# Best Goat Milk?



## Shrarvrs88 (May 8, 2010)

I need to find a goat breed whose milk tastes similar to cow milk, for hubby. Of course, he tried store bought goat milk before and refuses to get goats, because their milk is nasty. I do want a cow for cheese, icecream and such, butthe kids and I (I think DH, too) are sensitive to straight cow milk.

What breeds taste the most like cow?

And what should I do to make sure the milk is good? I plan on getting goats again next year, growing up I had goats for a year, at first their milk was good, then it got goaty, but I dont know why. could it be because of the buckling we had with them?


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## IndyGardenGal (Apr 5, 2009)

I've only had the milk fresh from my Saanen. DH swore he wouldn't like goat milk, but he tried it and said, "Tastes like store bought milk." 

I've never had a goaty flavor to my milk either. We keep her on a consistent feed, good minerals mixed with yeast and kelp meal, and plenty of clean water. As soon as we are done milking, the milk gets filtered, put in a glass bottle, and goes straight to the fridge.

I think feed, milking procedure, etc will factor more into off flavors in milk than the actual breed.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Saanen or LaMancha.

If you want half and half, get a Mini Mancha.


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## Oat Bucket Farm (Jul 28, 2006)

The best goat milk and the best goats? Why, LaManchas of course.


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## farmerjohn (Jun 11, 2010)

OOOHHHH-I DON"T KNOOOWWW. Nigerian Bwarf of course. I have never had the milk taste goaty. I process milk right away and it does great. A large cow for cheese, ice cream and such that is larger than most of the milkers for them? Nawww. Just a few goats and their milk will give you the best tasting ever cheese, ice cream, baked breads, oven baked custards and soap you could ever imagine. Take up alot less room and less feed than a cow too. Not that there is anything wrong with a cow but for most women a cow can be alot intimidating.


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## FoxyWench (Jan 22, 2010)

running a buck with your girls will effect the taste, not sure about a buckling though :/


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

That's an old wive's tale that is hard to get rid of.

Running the buck with the does will NOT add a bucky taste to the milk unless you handle the buck, then wash your hands in the milk.:smiley-laughing013:


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

off flavor milk comes from less than ideal milk handling practices or if the goats eat alot of some kind of rank weed like wild onion, the Alpine, Saanen, or Togenburg will have the closest to cows milk because there is less of the cream/butter fat in their milk, Nubian, Nigerian, Kinder all have a richer milk, still amazingly good but would be easyer to tell the differince between that and Cows milk,


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## LFRJ (Dec 1, 2006)

We're pretty happy with our Kinder, but then we've only been goat owners/milker for about 3 weeks. Thus, we're still in that phase where we're nervous about drinking goat milk, not to mention RAW milk. We're ever alert for an off flavor or something that might give us the shivers - but nothing yet. Tastes like...milk, or should I say MORE like milk. We're also in that phase when we're so hyper careful with how we handle the whole milking process that it barely has a chance to get off on the wrong track in the first place. Indygarden gal offers a pretty good description of how we handle ours too. 

The only thing we have to compare however, is goat milk from the store - and as I recall, it had a 'different' flavor when we first sampled it. Nothing at all like our own. Go figure. 

As Ksal guy says though - Kinder milk is much richer. It's almost, _almost_ like drinking Half & Half. I use it in my coffee every morning. If I have my percents near accurate, well - we're all familiar with 2%, whole milk is 3+%, our Kinder milk is 4+%, and Half & Half is around 5%. (Heavy cream is what - 9%, or so?). So yes, breed type does make a diff. Also different breeds yield different amounts. We're getting around 1/2 gallon a day. Plenty for the 2 of us. I think Saanens offer lots more though.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

The reason that store bought goat milk is icky is twofold.

1. The structure of goat milk is more fragile than in cow milk, and the jostling that milk is subject to in processing starts the break down, and the capric acid is released.

2. There is no telling how old that milk is.:soap:


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## copperpennykids (Sep 6, 2004)

IndyGardenGal said:


> I've only had the milk fresh from my Saanen. DH swore he wouldn't like goat milk, but he tried it and said, "Tastes like store bought milk."
> 
> I've never had a goaty flavor to my milk either. We keep her on a consistent feed, good minerals mixed with yeast and kelp meal, and plenty of clean water. As soon as we are done milking, the milk gets filtered, put in a glass bottle, and goes straight to the fridge.
> 
> I think feed, milking procedure, etc will factor more into off flavors in milk than the actual breed.


Ditto.

Have to agree that LaMancha or Saanen are going to be closer to cows' milk -this is based on unofficial taste tests/comments from those drinking our milk. Follow Indy Garden Gal's advice and you should have excellent milk all of the time.

(Now if you want to start the old old thread about which breed of goat is best, go ahead - Muwahahaha Muwahahaha! :grin


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## steff bugielski (Nov 10, 2003)

I've got a bunch of mutts. Nubian/boer/alpine/ who knows crosses. I have folks all the time tell me they do not like goat milk till they try it. They are amazed at how much like "regular" milk it tastes.


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## Kye022984 (Apr 23, 2010)

Not to go off subject but who is this Indy girl you all are talking about? Does she have a Web site? I would like to look at her stuff on milk procedure.


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## Oat Bucket Farm (Jul 28, 2006)

They are referring to post #2 in this thread by IndyGardengal.


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

we use our goat milk for all the things you mentioned.
We have a variety of goats so the flavor is a composite and quite tasty.
We have found that quick chilling and using it withing 2 or 3 days will keep the flavor good.
Cleanliness is good but it doesn't seem to affect flavor as much as the chilling.
Often we only rinse our milker after morning milking instead of the whole wash routine and the flavor is good.
We let out buck run with the girls from Aug till the kids start dropping and it doesn't affect our milks flavor.

We feed our goats hay and grain and their pasture is really good stuff, no nasty weeds that might affect the flavor.


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## DWH Farm (Sep 1, 2010)

steff bugielski said:


> I have folks all the time tell me they do not like goat milk till they try it. They are amazed at how much like "regular" milk it tastes.


I always laugh when people who are skeptical try our goat milk. They always look somewhat puzzled and then most will say "it tastes like _milk_!"..

We milk lamanchas, handle carefully and chill quickly. We only use glass and stainless. Goats are on a good diet and mineral. The only time that we have had off tasting milk it turned out the doe had sub clinical mastitis. Also, dont judge goat milk based on store bought. It tastes funny..I am so glad that I decided on dairy goats for milk instead of a cow!


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## Kye022984 (Apr 23, 2010)

We just started with our goats about a year ago and I have no regrets. First of all, I love my girls. And second, I myself, questioned drinking raw goats milk just because I gave my son the goat's milk from the store in his bottles when he was a baby. Let me tell you... I didn't know how he drank that stuff. Boy, was it bitter and nasty! But we do the same thing here. Hand milk, use glass and stainless only, and chill quickly. After three days the milk starts to get a little goaty but nothing like the store bought stuff. When it's fresh and straight from the goat it tastes wonderful!


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## DownHome (Jan 20, 2006)

I was told at some point to let it chill with the lid off. Then once it is completely cooled, the lid can be put on. 

Oberhasli milk tastes almost identical to cow milk, but it is not a very common breed. Remember too that every goat tastes different.

downhome


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## CaliannG (Apr 29, 2005)

Every goat's milk tastes different, and it all tastes the same. :smiles:

So...to the Science, Batman!

Your family is likely sensitive to cows milk due to the fact that cows milk has more complex protein chains. Goats milk has simpler protein chains that are easier to digest. It takes hours to digest cows milk due to the complexity of the protein and lipid structures, but only 20 minutes to digest goats milk, due to its simpler construction.

However, that simpler construction has pitfalls also. Goats milk picks up off flavors easily during handling. That is not only such flavors as dust in the milk and such, but also chemicals used to clean and disinfect commercial milking operations. This is likely why your family did not like the store-bought goats milk; and, in fact, I don't blame them. The last time I tried store bought goats milk, it tasted faintly of bleach and cleansers to me. My DH noticed the same taste and thought it was inherent in the milk, and not the handling.

Your own, ~fresh from the goat and chilled right after milking~ goats milk will NOT taste like store bought.

Someone who is accustomed to store-bought cows milk will not notice much of a difference when drinking fresh goats milk. Oddly enough, the transition from store-bought cow to fresh goat is easy for people, and the most common comment I have gotten from people used to store bought cows milk is that fresh goats milk taste a tiny bit sweeter.

However, after spending 3 months drinking fresh goats milk, then trying a glass of store bought cows milk, the same people will say, "Yeach! What's IN this stuff?! It's disgusting!"

I don't know why folks will not notice much of a difference from store bought to fresh...but after getting used to fresh, will notice a HUGE difference from fresh to store bought.

Bucks running with the does will not have an effect on the taste of the milk. What the does eat and how the milk is handled after milking will have a HUGE effect on the taste of the milk. If milk starts getting an "off" flavor (meaning the doe gave good-tasting milk before, but the flavor is now changed/changing), look first to your handling practices. Are you milking into VERY clean containers? Do you filter/strain the milk immediately and then, just as quickly, put the milk in a VERY clean container and chill/refrigerate it? Milk should be chilled as fast as possible; the longer it stays out at room temperature, the faster it is going to break down into something that doesn't taste quite right.

If your handling practices are good, the second thing to look at is what your does are eating. Have you changed their feed lately? Is wild garlic blooming in your pasture, or is it a season for other plants to grow that may be affecting the taste of your milk? Is it an "off" flavor that is unpleasant, or just different?

~smiles~ My goats once got into my herb garden and ate my rosemary hedge nearly down to nubs. :grin: The milk for the next several days was kinda rosemary flavored. Rosemary is a VERY pungent herb, but luckily, I rather like the taste of it.

Hope this helps!


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Hmmm...

Whatever goat you're milking, as long as you take care to handle the milk somewhat carefully, should produce good, tasty milk.

I'm partial to my Nubian. Oh, and my Snubian. And my neighbor's Nigerian crosses...

I like fresh milk. It's not breed-based, it's freshness and handling.


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