Clabber: Your new favorite breakfast?
Full of gut health goodness, clabber may just be your new favorite breakfast. I know it is mine! Read on to learn what I add to my clabber for a delicious start to my day.
Clabber for Breakfast
Are you a breakfast eater, or a breakfast skipper? I used to always eat breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day after all! Buuut then I had twins and life got crazy and I started just drinking coffee in the am instead of actually eating breakfast. I am here to tell you today that I am back on the breakfast train with something that is so yummy and so fast, it is perfect for busy, homesteadin’ mommas!
What is clabber?
Clabber is just sour milk. I really prefer to call it clabber and not sour milk though, because I feel like sour milk gives the wrong idea. When I think of sour milk I think of store bought milk that has gone past its prime, smells bad, and is just gross.
Clabber, is nothing like that! Clabber has a lovely aroma, is nicely thickened (similar to yogurt) and has a tart, tangy flavor.
Clabber is made by letting fresh, clean raw milk sit out at room temperature.
How to make Clabber
Clabber is very simple to make, getting started is the hardest part! The simplest way to start is to milk your cow, goat, sheep, whatever animal it is you are milking, bring the milk in, filter it, then let it sit covered on your counter. I just throw a towel over mine so it can still breathe but it keeps the flies and dust out.
Within a day or two or so, you will notice that the milk has thickened into a yogurt like consistency. I can’t give you an exact timeline, as everyone’s circumstances are different. The temperature in your house plays a role with how fast or slow the milk clabbers. The particular bacterial flora in your milk makes a huge difference. You may have bacteria that converts lactose into lactic acid at a very fast rate (ie your milk clabbers quickly), or it may be a slower variety that takes longer.
Maintaining clabber
Did you know that clabber needs to be maintained, or fed daily, similar to a sourdough starter? It is very simple. All you need to do is take a spoonful of clabber and place it in a new, clean jar. Top off with milk, stir, and cover loosely. That’s it!
This is my routine: I go out in the morning and milk my cow and sheep. I bring my milk in from the barn and filter it. Next I grab a clean pint jar and a spoon. I scrape the cream on top back a little ways, and take a spoonful of clabber out of the jar and put it in my new jar. I then add a little bit of milk to the new jar. Sometimes I use my cow milk, sometimes I use sheep. Doesn’t matter, it’s all good, fresh raw milk. I stir it up, then fill the jar the rest of the way with the warm milk. I put a small square of flannel on top, and hold it on with a rubber band. Back on top of the fridge it goes until the next morning!
Clabber as a breakfast food
Ok you’ve got clabber, you know how to feed it, now how do you feed yourself? Well I learned this lovely little trick from Robyn over at Cheesemaking from Scratch. Check her out, she is awesome! Robyn adds a couple tablespoons of jam to her clabber. Let me tell you, IT IS SO GOOD! Ever since I learned this I have been having this for breakfast every morning!
Of course feel free to add whatever you like, there are LIMITLESS options! I have done jam, jelly, chocolate, and even coffee, all are yummy! And what a way to give your gut a boost of goodness first thing in the morning.
More milk & milking fun:
Ready to expand your knowledge about milking and raw milk? Here is a post about when you can start milking your sheep and clabber discard ideas from Robyn over at Cheesemaking from Scratch!