's best to use old cloths you don't mind getting soiled.)

Jar Lifter

Grapes (Approximately 5 pounds will make seven quarts if you use 2 cups of grapes per quart.)

If you are new to canning, here are a couple of good posts from other sites to help you familiarize yourself and get started:

New To Canning

Canning Equipment 101

1.  Wash and sterilize your glass jars.

2.  Fill your canner or pot with enough water to cover the jars when they are submerged and put them on the stove to begin heating.  (It takes a while to get that much water to a rolling boil if you are using a quart-sized hot water bath canner.  

3.  Fill your kettle or additional pot with water and heat to boiling.  (This water will be used to pour over the grapes in jars.  

The next few steps are fun for the children to get involved:

4.  Wash your grapes.  Hopefully, you can find grapes that have not been sprayed.  Either way, wash them well because spiders, spider webs, and bugs like to hide in the clusters  

5.  Remove grapes from stems.

6.  If you are using sugar (or other sweeteners) pour into the bottom of glass jars.  (Suggested amounts are 1/4 to 1/2 cup per quart.)  I do not sweeten my grape juice.  Sugar is not necessary for the preservation and is only added for taste.  Note:  You may see sugar in the bottom of your jar after you have processed the juice.  It sometimes takes several days for the sugar to dissolve in the jar.  

7.    Put 2 cups of grapes in each quart jar.  (Some recipes call for as little as 1 cup of grapes per jar, but we like our juice more concentrated.  One can always dilute the juice later by adding more water adjusting to individual taste.)

These next steps should be performed by an adult as children can easily get burned:

8.  Pour hot boiling water over the grapes (and sugar if you added it) filling to 1/4 of an inch from the top of the jar.  (Spacing is important when you are canning, so always follow the instructions regarding the fill line.)

9.  Carefully wipe the rims of your jars.  You don't want any juice, sugar, or debris on the rims as this could keep the lids from sealing properly.  

10.  Place your new lids on the jar.  (Follow the manufacturer's instructions for prepping lids.  It use to be that one was instructed to place the lids in hot water before putting them on the jars.  Recently, some of the manufacturers have changed the instructions for their lids, and boiling them in hot water first can actually cause them NOT to seal properly.  Each box of lids will have the individual manufacturer's instructions written on them.)

11.  Tighten down (finger tight) the bands/rings over the lids.

12.  Place your jars in the canner once the water has come to a boil.  Always be very careful as you work around the boiling water.  It's really easy to get burned.  The water should cover the tops of the jars.  You want them to process at a gentle boil.  

13.  Process for 15 minutes. (Some recipes call for processing as little as 5 minutes but I chose to process for the longest recommended time.)

14.  Carefully remove jars and place them on towels in a safe place where they will not get bumped, pulled from the counter/table by little hands, or burn someone while they are cooling.  As the jars begin to cool, you will hear the lids pinging.  It's always fun to enlist the help of the children to count the jars as they seal.  It's a great feeling to know they have all been sealed properly.  

15.  When the jars are cool and sealed, you should remove the rings.  Leaving rings on the jars sometimes causes them to rust and they can be very difficult or next to impossible to remove.  They are only needed temporarily until the lids have been sealed.  

16.  Wipe down your jars to remove any sticky residue, and label the lids if you like.  I always at least put the year the item was canned on the lid so that I can rotate my stock.   Storing your juice in a cool, dark place is the best way to preserve the quality of the product.  

17.  Allow your grape juice to set on the shelf for several weeks to a month before sampling.  Simply strain off the juice from the grapes, dilute if desired (or not if you like a stronger taste), and enjoy!  I actually drink the juice and then smash and pour water over the grapes that remain and get a bit more juice from them!  You could also use a cheesecloth or flour cloth and squeeze the grapes into the jar of juice or simply just eat the yummy grapes.  

Note:  This may seem complex and overwhelming if you are inexperienced with canning, but once you get into the swing of it, canning grape juice is actually quite simple and moves along rather quickly.  In my opinion, it's a great first-time project!