# goat milk



## Lady89 (Feb 22, 2014)

Could some one pleas explain how goat milk is difrent then cow milk when used to make cream, butter and cheese? I know that goat's milk is harder to separate the cream out of than cows milk,but do I need some sort of special equipment to separate it? And how does that effect cheese and butter making


----------



## MOgal (Jul 27, 2002)

The fat globules in cow's milk are much larger than in goat milk so they separate out more quickly-rise to the top of the milk. Also, raw cow's milk contains an enzyme that causes the fat globules to cluster more quickly too. If you put some raw cow's milk into goat milk, you will see faster separation of the fat (cream) to the top of the jar. Those smaller fat globules and the lack of the enzyme are reasons why goat milk is considered to be naturally homogenized. In truth, it will eventually separate but it takes several days. 

I've never used cow milk for making cheese although I did buy cream to demonstrate how to make butter once. Sorry I can't be any other help.

I visited with a nurse the other day who works for a doctor whose practice focuses on creating wellness through diet and lifestyle changes rather than jumping for the script pad immediately. When I mentioned that we had goats for milk, she commented on how much healthier it was than cow milk but we didn't have time for her to elaborate on her response. Don't throw stuff at me--I'm only relating what the nurse told me.


----------



## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

she said it .there are cream seprators and I see them on ebay for sale but I have no experince with them


----------



## Moboiku (Mar 7, 2014)

MOgal said:


> If you put some raw cow's milk into goat milk, you will see faster separation of the fat (cream) to the top of the jar.


Awesome tip - thanks!


----------



## MOgal (Jul 27, 2002)

When I was in college, I took Introduction to Dairy Science and was the only person in the class with dairy goat experience. For one of the labs, I took in some goat milk to test for butter fat (which is clear with goats) and to play with re: that enzyme. I don't remember how much we added to a given amount of goat milk or how long it took for it to act on the goat milk. 

Yep, a cream separator will work but they have to be adjusted a little differently for goat milk (don't ask me how as I don't remember that either) and the one we had contained a load of discs that all required scrubbing after use. Very time-consuming work. That particular separator was geared for 60 gal of cow's milk in an hour and was intended for use back in the days when cream was shipped in "cream cans" via rail and skim milk fed to the pigs--long before modern dairying equipment with milking machines and pipelines to bulk tanks, refrigerated trucks, etc. I bought it up for $20 and ended up selling it about a year or so later for $150. It was huge, heavy and cumbersome.


----------



## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

What I can tell you about the difference between cow and goat milk is very little. (I've seen my grandmother churning butter from her Jersey's milk but I was too little to understand what was occurring.) I do know cow's milk leaves an "acidic" ash in one's digestive track while goat milk leaves an "alkaline" ash, the latter being much more healthy and less conducive to promoting cancer.


----------



## Phil V. (May 31, 2013)

Do a google search of a1 vs. a2 milk. There are several articles that explains the difference between cow and goat milk.


----------



## MOgal (Jul 27, 2002)

Gee, doesn't that just give you warm fuzzies to think about that gene! I doubt American dairy interests would ever label their milk accordingly since the public isn't told which milk is produced with rBGH.

Can't wait until my goats freshen again!


----------



## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

You should be good on cheese making, for most cheeses that is. For butter, a cream separator may be essential, the cream off goats' milk is definitely harder to separate. Haven't tried making butter from goat milk, but some of the cheeses can be made no problem with goat milk. It may even improve it compared with cows' milk!


----------



## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

I have made butter from goat milk. We didn't have a separator so we froze the cream as we collected it and then made butter from that.

We made all manner of cheese.


----------



## lgrandmaitre (Feb 21, 2016)

Do you need a licence to sell Goat milk in Quebec? If so where could i acquire one?


----------



## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

I have a cream separator and love it. It does take some cleaning but I run almost the whole thing through the dishwasher. I wash the bottom of the cone by hand so I can make sure I don't loose the set screw. I've make butter all the time but stink at making cheeses other than mozzarella. They usually taste Ok but won't melt. I got my separator off ebay and it came from the Ukraine.


----------

