# Milk Taste



## knightrider (Feb 28, 2012)

So...which breed of goat has the best tasting milk in your opinion? I'm getting ready to breed my first two ND does at the end of this year, but am wondering if I plan on milking more like I'm thinking of doing if I should get a bigger breed of goat. I love my girls but am thinking more milk production would be better...I just don't want to sacrifice taste too much...

So, which is your favorite and why?


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## KarmakeeFarm (Jun 3, 2012)

Lamancha milk is light and sweet-Nigi,and Nubian is heavy and nice-lots of cream-Alpine and Saanen somewhere in between-the other breeds I have had no experience with-I like them all!


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

All are yummy! I've only heard that Toggenburgs can have bitter milk, but some breeders say the right diet will fix that.


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## xymenah (Jul 1, 2011)

Saanens generally produce allot of low butterfat milk. Their milk is not a creamy and sweet but is good.

LaMancha's can produce very sweet milk or normal milk with a decent amount of butterfat. I have never tasted milk from a LaMancha that was strong.

Toggenburg's can milk with decent butterfat amounts. If you buy a Togg its best to get one in milk so you can make sure the milk isn't strong. 

Alpine's are very diverse in everything. They can have strong milk like a Togg, they can have low or high butterfat content.

Nubian's produce creamy high butterfat content milk.


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## Hobbyfarmer (Sep 7, 2011)

My best tasting milker is a Nubian Saanen mix. Yum-O! Tried straight Nubian milk from a breeder and it was also delicious. 

My least favorite is LaMancha. I've tried pooled LaMancha milk at a breeders' and also from my doe. Both tasted very goaty. It improved with alfalfa in the diet and a change of loose minerals. But in general we feed it to the pigs. 

My best advice is get a doe in milk and taste her milk. If it tastes good and you are happy with the volume she's producing then she's the one.


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## GTAllen (Jul 22, 2012)

I sure liked the milk from a ND that was on alfalfa, grain, and browse. But, I wouldn't think that they produce a huge volume of milk.


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## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

Milk from goats that I have had experience with.... 

Nubians - creamy and delicious.

Toggs - only had 2 toggs over the years, but did not care for their milk. It could at times get very strong tasting.

Lamanchas - creamy and delicious also. 

Alpines - not as creamy but also very delicious.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

For me I like my ND, true it takes (roughly) 2 to = big goat, but you can feed 2 for the same- for the most part. My ND are on alfalfa always, and dairy pellets during kidding and milking. It has a sweet taste, I pictured "really sweet" which it wasn't. According to the ADA tables, if it matters to you, they break down basic volume, butterfat and protein content. The ND had the highest butterfat and protein, if I remember correctly. My friend had other breeds but follows the same feed, sorry I don't remember which one, and it tasted goaty; which is why I was nervous about goat milk period.


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## Arkie (Sep 25, 2012)

Our Toggenburg's milk is every bit as delicious as our Nubian's. Both are mild, slightly sweet, and feel creamy on the tongue. AND that's in spite of us totally ruining/destroying it by pasteruizing!

Bob


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## ptgoats45 (Nov 28, 2011)

My Alpines produce a pretty skim milk, good taste but not very creamy. Most of them tested with 2.5-3.5% butterfat. My Nubians give a lot creamier milk testing 3.5-5.0% butterfat. I have noticed the Nubian milk takes longer to get the colostrum taste out after they kid. I had one doe this spring that took 2 weeks before her milk tasted good. I just got some Saanens so they haven't been tested yet, but right now I am milking one Alpine and one Saanen. The difference in the milk since adding the Saanen is amazing. The milk is so much sweeter and has a much creamier texture. Of course both does are late in their lactation so they will have more fat in the milk, but there is a definite difference in taste since I got the Saanen. Next year I will have 7 Saanens in milk, 2 Nubians and 4 Alpines. 

If you want lots of milk, get a Saanen. The 2011 Saanen breed leader, SGCH Lion's Gate WMV Afganistan 7*M, (also the top producing doe out of all breeds) gave 6080 lbs of milk in 305 days with 255 lbs of butterfat and 193 lbs of protein. She was the leader in all three categories for her breed. The #1 Alpine gave 5670 lbs in 305 days, the #1 LaMancha gave 4140 in 305 days, the #1 Nubian gave 3920 lbs in 305 days, the #1 Toggenburg gave 4270 lbs in 305 days, the #1 Oberhasli gave 3430 lbs in 305 days and the #1 Sable gave 3320 in 295 days. Sables are colored Saanens, so they will milk similarly.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Arkie said:


> Our Toggenburg's milk is every bit as delicious as our Nubian's. Both are mild, slightly sweet, and feel creamy on the tongue. AND that's in spite of us totally ruining/destroying it by pasteruizing!
> 
> Bob


:ROFL:


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## Hobbyfarmer (Sep 7, 2011)

Who else is read this post and immediately poured a tall cold glass of milk?


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

not me  I don't have anybody milking until next spring.


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

I had a Toggenburg whose milk was quite strong. After we had her for a while it improved greatly so I suspect food had a lot to do with it. Her daughter gave really tasty milk. (I no longer have these two.)

My other Togg, ChaCha, who I still have, has some of the best, richest milk I have ever tasted. Her daughter (Angel) is Togg/Nubian/Saanen and has betther milk than Mom.
I only have one pure Nubian (Star) left and when I mix her milk with the two above I know I kept the right does.
So, it really takes some trial and error but I am sure you will find the fit for your tastes.
I am anxious to get last year's girls bred to see how they will milk. They are either Nubian/Nubian/Saanen or Togg/Nubian/Saanen. I keep experimenting for fun but would be happy with ChaCha, Angel and Star for many years.


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## Engebretsen (May 16, 2012)

We milked two LaManchas this year and loved their milk. Sweet, creamy, with almost a buttery taste.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

I've tried Nubian, Lamancha, Sanaan, and Nigerian Dwarf milk. The ND milk was, by far, the best tasting - sweet, creamy and not a hint of goatiness. However, it IS high in fat. But it's so delicious!!!!!!!


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## HamiltonAcresBoers (May 9, 2012)

I've had saanen, alpine, and boer (hehe). The saanen milk tasted remarkably 'goaty' to me. Alpine milk is my favorite! Boer milk isn't bad at all though. 

We have 3 lamancha does due in the spring, so we'll see how that tastes!


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## Engebretsen (May 16, 2012)

HamiltonAcresBoers said:


> I've had saanen, alpine, and boer (hehe). The saanen milk tasted remarkably 'goaty' to me. Alpine milk is my favorite! Boer milk isn't bad at all though.
> 
> We have 3 lamancha does due in the spring, so we'll see how that tastes!


You're going to love it!


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

I had a very interesting milk taste experience lately. We were going to visit our son for a few days so I took a morning's milking and put it in two quart mason jars. The jars had been washed in the dishwasher. There was absolutely NO difference in the two jars of milk. They came from the same bucket! 
When we got to our son's and had a glass of milk that evening we both noticed a slight goatie flavor. It doesn't really bother us anymore but we could tell it was there. The next morning we had some in our coffee and yep, goaty coffee. I decided to try the other jar and low and behold............it was as good and sweet as ever.
No idea how that could have happened.


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## fd123 (May 29, 2012)

maybe the difference was what was on top in the bucket,v/s what settled to the bottom..??..


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## Engebretsen (May 16, 2012)

Maybe one stayed colder than the other on the drive.


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## kristinatucker (Jan 3, 2012)

I have had our nigerian dwarfs and a nubians. ND is a thicker quality. Almost tastes like cream to me, it does have a sweeter taste to it. The nubians was about like whole milk and less sweet. To me the nubian tasted more like cows milk. The family took longer to get used to the ND milk but we started watering it down a little and made it better for us.


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

Engebretsen said:


> Maybe one stayed colder than the other on the drive.


 We were in our motor home and they were in the refridgerator. So that should not be it. It is a puzzlement.:shrug:


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## Engebretsen (May 16, 2012)

luvmyherd said:


> We were in our motor home and they were in the refridgerator. So that should not be it. It is a puzzlement.:shrug:


 Could there have been some residue in one of the jars? Or bacteria that took advantage? Maybe it was a thanksgiving head-scratcher trick just to throw you guys off.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

The best flavoured of all my goats is the Boer/Alpine. My Toggs were goaty until I started feeding them distillers grains to increase available B vitamins and their milk sweetened in 3 days. I suspect the breed simply needs different feeds than other breeds because when I fed them just like my other does their milk was gag-worthy. But once they are on their different diet.... Yummy-licious. Still not as good as my Boer/Alpine but hers almost tastes like someone added a touch of sugar, lol. My mini-Nubian's is quite delish as well. Next spring my doeling out of the Boer/Alpine and by a LaMancha will freshen for the first time. OOOHHHH I hope she gets her dam's milk quality with the capacity and production of her sire's side.


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

Remembering waaayy back.....to the 80's here. The very best milk I EVER tasted was from a $50 scrub goat. I swear; it tasted like a vanilla milkshake. Sadly, we lost her to a tragic, freak accident shortly after she freshened so that was short lived. She only had one buckling so we never got to breed any of her kids.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

luvmyherd said:


> Remembering waaayy back.....to the 80's here. The very best milk I EVER tasted was from a $50 scrub goat. I swear; it tasted like a vanilla milkshake. Sadly, we lost her to a tragic, freak accident shortly after she freshened so that was short lived. She only had one buckling so we never got to breed any of her kids.


This is almost how Sage's milk tastes. I used it in my coffee and barely needed any sugar because it was sooo sweet. I am just hoping she passed this on to her daughter.


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## ASTONs Dairy (Aug 14, 2012)

I have a Saanen, when I feed alfalfa pellets I get an inch of cream in a qt of milk, the milk with the cream in it taste like 2% store bought cow milk. If I skim the cream the milk taste like 1%.


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