Q. Your milk appears to be thin, why is that?

 

A. Most people think that our milk is just right, but some people do find it to be thin. There are a number of reasons for this

 

1. We sell cow milk. We only have cows at our farm as milk animals. Many people are used to buffalo milk, which is thicker

 

2. A lot of the milk in Pakistan is thickened with artificial agents. We would rather lose a few customers than add anything to our milk to thicken it. Milk in Pakistan is most commonly thickened with pectin and expired baby formula. More unscrupulous vendors add melamine, hydrogen peroxide, urea and detergent. Even though Pakistan is one of the largest producers of milk in the world, we still import powered milk and expired baby formula. Where does all that imported powdered milk go?

 

3. Zacky Farms milk is not homogenized. Homogenized milk breaks down the fats in the milk and distributes them evenly. Creamy and thinner parts may appear separately in regular milk, and sometimes this is unsettling for people who are used to industrially homogenized milk.

 

4. The viscosity and fat content of the milk changes gradually from season to season. Some of it depends on the pregnancy cycles of the cows. Some of it depends on the diet. Early part of the winter we add more fresh greens to the diet. This include barseem clovers and mustard greens. These fresh greens have a high water content, and they thin the milk.

 

5. Our milk may not appear to be very thick, it is thick in all the right contents. Our average fat content is 4.0-4.5%. 6. Compare this with the 2.5-3.5% fat in the pasteurized milk from the large companies.  Some of this lower fat milk appears to be “thicker”.  How did that happen?

 

6. Whatever milk we do not consume ourselves or retail in DHA, we wholesale to the larger Tetra Pack companies. They run a number of tests on our milk each day, and pay us a very high premium for our high fat content. They take out the cream and sell it at a premium, and still make a profit on the milk.  We, and a third party, test our milk almost every single day.

 

7. We have very strict controls to make sure that nobody can introduce any contaminants into our milk.  We will even come to your house to take samples and send them to the lab.  We are obsessed with purity.

 

Q. What should I know about raw milk?

 

A.  Raw milk is a living organism, and it comes with its own risks and rewards.  You must refrigerate the milk as soon as you receive it, and boil it within 24 hours.  Boiled milk will last several days in the fridge.  If boiled milk has been sitting in the fridge for 3-4 days, you can extend its life by giving it another boil.  Pure raw milk is a perishable item.  Try to consume it right away.

 

Many members of the Zacky Farms family, and their children, have been drinking the raw milk without boiling it.  There are many resources on the internet that discuss the risks and rewards for doing this, and all the latest scientific research.  Please boil the milk if you have the slightest doubts.
 

Q.  Can I freeze the milk?

 

A.  Our milk will last a couple of weeks in the freezer, possibly longer.  Some people notice a difference in the texture of the thawed milk.  Some don’t.