# Sour refrigerated milk?



## BlueMoonSpot (May 11, 2012)

First off, this is not a question about my goats. Two of my sisters were over at a friends house and wanted me to ask y'all about this. =)

So, our friends have Nubian dairy goats. My sisters helped milk one of the does and noticed that when the milk was fresh and warm, it tasted good. However, once it had been refrigerated, it tasted sour. We've had milk from them a few times and it's always been sort of sour and sharp-tasting. They strain and chill the milk right after milking the doe...any ideas on why the taste changes like this?


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

Are they Toggenburgs? or even Togg mixes?


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## BlueMoonSpot (May 11, 2012)

Nope. Purebred Nubian.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

What type of container is being used to store the milk? Also, what kind of cleaner? I've noticed that certain types of soap will cause my mason jars to hold the scent even after a thorough rinse.


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Up till this year, my does have invariably had sweet, delicious milk. This year there was a bad aftertaste. I wouldn't call it sour, just...un-sweet. Like milk with all the sweetness taken out.  It was weird. I've been experimenting with their copper levels, and it seems to be caused by copper deficiency. I've raised their copper levels and I think it's gone. (It's sometimes hard to tell, because it's much more noticeable when I'm eating something sweet with it.)
Anyway, it's something to consider.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Are they on pasture? What kind of feed are they getting? It can be feed related and also mineral related as MilkMaid suggested. 
I like stainless to milk into then glass is prefered for storage or clean plastic.


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## BlueMoonSpot (May 11, 2012)

Thanks for all the input. I don't know many details of what they use for milking...I know they milk into stainless steel and I think they store the milk in glass jars...the goats are on pasture and some kind of grain, I think it's organic cob or something. Anyways, I will pass this info along to my sister since she was the one who wanted to know. Thanks!


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

I'm having similar issues. Also, my milk curdles by itself when it reaches temperature, when I'm making cheese. It makes me mad! My milk was not that goaty last year.


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

It can also be caused by how it is chilled. Just another possibility. If they just put the warm milk in the fridge it takes 24 hours to get cold. If you chill it in a bucket of ice water it gets cold in an hour or so, so long as the water is cold enough.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

This is probably a stupid question, but ya never know lol. Are they mixing milk? If so maybe the one they pour into the other is not cool enough yet. I did that once and the whole batch was bad.


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

> I'm having similar issues. Also, my milk curdles by itself when it reaches temperature, when I'm making cheese. It makes me mad! My milk was not that goaty last year.


Have you tested for subclinical mastitis? The way I do it is mix a little dish detergent and water in a cup, then mix a little of the milk in. If it turns viscous, there is mastitis. If it stays thin, then the milk is clean. Weird, but it works.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

^ That is very interesting! Thanks for posting that!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Original Dawn dish soap works best when trying this "mastitis test"....and it does work.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

That is good to know to Liz, thanks!


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

I was looking for original Dawn dish soap today in my grocery store and there was none. Is it gone? They have original Palmolive, which I expect would also work. Green dish soap. There was an "original fragrance" Dawn.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I find original Dawn at the Dollar General or Family Dollar stores. You can try the Palmolive but I think theres something in the ingredients to moisturize your hands during use...not sure if it would affect using it to check viscosity of milk.


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

> ^ That is very interesting! Thanks for posting that!


You're welcome!
That's neat that you do it too Liz! I use 7th Generation dish soap.


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