Making Buttermilk

We are currently milking 5 does.  6 is my limit and we should reach that goal next month when MoonPie freshens.  Everyone has their own milking routine, this is how mine goes...

First each doe is milked, the milk is weighed and recorded, then the milk goes into plastic gallon containers.

Once all the does are milked, I bring the milk into the house where I run it through a reusable coffee filter and into a large stainless steel pan.

Then I heat the milk to 165º for 30 seconds to pasteurize.  Pasteurizing the milk is done as a CAE prevention.  Unfortunately it also removes some of the good bacteria from the milk.  For milk being fed back to kids, I add a cultured buttermilk to replace these.  I start each year by buying a good quality buttermilk...and then keep my own culture going for the rest of the year.

Goat milk buttermilk is wonderful in biscuits, pancakes, as well as many other things. 

I have a jar that I use exclusively for making buttermilk.  First I sterilize the jar to prevent any bad bugs from growing.  Then add 2 Tablespoons of a good quality cultured buttermilk, and a quart of goat milk (room temperature - 70º-75º).  I cover the jar with a square of parchment paper secured with a rubber band and let it to sit overnight at room temperature to allow the culture to grow.  That's it!

Now each time the jar gets a bit low, I pull out 2 Tablespoons of the culture, add a quart of milk, and start all over again.  This way I only have to buy buttermilk once a year....and I have a perpetual supply of goat buttermilk.