Raw goat's milk RAVE

[Whispering Winds]

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WHAT?!

I drink at least a gallon of store bought cow milk a week, often more! Now I'm a-scared...

I am so glad that someone has brought this up, Robert Rodale said back in the day and I am talking probably the 50's and 60's that the cow's milk wasn't good for anything but the calf. My chiropractor, who is into nutrition BIG time told me that the dairy products made from cow's milk is what is causing us to have so many heart issues in this country,because it makes our arteries like sandpaper and THAT is what catches the clots and makes us have heart attacks and so forth . . . our body naturally produces cholesterol, but the dairy products causes the actual problems with it. . .how much does a gallon of goat's milk sell for? I heard of a woman in my area who has bought nanny goats because she thinks she can get $15 a gallon for it. . .

 

[dixygirl]

No the goat's milk you buy in the stores has ALWAYS has had a goat flavor for years no matter where I get it. You CAN always tell the difference in taste between goat milk and cow milk. But I LOVE the taste personally. Its a richer thicker, creamier taste but with the goat scent flavor added to it. Maybe store bought goats milk tastes that way because it is pasteurized but the honey neutralizes the taste or at least makes it more yogurt like.

All in all I still love it! That's why I got goats now. But to say it doesnt taste any different is not true.

 

[Chirpy]

This has been a great thread with lots of fantastic wisdom and advice.

If your goats milk has an aftertaste then I'd agree that it could be the breed of goat you have (Toggenburgs are notorious for having a 'different' taste to their milk). Alpines and LaManchas have less milk fat than Nubians and Nigerians so their milk may seem 'weaker' to some. As was stated, how the milk is handled is critical to great tasting raw milk. And, what the goat eats is a huge factor in the taste and potential aftertasts of the milk.

Make sure the does teats are cleaned before milking. Squirt two or three times into a strip cup, bowl or glass... check that for signs of clumps or blood. Give to kitties, dogs or chickens.

Milk your doe. Spray her teats with "Fight Bac" or dip with whatever you are using after you done.

Using stainless steel pails to milk into can make a big difference. If you put the milk into anything plastic it can take on any flavor of what's been in that plastic before it.

Get the milk strained quickly and into glass jars. Put them in the freezer. I actually keep my empty glass jars in the freezer/lids on them. I strain the milk into a large container that is marked so I know how many cups I just got. I then pour it into my already cold jars and set them into a bucket. I fill the bucket with cold water to about 1 - 2 inches below the level of the milk in the jars. I then add ice to the water to bring the level up even with the milk in the jars. The whole bucket is set into our freezer for 50 minutes for quart jars; over an hour for 1/2 gln. jars and an hour and a half if I had to use the large sun tea jars.

In the warm months I actually put an ice pack of some sort (I have used very cleaned pop bottles with frozen water in them; I've also used ziplock baggies with water frozen in them) in the bottom of the buckets and actually milk directly onto them so the milk starts to cool instantly -- before I even leave the barn.

Another thing that I've found that I really like is to stretch cheese cloth over the top of the bucket (I hold it in place with four clothespins) and milk right through it. NO hair can get into the bucket which can help with potential taste issues. Just carefully take it off before straining so nothing falls into the bucket when it's being removed.

Hope some of this helps with those that have had off tasting milk.

I don't believe it's possible to get goats milk in the store that tastes like 'real' goats milk.

I'm a huge advocate for drinking raw milk but that is a personal decision that each person has to make for their family.

 

[BeardedChick]

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NO, the milk from my goat (Nubian x Saanen) does not taste like powdered milk or goat or anything. Now I'm up to 11 highly skeptical people that have tried the milk after never having tasted goat milk and not ONE of them can taste anything goaty. I have told all of them if they ever CAN taste goat on the milk, let me know and don't use the milk because it should not have ANY sort of "flavor".

I am scrupulously clean with my equipment. Stainless bucket, glass bottles. The bucket & wash cup gets bleached and then goes through the dishwasher after each milking.

I scrub my hands before I milk, put on a little olive oil to moisturize, then put on a pair of new medical gloves to wear out to the barn. When everything is setup and she's been brushed and then washed off, I take off the gloves and have perfectly clean hands to milk her with. I don't touch *anything* with my clean hands but the udder or the bucket.

Milk gets immediately strained and goes into the freezer.

I am feeding top quality alfalfa, Purina goat chow grain, and always freshest water.

The resulting milk is really incredible. My grandmother is 84 and she uses some of the milk. Another friend takes some for her child that can't drink cow milk. It just HAS to be as clean, and if a batch is in any doubt, it gets fed to the chickens.

 

[Lil Chickie Mama]

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I am so irritated

!!! I'm 22 and everyone always told me you have to drink lots of milk to be tall and strong and to have calcium. Well I just assumed they were right because I am 5'11" and pretty strong so I guess it worked! Ahh, so now I'm practically addicted to cows milk and I find that it's bad for me?! EEK! So what are the studies on goats milk? Less cholesterol? Less fats? Less giving us heart disease...please...

 

[BeardedChick]

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It's about $5.50 per gallon from a legal goat share dairy around here (not organic).

 

[ksacres]

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[Chicky Tocks]

I tried some when I was a kid and was not impressed. It tasted to me like the goat smells. But I was a kid and my taste have changed drastically over time.

I would love to have some raw goat's milk to make some cheese or to use to make some soap though.

 

[Sebrightmom]

I love goat's milk. I have 7 nubians right now with three that are due in May. I haven't had any milk with a goatie taste to it. Everyone that has tasted it loves it and it is so healthy.

 

[Cara]

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No, it is not at all like the goat's cheese flavour. I love goat's cheese, but my husband cannot stand it. The flavour of goat's cheese comes from the enzymes added when making it. When I got my goats he said that he would never drink the milk. Now he brags about how good it is! He's a cowboy and for some reason owning goats is 'embarrassing', but he's not ashamed to tell everyone how good their milk is. He thinks it's like store bought cow's milk but richer. Ours did have a dreadful taste at first but it was from the colostrum. After about 3 weeks it was great. We have one doe giving milk and another due to kid in a week or so. We get 1.5 gallons a day from one doe, and that's just from milking in the morning and separating the kids from her at night.