# Taste of Goat Milk



## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

I told mum that i want a milking goat :roll: 
But she said that goat milk tastes gross
And i said that you guys like it and someone said their lamanchas tastes like cow milk with sugar...?

So what /does/ it taste like??


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Alyssa ... the goat milk you can get here in the supermarket tastes like c---p I just dont know what they do to it. But nothing beats the taste of homemade goat milk. If you do it right, you honestly cant taste the difference between it and cows milk. It tends to have a bit of a texture difference - a little smoother perhaps? Just different. My house goat for several years was a Boer (Matilda) and I have also milked Angoras and Dairy goats. But Matilda's was the BEST it was beautiful (she died this year). The angora milk is also nice - very creamy. You can change the taste of the milk by what you feed the doe -- I like it a little sweeter so I started adding molasses to Matilda's feed. 

The difference is though in length of lactation and daily yield of milk. With Matilda I got about 1L per day (only milking one side once a day) and the angoras I get about 700ml (milking one side once a day) but they just wont keep this up longer than a few months, whereas a good dairy doe will stay in milk for 2 yrs. 

You will be hard pressed to find a lamancha here. I have only ever seen one individual wether that was lamancha style without ears. Gotta say, personally the ears/lack of ears freak me out. If they had normal ears, I'd love them they are great bodied goats. I just dont think I could look at them all day every day. lol

If you like I can get you some breeder's numbers close by. Also, if you want some angoras I have some girls for sale lol :wink: Worth a shot right??


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## Pam B (Oct 15, 2007)

Store bought goat's milk IS disgusting tasting!!! But home-squeezed milk from a properly fed goat can taste just like cow's milk, but a lot creamier. If a goat is fed good quality hay (not scrub) and a nutritionally balanced sweet feed there is no excuse for their milk to taste bad.

And if you have your own supply of goat milk you can also make cheese and soap and save your mum from having to buy all that at the store! :wink:


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

I agree with what's been said--store bought goat's milk tastes NOTHING like fresh, properly handled goat's milk. I think part of the reason for that is the fact that the milk is probably several days old before it ever reaches the store shelf--I have heard that goat's milk more fragile than cow's and more prone to develop off-flavors as it ages...but if you have your own milking goats there is never any reason to drink milk that's more than a day old. You can use the older milk for other things, like Pam B said.


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## Amos (Oct 2, 2008)

There is sort of a steriotype about goat milk, because years ago, alot of people ran their bucks with the does, which gave the milk a not-so-good taste. My grandma will not even touch goats milk because she had it once and it tasted 'nasty' only because the buck was ran with the does, even though our goats milk tastes exactly like cows. A friend of ours who is a dairy cow farmer couldn't tell the difference. As Pam said, it depends on what they are fed, if you seen the one video that was posted of the cruel treated saanens, they had no pasture or hay that could be seen anyway, that would affect milk alot. Other things can affect the taste of milk, such as if someone was smoking while milking.


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## Suellen (Mar 9, 2008)

I must have strange taste buds because for me our goat milk/cheese has a taste I don't like and It leaves an after taste I have trouble getting rid of. :sigh: My husband likes our milk and cheese and so do our friends. We feed our goats hay, mixed grain and while milking a molasses grain mix. They also are out during the day to eat what they want on our 20 acres. We have tried not letting them graze but that didn't change the milk. We have an Ober/Alpine and an Alpine. I would love to be able to drink our goat milk and eat the cheese my husband makes but the after taste that hangs around yuck.
Suellen :horse:


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## Sybil (Dec 21, 2007)

Good goat milk tastes just like regular milk only better. There are some brands of cow jug milk that "taste". You shouldn't be able to smell "goat milk" and really not be able to tell the difference from good cow milk. There are some goats that just give bad milk and I don't know why. Some people swear it is what you are feeding them but I don't have any experience there as my goats are on pasture and are fed hay and grain when milking. I know I will get some goaty milk during the wet season or at least I think it is goaty. Hey look at this way.........you know what is in your milk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sue


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

I dislike milk in general, but I've had goat milk in my cereal and I use it for cooking, and there's no difference to me. Hubby drinks it by the mug-full and claims no difference as well.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

My nigi/pygmy cross girls have the best tasting milk...I don't like cows milk at all...It just gives me a yucky, gummy aftertaste that hangs on ...ICK! Depends on the goat, some girls have a very rich milk that has a higher butterfat and some don't have as much, which will affect the taste and texture of the milk. To me, goats milk is way better than cow, and hand squeezed is way better than storebought...besides it makes the absolute best fudge, ice cream, puddings as well as cheeses and soap......and it costs way less when you have your own goat...to buy from the store is expensive...what you would pay for a gallon of cows milk, depending on how much you go thru...could provide that little milk goat with grain and hay.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

Forgot to say some goats individuals/bloodlines just dont have as nice milk as others. Some toggy bloodlines are known to have a taint. 

Here's a bit of an Australian economic perspective for you:

I can feed a dairy breed doe for $1.50 per day. 
She will give me at the least 5L per day, at peak lactation 8L per day.
To buy 5L of milk at the supermarket costs between $5 and $6.
In addition, the doe gives me babies to sell/eat/keep, plus the joy of owning a goat. 
And I have good fresh, home made milk without preservatives etc and I know exactly what has gone into that milk. 

Seems like a no brainer to me.


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## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

Oh wow thats convincing.. And i agree keren, lamanchas freak me out so much// they look like my blue tounges outside :ROFL: 

I will have to give mum all those points.. she doesnt give in as easily as dad would


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

I guess the thing I didnt put on there is the purchase price of a dairy goat. 

It does depend on what you are looking for. 

If you want a really top quality doe that is registered and able to be shown (for me that is a big plus because I love showing my goats) you are looking at $250 and upwards, all the way up to $800. 

If you are just after an unregistered doe, if you look around in the right places you can get them fairly cheap, between $50 and $150. 

Petrol money is the other thing to consider, and it is worth finding a goat close to you. My Saanen does cost me $60 each plus is guess $8 petrol money each. My British Alpine on the other hand cost me $45, but $200 in petrol. 

Just some things for you to think about.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

differnet goats will produce different tasting milk.

Our first goats had fine tasting milk according to my dad but the second group of does we had he didnt like their milk at all (I think it was one specific doe). We changed nothign in their diet and had each goat for more then one lacation. 

Then this year I did a taste off with 3 of my doe's milk. I fed them all the same thing but one goats milk was very 'goaty' and you could smell it as you milked while the others milk is just dandy. It was a shame that the one who was producing the most milk had the disgusting tasting milk  I sold her as a pet.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

I will have to give mum all those points.. she doesnt give in as easily as dad would :P[/quote said:


> Now that's one smart gal, to approach the one who is hardest to convince! Love that thinking PiccoloGoat!
> 
> Years ago our milk would taste goaty after about 3 days and I was scrupulous about the handling & cooling etc.
> 
> ...


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## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

haha i doubt i would ever get one but it would be fun to milk it anyway


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## Amy Goatress (Oct 2, 2008)

Our Mini-Nubians give a delicious tasting milk that is nice and creamy and sweet tasting too, Nubian milk is good too but can't stand Alpine milk really though but that's just my opinion though.


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## grandmajo (Oct 14, 2008)

I agree with the breed of goat making a big difference. Our nubian has good tasting milk, and it seems to keep for a really long time. We share the extra with our pastor's family, and his wife cuts it half with water, they say it's too rich to drink straight. My toggy/alpine mix, well the milk just isn't as good, isn't near as sweet or creamy. I can't say about my kinder, she'll be a FF in the spring.

Jonell


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## lesserweevil (Oct 5, 2007)

I have only milked two goats at home so far... both their milk has been excellent. They're Saanens ( well herdbook saanens I think they have a little togg somewhere back) 

The thing with milk is that you MUST cool it as soon as you've milked - and keep it in a clean container in the fridge. If you dont wash up the milking stuff properly it'll start to get a taint to it - the same goes for what the goat eats, what you keep the milk with, etc. My goats basically get hay, grain, and grass if they're outside. (and sometimes pancakes and cookies *coughs*)

There was a period in the summer where the milk was tasting bad -I wasnt at home at the time so I'm fairly sure it was either the milk being left out too long or the equipment not being washed properly.

I also find it doesnt keep as long as cows' milk from the store does. I find that drunk in the first couple of days it's great but then it starts getting stronger - so am careful not to keep it too long.

LW


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