# How long does raw milk last?



## rebelshope

Or rather not how long does it last, but how long is it safe to drink? I am talking about unpasteurized here. A few days? A week?


----------



## FarmGirl18

If cooled and taken care of properly mine is easily good for a week, sometimes even a bit longer.


----------



## liz

Same here, cooled properly as soon as it's taken from the goat, mine lasts about 8 or 9 days.....usually though if I have a quart or more in the fridge after each milking, I skim it and get it in the freezer an have a pint or so for immediate use while the fresh stuff "settles" so I don't have milk in the fridge longer than 2 days...especially during my girls peak.....as it tapers off is when I have it in the fridge longer as right now I'm getting just a pint a day from 1 doe.


----------



## SDK

yea about a week


----------



## capriola-nd

Is it okay to stick milk that's been in the fridge for a week, in the freezer?? Or is it best to put it in the freezer sooner? We don't drink goat's milk once it's been frozen, after that, it's strictly for use with soap.


----------



## Amy Goatress

We usually put ours in the fridge right away or the freezer right away and we'll use the freezer milk for bottle babies, etc. but the fridge milk we usually pasterize and use it up for our own purposes.


----------



## FarmGirl18

It's best to put it in the freezer right away, but I would think if you are just using it for soap it would be okay...


----------



## liz

We drink it after it's been thawed...no issues with it other than it doesn't bled back together very easy...the only thing I noticed is that once thawed it only keeps for a couple days in the fridge....usually it is in the fridge 1-2 days before frozen.


----------



## MysticHollowGoats

Hmm I guess I am a brave one.......a few weeks ago I found a qt jar that had been put in the bottom of the fridge (not by me) and it was dated 11 days prior. It had lots of cream on top so I stirred it back up and took a drink. Just as good as the day it was milked out and I am very sensative to off tasting milk. I really couldn't believe it but it was yummy. :yum:


----------



## fcnubian

Goat milk here has lasted over a week. It's all in how its handled. :greengrin:


----------



## Pam B

It stays good for about 10 days in my milk fridge which is set specifically just above freezing to keep my milk as fresh as possible.


----------



## rebelshope

Pam B said:


> It stays good for about 10 days in my milk fridge which is set specifically just above freezing to keep my milk as fresh as possible.


I have a mini fridge that I thought about using just for milk.

Thanks for all the replies. It looks like once my girls are miking my sister can try my milk. She is really nervous about trying goats milk and was asking how long it would last. I said I thought a week. I told her I could bring her milk I got that morning and take it down to her. She said at the very least she would try making farmer's cheese. I think she come around and try drinking it too. She gets eggs from me already.


----------



## MysticHollowGoats

Ha, EVERYONE I know who has never had goats milk has given me THE face when they ask me if we drink our goats milk.
Cracks me up really and to watch them take that first sip :slapfloor: You would think they were trying battery acid.
But everyone who tries it ends up loving it and can't believe it is sooo good.


----------



## capriola-nd

I'm getting those looks now from my dad. I'm sure he'll love goat's milk but he's giving me "the look" whenever I talk about it.  We'll have 5 does freshening at home next year and I'm going to milk all of them.  Can't wait!!


----------



## Pam B

MysticHollowGoats said:


> Cracks me up really and to watch them take that first sip :slapfloor: You would think they were trying battery acid.
> But everyone who tries it ends up loving it and can't believe it is sooo good.


My youngest son wouldn't touch goat's milk when we first started milking because my MIL (who at the time was totally opposed to my marrying her son and would do anything to turn his little boy against me) told him it was icky. He was about 5 at the time. Well, I started mixing the goat milk into the milk jug from the grocery store until he was drinking pure goat milk without knowing it. When he finally figured out that he was drinking goat's milk and hadn't been able to tell the difference between it and the store bought cows milk he finally gave in and admitted that he liked it. Then he became a goat milk missionary. Every time he invited friends over he would tell them they had to try the goat milk. Most of the kids were adventuresome and willing to try a sip. Of all the kids that have tried our goat milk over the years not a single one has disliked it. They invariably express great surprise at how good it is and then ask for a full glass to drink.

And to top it all off, my MIL's husband LOVED my goat cheese and would eat a pound a week while he was alive. Oh, and my MIL had a change of heart toward me when she married the goat cheese loving man and my hubby and I were the only family members that supported her marriage to him. :hi5:


----------



## rebelshope

Pam B said:


> [Oh, and my MIL had a change of heart toward me when she married the goat cheese loving man and my hubby and I were the only family members that supported her marriage to him. :hi5:


Oh that is a wonderful story! It is like one of my friends always says, "Because 'nice' matters." What goes around does come around, including "nice"  :wink:


----------



## Amos

Well, I must say thats a nice turn out Pam!

One of our buyers' sons couldn't drink cows milk, so we told her to try goat milk, even though her husband has been a dairy cow farmer all his life, and was totally opposed to it. She put the goat milk in a normal milk jug and in the fridge, by the cows milk, well come dinner time, her husband took the goats milk out, and her family ended up drinking it all, and when she went to put it back, she noticed they had taken the goat milk, she told her husband that and he didn't believe her. He couldn't even tell the difference between the two. They were our buyer until our Nubian dryed off, and then she had her son try cows milk and now he can drink that stuff =\ But we always get wierd looks too, we've had family come over, and I'd tell them they'd have to try some, but none of them would, but come supper time, we would try the ole switcheroo, put the goat milk in a cow milk jug. Unfortunatly some of our guests turned pale when they found out. But they have to admit they couldn't tell the difference.


----------



## MysticHollowGoats

capriola-nd said:


> We'll have 5 does freshening at home next year and I'm going to milk all of them.  Can't wait!!


 :thumbup: Good for you, my opinion is they are dairy goats after all and should be used as such.

I will also be milking 5 this time next year  I am stoked about too cause it will mean regular milk sales  
Right now I trade 1 gal for 1 pound of fresh roasted coffee a couple times a month (20$ worth a month).
So not only do my goats provide the cream but they also provide the coffee for my morning addiction


----------



## rebelshope

I am going to be miking 3 if all goes well. I am not sure i could do 5 right off the bat. 

I am already dreaming of yogurt and cheese.


----------



## capriola-nd

Yeah, except three of them are Pygmy does. . . . when my Pygmy girl had her c-section and lost her baby, I milked her and gave the milk to her half-sister. She was a very good little milker and has BIG teats, she only really likes it when I milk her, she put up a fuss when my mom tried.

Anyways, I have Lyla and Claribelle freshening at home this coming year. I've been messing with their teats since they were babies so they will be very well-behaved for me. 



> So not only do my goats provide the cream but they also provide the coffee for my morning addiction


That is so neat!!  My dad & mom would love fresh roasted coffee, where do you get that?


----------



## MysticHollowGoats

The owner of Happy Rock Coffee in Gladstone is a really good friend of ours.
He roasts all his organic fair trade beans himself right there in the shop...WONDERFUL coffee, superb service and just an all round good guy!!
http://happyrockcoffeehouse.com/
He has 6 different roast blends, my favorite is Cloud Dancers mmmmmmm


----------

