In part one I go through the steps of assembling the cream separator and now I feel that I have had enough experimentation with operating the cream separator that I can share with you how I use it.

Separating raw cream from whole milk can have different outcomes based on many different factors. The main factor I believe is your cow and the time of year and the stages of their lactation. Different breeds produce varied amounts of cream and we have beautiful Jersey cows who at different times of the year give a lot of cream.

After I finish milking I strain the milk into a milk pail that holds almost three gallons.

I have found that for cream to whip, for coffee…, I like the thinner consistency which you get when you allow the cream to rise to the top of your jar as it has rested in the refrigerator for a day or so. As you can see, depending on the time of year, I get about 1 and 1/2 quarts of cream in two gallons of milk.

When I skim cream off the top, instead of using jars, I usually place the milk pail in a cooler with cold water and place plastic water bottles which have been frozen around it to make the water very cold. Overnight the cream has risen to the top of the pail and I skim it off with a large ladle.

On most days I separate the cream with my new separator and the cream is much thicker than skimming it off the top of the milk.

Once you have assembled the separator, you make sure that the spout is closed and you fill the top container with your warm milk. If you can’t separate directly after milking, just warm your cold milk gently until it reaches a warm body temperature.

Get two mixing bowls, with handles is the easiest, and have them on the side where the skim milk will come out and put a quart jar under the spout where the cream will come out of. Turn on the motor and listen and wait until the spinning revolutions are at their highest speed before you open the spout. You will hear the sound level out at the highest speed, and this is the only time when I grab the entire machine by the neck and hold it firmly, because after you turn the spout and open it so the milk begins to go into the separator, the machine will make a loud noise and jump a little bit. It stays put after that, so you do not need to screw it down to a solid surface like they suggest.

Through my experimentation I have found that I do not prefer to open up the valve all the way, but only open it about halfway. This way the cream comes out more slowly and does not build up inside the spinning disk as much. Keep an eye on the skim milk in one of your handled bowls and when it is full, slide the empty one under the spout and pour the skim milk back into your milk pail. I experimented a lot with the adjusting screw, as you can see in part one, and found that the cream was way too thick when the screw was in all the way, and I like this setting best. The cream will still flow, but will not back up in the machine too much.

When you have separated all of your whole milk, wait until the bowl is almost empty, then pour in one of your handled bowls full of the milk that has been skimmed. This way the skim milk will begin to wash out any built up cream that is still inside the separator.

Then when that has gone through the separator I pour all of the rest of the skim milk back into the separator to go through one more time. This way most of the cream is washed out of the disks and any more cream in the skim milk is extracted as well. You will see that you are only getting skim milk coming out after the cream is gone.

This is an example when I opened up the valve all the way. The milk passed through the separator much more quickly and when I opened the disk there was a lot of gloppy cream wasted inside that was too thick to pass out.

Make sure that you either close the valve or wait until the bowl is empty of milk before you turn off the machine this way the disk is clear of most of the milk. It is important to disassemble the machine and clean it right away.

Disassembly is just as assembly except for two tricky parts. The very last disk which is on the metal part with the stem is difficult to remove and you must get a dull butter knife and slip under it to loosen it. It is easiest to do the same for the rubber ring, but be careful not to cut the rubber. The second tricky disassembly is getting the plastic disk out of the top part. The only way I have found to do this is to use a hand whisk I have which has a round handle that fits perfectly above the plastic disk. I hit the hand whisk handle until it forces the plastic disk out of the top of the separating disk.

I usually get a pint or more of thick cream using about 1.5 gallons of whole milk. If it sits in the refrigerator for a few days it will continue to thicken and is absolutely divine.

Please let me know your questions and I would love to hear from those more seasoned in using a cream separator for more advice. Enjoy!