Centrifugal Force

When I was little there was a ride at Six Flags that absolutely enthralled me. From the outside it looked like a very large rain barrel, people size. I, and about 30 other tourists, would walk in and dutifully place our backs against the wall lining the perimeter of the thing. Shortly the attendant would flip the switch and it would begin to spin very fast, and then the floor would drop. Everyone appeared to be suspended in the air with their butts plastered to the wall, feet all in a perfect circular line with the floor about eighteen inches below. I guess the first question is why (if she really loved me) would my mom allow a six year old to do this? The second question is why did Six Flags allow a six year old to do this? That ride hasn't been there in a long time.

What does this have to do with Gooneybush Farm? Well, it's the cream separator. The kids bought this for me for Christmas. It was quite a generous gift, and it's very similar to the ride that I have described. There is a machine on the bottom, several well engineered parts in the middle and a bowl on top. We pour the milk in the top and this amazing piece of engineering spins the fat globules in the milk until they separate outward and downward. The cream flows out of the upper spout and the "fat free" milk through the lower one. I don't mind telling you that I have put my mouth directly over that spout. I washed it afterward...the spout I mean.

Only about 1/10th of the contents that go in come out as cream. That's God's economy, and milk is idea for baby food. [breastfeeding moms that I have worked with at the hospital will recognize this little anecdote.] A human infant's brain will grow three inches in the first six months of life. It won't grow another three inches until they reach their teens. That, my friends, is why milk has so much fat. Our brains are made mostly of fat, and they require a lot of it early in life.

We aren't really supposed to take the fat out..we just get away with it. You eat too much of the stuff and you will look like a very tall baby, thighs and all. However, God likes us to enjoy his goodies and he gave someone the brains to come up with a machine to do the job. Why else would he make the fat rise to the top of the milk? Why would he send berries at the same time of year that the goats and cows are starting freshly to make milk? To dip the berries in the cream of course! If you don't believe me watch this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ryjpbd4D4bg&feature=related

So why the separator? Goat's milk is naturally homogenized. It will rise a little over a long period of time, but you won't get much. This cream separator is a centrifuge of sorts. It can spin all of those little fat globules out to where I can catch 'em. Here is the final product. The cream comes out liquid enough, but after a few hours in the refrigerator it is the consistency of marshmallow fluff. One teaspoon in a cup of tea with honey is pure rapture. I can't wait to make ice cream and all of the other goodies with it this summer. If you see an adult size baby on the street, that's me.