While I'm all in favor of useful food handling regulations, the fear of raw milk OUTSIDE of a factory farm is overblown. Raw milk in and of itself is not dangerous. When proper sanitary procedures are followed, its as safe as pasteurized, and it tastes a heckuva lot better. The method of ensuring cleanliness for raw milk is much stricter than for factory farms, where the "poop" you fear can be actually present in the milk - they just strain the big clumps out, cook the milk to kill the pathogens that were introduced due to unsanitary practices, and then homogenize it to a fare-thee-well. In 2002, the last raw milk dairy in Ohio was bullied in to giving up its license to produce raw milk after an outbreak of salmonella - which was traced to a problem in post-processing handling and had nothing to do with the fact that the milk had not been pasteurized. In fact, such salmonella outbreaks are relatively common in factory produced pasteurized milk and far more widespread in their consequences. Broken equipment and a couple of areas where improvement was needed in handling milk during packaging were the actual cause of the problem, and these issues were addressed and corrected. Nevertheless, the county took the opportunity to force the dairy to stop production of their raw milk, something they had been doing WITHOUT INCIDENT for nearly 50 years, even though the fact that the milk had not been pasteurized had NOTHING to do with the problem. You do not want to know what they do to factory produced milk to get it to pass government regulations - and even then it still fails on a regular basis. If you are drinking pasteurized milk, you are definitely ingesting "pooped in" milk. If you are drinking raw milk, from an approved dairy, you are getting something that is most definitely cleaner and safer - because raw milk doesn't get heated to high temps to kill the bacteria factory handling introduces to the supply stream, or the diseases they know the cows have but ignore because its' going to be pasteurized and filtered to get the chunks out. Disease organisms can never be present in raw milk - they are routinely present before pasteurization in pasteurized milk, and sometimes even AFTER pasteurization. Requirements for cleanliness and checks on the health of the cows are MUCH MUCH more stringent for a raw dairy than they are for factory milk producers. In either case, regulations and inspections are needed, because there are far too many lazy, greedy, ignorant, stupid, and/or just plain mean people out there to do without the regulations. But lets not throw the baby out with the bathwater, yes? Here is a link that might be useful: Some Facts about the Safety of Raw Milk

Boiling some cut up onion in an aluminum pan is supposed to remove burn and scorch marks, maybe you can improvise somewhat.

Here's a couple of quick candies: Diane's Home Cookin Chapter: Candy & other confections Double Chocolate Orange Nut Fudge( Microwave) ============================================= 1 14 can sweetened condensed milk, divided 1 8 package semisweet baking chocolate square 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts 1 6 package white baking chocolate square 1 grated fresh orange zest (thinnest colored part of peel only) . Line an 8-inch square metal or glass pan with aluminum foil; set aside. Place ¾ cup milk in a 4-cup glass measure. Add semisweet chocolate and microwave on high 1½ minutes. Stir and microwave on high 1 to 1½ minutes. Stir until chocolate melts completely. Add vanilla, then pecans, and pour into prepared pan. Place in refrigerator. Place remaining milk and white chocolate in a medium glass bowl. Stirring midway through cooking, microwave on high 1½ to 2 minutes or until chocolate melts. Stir in zest and spread evenly over chocolate layer in pan. Return to refrigerator about 2 hours, or until firm +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Microwave Caramels ================== Nonstick foil 1 cup butter (no substitutions) 2-1/2 cups packed brown sugar 1 cup light-colored corn syrup One 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk 1 teaspoon vanilla (* my notes: for chocolate hazelnut flavor add 2 pkgs each of Tasters Choice single cup size instant Chocolate coffee & Hazelnut coffee-- the dry granules-- just mix in with butter,b sugar etc.Keep in refrig --they go quite soft at rm temp) . 1. Line a 9x9-inch baking pan with nonstick foil or buttered foil, allowing edges to hang over sides of pan; set aside. 2. In a large microwave-safe bowl combine butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and condensed milk; cover loosely with parchment paper. Microwave on 100% power (high) for 4 or 5 minutes* or until butter starts to melt. Whisk to combine mixture. Microwave on high for 4 or 5 minutes* more. Whisk well. Microwave an additional 4 or 5 minutes*. Whisk gently. Add vanilla. (Note: Bowl may get hot as mixture cooks; use hot pads to handle.) 3. Pour caramel mixture into the prepared pan. Chill for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until just firm. Using foil, lift block of caramel from the pan. Use a buttered knife to cut into 1-inch squares. Try the topping variations below, if desired, making several of the variations with 1 batch of caramels. Wrap individually with plastic wrap or waxed paper or place in candy cups in a covered gift tin or container. Store in an airtight container either chilled or at room temperature (we prefer chilled) for up to 2 weeks. Makes 2 3/4 pounds (81 pieces) *Note: Use the 4-minute timings for higher wattage microwave ovens (1,100 to 1,200 watts) and 5-minute timings for lower wattage ovens. Orange-Cranberry Drizzles: In a custard cup combine 1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel and 2 tablespoons snipped dried cranberries; set aside. When caramel is just set, sprinkle orange mixture atop one-quarter of the pan (or desired portion); press lightly. Cut caramels as directed. Melt 1/4 cup white baking pieces as directed above. Place melted pieces in a small plastic bag; snip a small hole in the corner of the bag. Place caramels on cooling rack over parchment paper. Drizzle with melted pieces by squeezing from bag over caramels. Enough for 20 caramels.

Yet one more "expert" opinion on the subject as told in the book, CookWise, by Shirley O. Corriher. (from page 80) Bread recipes in old cookbooks advise you to scald the milk before using it in a bread. I thought this heat was taken to kill some enzyme in the milk and that modern pasteurization had made scalding unnecessary. I had also heard that after running tests on scalded and unscalded milk a food magazine staff concluded that it made no difference. I did notice when I was developing the Honey Whole Wheat Loaf recipe, however, that an increase in the nonfat dry milk to 1/2 cup significantly reduced the bread volume. Attributing this to the sugar in the milk. I was then amazed to read in a professional baking book, "It has long been known in the are that nonfat dry milk seriously affects the volume, symmetry, cellular structure, and texture of bread when used as such. Research by prior investigators has found that such nonfat milk, when heat treated by holding it at about 180°F to 190°F over a period of time, overcomes this undesirable property to a certain degree when it is used in the conventional system of bread-making." When I delved into the literature on the subject, I found that in 1975 two Michigan State University researchers, T. Volpe and M.E. Zabik, isolated a protein in the whey that was responsible for this reduced volume and poor texture. Unfortunately it is present in nonfat dry milk as well as fresh. I believe that the amount of this protein is the key to whether it will harm the bread--that would explain why less than 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk had no ill effects on my bread. I imagine you will find that it does not matter in some recipes, but it may in others. But, as they say, "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." Personally I am going to scald both milk and reconstituted nonfat dry milk just for my own peace of mind. (end of information) Grainlady note: It comes down to how much dairy is in your bread, as to whether the protein found in whey will affect the bread adversly, if you DO NOT scald the milk. To avoid this problem, I'd suggest Baker's Special Dry Milk powder from King Arthur Flour (item 1188). After reading the information in CookWise, it helped me to understand why my Dill Bread, which has a large amount of cottage cheese in it, always had a less than perfect shape and crust formation. Now I heat the cottage cheese up to scalding temperature, and it has a much better finished appearance. It also helped me to understand why my bread experiments using large amounts of whey protein powder didn't work well. -Grainlady