# What Does Goat Milk Taste Like?



## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

Okay, I know this should probably been the first question I asked before even thinking about getting goats, but I just pressed on. So I have never had goats' milk before or even raw milk or any other milk other than the 2% blue cap stuff you get at Walmart. How different from store milk is it going to be? I am expecting the difference to be vast, and even if we don't like the milk I expect we will like the cheese and soap that I am planning to use the milk for. I've heard a lot of opinions on goat milk taste what are yours? (sorry if this was the wrong category to post this under)


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

First time I tried it it was from a Nubian boer doe, it was gross! That's all I can say about it. Some say it was because it wasn't chilled all the way some say it was because she was housed close to the buck. Either way I didn't try it again for years lol this year I was brace and tried it again from my alpine, totally chilled totally housed away from the buck. It tasted like normal milk (I drink whole milk) but a little more creamy. That's the best I can explain it. Maybe a little stronger milk taste then store bought. I'm really not a milk fan to start with unless it's with cocoa pebbles or chocolate milk but I for sure wasn't grossed out like the first time lol


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Boy Jessica do you know how to ruin milk. (just giving you a bad time)
I'm no huge milk drinker either but it is true that if it is not well chilled as soon as she is milked it will have an off taste.
Same goes with depending on forage, even low copper levels.

Always use steel pails & glass jars, never plastic. I always threw mine in the freezer for about a half hour after straining. When hot outside I would freeze the glass jars prior to using.


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## wifeof1 (Mar 18, 2016)

I think the breed matters. I have Oberhasli, Nubian, La Mancha, Saanen, and Nigerian Dwarf. To me, the Oberhasli taste closer to whole cow milk. Breeding season is sketchy for a few.

Sent from my SM-J700T using Goat Forum mobile app


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

My milk tastes amazing, creamy and no aftertaste like cows milk. It took a lot of trial and error to get it that way though. 

1. Minerals. Copper, cobalt and b12 deficiency (b12 mainly in toggs) can really affect milk flavor. all goats should have a good free choice loose and mineral and possible extra copper/cobalt/b12 supplementation depending on your area. 

2. Don't house your buck with the does. Can cause bucky tasting milk. 

3. Always milk into stainless steel pails/containers. Other materials can taint the milk.

4. Strain and chill the milk as soon as possible after milking. Some people even milk onto ice packs to cool it quickly, but I haven't found that to be necessary. 

5. If all else fails, check your pasture for anything that might be flavoring the milk. Garlic, tree of heaven, etc.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

nancy d said:


> Boy Jessica do you know how to ruin milk. (just giving you a bad time)
> I'm no huge milk drinker either but it is true that if it is not well chilled as soon as she is milked it will have an off taste.
> Same goes with depending on forage, even low copper levels.
> 
> Always use steel pails & glass jars, never plastic. I always threw mine in the freezer for about a half hour after straining. When hot outside I would freeze the glass jars prior to using.


Why yes when I mess something up I do it the best I can lol 
I didn't know this about the plastic! I had mine in a plastic pitcher and it still was decent.....(again not a milk fan) 
I'm sure breed does matter as well. Not a goat but years ago we had a jersey and that was the only milk I ever really liked. I picked up a jersey red angus cross and I really couldnt stand it.....but the kids loved it


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## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

Goat milk should taste amazing! If it isn't amazing there are probably issues such as mastitis or mineral deficiency or eating the wrong weeds. I have Nubians Alpines and Guernseys and the milk is the BEST! My Husbands comments when he first tried it was, wow! That's like silk compared to cotton, meaning cow was cotton and goat was silk, smooth, creamy and so fresh. We LOVE it and in all honesty when my girls are dry we just don't drink store bought milk. I am not even going to go into how much better fresh raw goat milk is for you over the crap in the stores.


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

lovinglife said:


> Goat milk should taste amazing! If it isn't amazing there are probably issues such as mastitis or mineral deficiency or eating the wrong weeds. I have Nubians Alpines and Guernseys and the milk is the BEST! My Husbands comments when he first tried it was, wow! That's like silk compared to cotton, meaning cow was cotton and goat was silk, smooth, creamy and so fresh. We LOVE it and in all honesty when my girls are dry we just don't drink store bought milk. I am not even going to go into how much better fresh raw goat milk is for you over the crap in the stores.


Guernseys, hmm I've never heard of those before. Did a quick google search and wow, those look awesome.


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## capracreek (Apr 5, 2016)

I love it. Had never tried it before but found it to be very close to cow milk just not as hard on the stomach. So if one is lactose intolerant it works great. I milk with the Dansh milking hand held into a mason jar and straight into the refrigerator. I also heard that the buck can make the milk taste goaty so we keep them separate except during rut but we are not milking during rut!!! Good luck and go for it. It is so satisfying to produce your own whether it is milk, eggs, rabbits or veggies in the garden.


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

Well this is just what I was hoping to hear. Thanks for all the great responses. I can't wait to try goat's milk!:7up:


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## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

Guernseys are wonderful goats! Sweet and mellow.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Our Alpine/Nubian crosses give excellent milk and we drink a lot of it. I don't take any special measures with milk handling. I strain it and it goes in the fridge. It tastes like good store milk but smoother and creamier, and I don't do any rapid cooling. I also let my bucks run with my does for most of the year. I occasionally get that bucky taste when the girls are heavily in heat, and then it doesn't matter whether they're with the bucks or not--the milk tastes off. 

I've had more trouble with milk from my purebred Alpines. It has a tendency to taste either goaty or sort of bitter and grassy. Sometimes it's delicious, but I feel like I have to be a lot more careful about my Alpines' diets to keep their milk tasting sweet. They need more alfalfa or something. The Nubian crosses rarely have bitter-tasting milk no matter what I feed them, although last year they needed a cobalt block. They usually don't need extra cobalt, but for some reason they did last year. 

Most people who visit don't realize they're drinking goat milk unless I tell them. I try not to tell them because some of them suddenly decide they don't like it any more. Also our goat ice cream is incredible!


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## wndngrvr (Dec 10, 2011)

I like " loving life's" description of cotton and silk to compare the milks. We just had a family here for dinner today. First time goat milk people - they loved it. We had a selection of cheese and lots of fresh milk with dinner. It is the best. We also can't stand store milk. Keep you goats healthy and clean and using the best feed possible is the secret I think. Ours get a lot of browse and the bucks are on the other side of the fence. This doesn't have any impact on their milk. It is so very very good.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

Gah, reading all this makes me want to give it a try again. It was just a lot too try and get done before work and the doe I was learning on made it very difficult.


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## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

Oh I feel your pain! I commute an hour to and from work, plus I ride the commuter van which leaves at 6:15 am. I usually don't get home until 5:30, then I get to go do all the chores, which brings me to the reason I have transitioned my girls to once a day, in the evening, those 4 am alarms got old fast. So worth it though.


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## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

lovinglife said:


> Goat milk should taste amazing! If it isn't amazing there are probably issues such as mastitis or mineral deficiency or eating the wrong weeds. I have Nubians Alpines and Guernseys and the milk is the BEST! My Husbands comments when he first tried it was, wow! That's like silk compared to cotton, meaning cow was cotton and goat was silk, smooth, creamy and so fresh. We LOVE it and in all honesty when my girls are dry we just don't drink store bought milk. I am not even going to go into how much better fresh raw goat milk is for you over the crap in the stores.


This sums up my thoughts pretty well! There is no comparison to my goats milk to store bought milk. It's probably been 15 years or more since I drank milk from the store. I consume about 4 cups of raw milk yogurt from my goats each day, it tastes amazing, I could live on it if I didn't have anything else to eat.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Some of us love cow milk from the store. My goat milk is definitely smoother, generally richer, and sometimes sweeter (depending on time of year), but the flavor is about the same as cow milk I think. It doesn't taste "goaty" in other words. I do NOT like goaty-flavored milk! Blech!!


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## Jeanne LLM (Sep 4, 2017)

If your milk does taste a bit goaty, DON'T GIVE UP. I'm 64, was raised on goats milk and raised my kids on it. I can always fool our friends now, but when I was a kid, the goat milk we got always tasted stronger than cow's milk. If we'd had to go without goat milk for an extended period, we had a trick: we held our nose while drinking it for two days, then it tasted great again. We always thought cow milk was bland - like water. We loved goat milk even then, and it is SOO much better for you. We started it as kids because my younger brothers were both allergic to cow milk, as was my son. Today, I know I'm absorbing a lot more nutrients, including calcium for my aging bones. So stick with it. You'll be glad.


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## MellonFriend (Aug 8, 2017)

So what I seem to be hearing is that if the goat's milk taste bad, it's because you're not doing something right.


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## Jeanne LLM (Sep 4, 2017)

Not necessarily. You can do things to make the milk have less - or no - goaty taste, but a little goaty taste does not necessarily mean the milk is bad. As I understand it, what they eat, the breed, whether a male is nearby, etc. can all increase the goatiness of the flavor. We lived in several different places as a kid and bought milk from different farms; it always had a little goatiness to the flavor, but it was very clear when the milk was turning bad. Big difference. Point is, if you're just starting out, I understand you may have to adjust things to reduce the goaty flavor, but it doesn't mean your milk is not safe or healthy to drink if your goats are healthy and you're collecting it carefully. But I'm only an expert in drinking goat milk, not collecting it. ;-)


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## Jeanne LLM (Sep 4, 2017)

Actually, the main reason I weighed in on this is that I'm pretty sure at least a few of the folks that say their milk doesn't taste at all goaty and, in fact, tastes better than cow milk probably have grown accustomed to a certain amount of natural goaty taste and no longer taste it. It was ONLY when my mother had been unable to get goat milk for many months that it ever tasted goaty to us. And that only lasted a couple of days. Other than that all six people in the family much preferred the goat milk to cow milk.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

No. Actually I had family taste my milk who never drank it before. All of them said it just tastes like cow milk. Goat milk really shouldn't have a goaty taste but I agree that goaty taste doesn't mean the milk is spoiled.


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## kimbuffet (Apr 18, 2013)

I drink it but the kids will only take it in soups smoothies or cheese. I think it is different from cows milk. Chilling it definately helps. We have Nubians.


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

MellonFriend said:


> So what I seem to be hearing is that if the goat's milk taste bad, it's because you're not doing something right.


Pretty much


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## camooweal (Jun 27, 2015)

We've milked a Toggenburg, British Alpine and Anglo Nubians. All milk tasted great and most people thought they were drinking cow's milk (Jersey). 
camooweal


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## camooweal (Jun 27, 2015)

<<<We have Nubians.>>>

Same here ... currently milking a two-year old Anglo Nubian who lost her twins a month ago.
camooweal (a confirmed Nubian nut-case!)


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## Jeanne LLM (Sep 4, 2017)

Mea culpa, all. No offence meant. Again, with 64 years of drinking goat milk from at least 12 different farms - 8 of them as a kid - goat milk today is more reliably _not _goaty, but occasionally is a bit. But as a kid we had to go off it every time we moved or a farm stopped selling it. When Mom found a new source we tasted but adjusted to the mild goaty flavor very quickly and stopped being able to taste it. (So I still hold that it's probable that a few folks out there have milk that is a wee bit goaty but they don't notice. It's great milk.)

Now, for a little humor (and education for non-goat milk drinkers), go to Youtube and search "goat milk taste test." There are a bunch of good (and funny) videos, but you have to watch Good Mythical Morning's "Extreme Milk Taste Test" - hilarious (and goat milk is a winner).


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