Culture

It's no secret that I am a raw milk advocate. In my circle of goat-hugging, whole food consuming, homesteading womenfolk, some buzz words center around the fermentation of our milk. To incubate by electric device or not? To chill before culturing or not? All of this is to attain the coveted perfect glass of kefir, tub of yogurt, jar of buttermilk, or wheel of cheese. Health, wealth, and the pursuit of probiotics keep us in the kitchen, swapping recipes while our goats contentedly and ignorantly much their hay in the barn, completely unaware that their milk means so much to these crazy, hairless beings that pamper them.

Most of our American products such as yogurt and cheese are prepared in highly controlled environments. Because of government regulations concerning the proper preparation of food, few things can go wrong without serious repurcussions, and corporations are desperate to avoid this. However, in Suzie Homemaker's kitchen, many things can go wrong while trying to ferment our milk. Basically, almost all of the problems we encounter can be boiled down to one thing: contamination.

Contamination can occur as early as the milk pail itself. If not every material used was sanitized, then your milk will be contaminated. It may or may not be a dangerous contamination; but either way, your product will not turn out right. Your cheese may be spongey, your yogurt may dissolve into the whey, your kefir may taste like a foot, or various other things may happen. Only in a controlled environment can your product have the desired results.

It's actually rather difficult to keep a controlled environment. I encountered a problem once in which my soft cheese kept turning into a solid, plastic-like mass that was unable to be sliced. I inquired from many sources, and found that my problem was not in my cleanliness, but in airborne contaminants. I found myself in a constant battle with invisible forces that were warring against my precious product.

In all my efforts to shelter my children so that the appropriate culture can flourish in them, I feel as if I'm constantly battling outside invaders. Contaminants are looking for a warm, cozy place (like a child's heart) to plant their own little spores and grow their own little brood of disgusting creatures at the expense of my little one's health. I can bust my butt trying to sterilize their little worlds, but in the end, I need to trust that the culture I'm putting into them is stronger than the culture that's seeking to overtake them.

"You, children, are from God and have overcome the false prophets, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore, they speak from teh world's viewpoint; and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God doesn't listen to us. This is how we distinguish the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of error." -1 John 4:4-6

By all means, I must put forth my greatest effort to keep my culturing environment a clean one. It's my responsibility to be careful of what culturing they receive. However, I am relieved that the burden does not rest solely on me and my power to make sure that my little cultures will thrive. Indeed, they are not mine, but God's. What He has put into us and our hearts cannot be overpowered by the evil one unless we will it to be so. Anything that seeks to overtake me and fester in my heart must first pass through the invincible Lord Almighty. He is my rock and my shield. His Word is powerful.

"See, the Word of God is alive! It is at work and is sharper than any double-edged sword--it cuts right through to where soul meets spirit and joints meet marrow, and it is quick to judge the inner reflections and attitudes of the heart." -Hebrews 4:12

Like the cultures I put into my milk, the Word of God is alive. Nurture and protect it, my friend, so that you may be a source of uncontaminated nourishment to someone who needs it.