Goat milk compared to cow milk?

[General Brown]

We go through around 3 gallons of store bought milk a week. I have been entertaining the idea of a Nubian or other dairy goat for milk.
How does goat milk differ in taste from a cows?

[Lizza]

Store bought milk tastes totally different from homegrown milk, goat or cow. Your best bet is to try and find someone with dairy goats and just ask to try some. Where ever you were going to buy the goats would be a good place to start.

Honestly, it depends on the goat (and cow I guess). Some of our goats milk tastes really creamy and just like cow milk and others of our goats have awful milk. I expect the same thing happens with cows. I actually do plan on getting a cow, I'd love to get one this year but I need a better barn built before I do.

[Carolyn]

My family will take fresh goats milk any day over store bought cows milk. There really shouldn't be an off flavor at all. We have not had raw or fresh cows milk, but fresh raw goats milk is wonderful. No off flavor at all, but we milk into sterilized stainless and then filter into sterilized glass jars and put into freezer for fast chill. Carolyn

[HilltopDaisy]

I taste no difference as long as I am the one milking the goats. The milk MUST be filtered and chilled immediately (not in the fridge, but in an ice water bath). Tastes the same as whole milk.

[tyusclan]

Cow's milk is more forgiving than goat's milk. What a cow eats doesn't affect the taste of the milk as easily as it does a goat.

If the the goat is fed properly, and the milk handled properly (as mentioned above) it tastes just like cow's milk when it's fresh. But it's been my observation that no matter what you do or how you handle the milk, after about 3 days goat's milk tastes like a goat. Cow's milk doesn't get an off flavor until it starts to sour.

The cream will also rise on cow's milk so that you can skim it and make butter if you want. Goat's milk is excellent for making cheese, but the cream doesn't seperate and rise very much. So if you want to make butter with goat's milk you'll have to have a cream seperator.

[Quint]

Originally Posted by tyusclan

If the the goat is fed properly, and the milk handled properly (as mentioned above) it tastes just like cow's milk when it's fresh. But it's been my observation that no matter what you do or how you handle the milk, after about 3 days goat's milk tastes like a goat. Cow's milk doesn't get an off flavor until it starts to sour.

That has been my experience as well. It seems to be more "delicate" and must be handled with more care.

If I had a family I'd have a milk cow or two especially given the price of milk these days. Being just by myself I can't justify it but I'd sure rather have fresh milk than store bought.

[mdharris68]

It's funny, when new milk prospects come over to try some goat milk before they buy it, they get a big grin on thier face and say, humm, it tastes like milk, only better! I get the biggest kick out of thier reaction to drinking goat milk.

In my opinion, the only way to get goat milk this good is healthy does eating a whole grain diet, (amount per doe according to her milk supply), the best alfalfa you can afford or alfalfa pellets, minimum 3 lbs/day/doe, as well as proper handling, filtering, and chilling.

If you don't take the time to chill the milk, you might as well go out and lick your goat cause that is what it will taste like as soon as the bacteria gets rolling.

While it is true that the capric, caproic, and caprylic fatty acids in goat milk tend to break down sooner than cows milk producing an off flavor, this can be averted through proper milk handling and maintaining a low stomatic cell count through proper udder health.

My 2 cents

[Alice In TX/MO]

We have three dairy does, one in milk at this time.

This is my first experience with a dairy animal, but I love it! The milk is outstanding, and we've learned by comparison that what you get in the grocery store is watered down, adulterated, semi-fake milk product.

Our Alpine's milk is rich, sweet, and wonderful. We feed alfalfa hay and clean grain.

The milk is strained and chilled quickly. It will last a bit longer than a week in the fridge before 'turning', but we almost always drink it or make yogurt or cheese before then.

If you decide to go the dairy goat routine, you must get two. Goats are herd animals and must have a friend. Do not get a buck the first year or so, until you have experience and a separate place to put him and a wether friend. Bucks are the ones who smell. Does by themselves don't smell.

Find a place to get really fresh milk and give it a try!

[Scrounger]

Goat's milk is nasty! I grew up on cow's milk and my wife grew up on goat's milk. I can't stand the taste of goat's milk. I've had it from several different "sources" (and breeds) and it STILL was undrinkable. Even when I didn't know I was getting milk from a goat, I could still tell.
Since I don't like goat's milk and my wife doesn't like cow's milk, we just don't use any. She wants to get a couple Nubians for milk, but she's gonna have to milk them herself, 'cause she's gonna be the only one drinking it....

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY....

[wogglebug]

When milk "sours" it produces acids (well, duh - that's what makes it sour). Some of those acids are produced from the milk fat.
Cow's milk produces butyric (as in butter) acid, which isn't terribly objectionable in small amounts to people. In fact, a little of it can be tasty.
Goat's milk produces capric and caproic acids, which ARE terribly horribly awfully objectionable in even the smallest amounts.

That's why what the others said is true. You need to be scrupulously clean with goat's milk, chill it quickly, and drink it quickly. If it starts to turn AT ALL it will taste awful, at levels where we wouldn't object to cow's milk. If you're going to deliberately make it sour (cheese, yoghurt), you will need to absolutely swamp it with the bacterial culture, so they can finish their job quickly before natural bacteria/off-flavours develop.

Conversely, you CAN be confident that goat's milk that tastes good is good, whereas cow's milk that doesn't taste objectionable might still have started to turn. When both are fresh and clean, there should be no more appreciable difference in flavour than there would be between milk from different cows.

[mdharris68]

Originally Posted by Scrounger

Goat's milk is nasty! I grew up on cow's milk and my wife grew up on goat's milk. I can't stand the taste of goat's milk. I've had it from several different "sources" (and breeds) and it STILL was undrinkable. Even when I didn't know I was getting milk from a goat, I could still tell.
Since I don't like goat's milk and my wife doesn't like cow's milk, we just don't use any. She wants to get a couple Nubians for milk, but she's gonna have to milk them herself, 'cause she's gonna be the only one drinking it....

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY....

Scrounger,

If you ever make it to NE Kansas, I would like you to drop buy for a milk tasting contest. I think you would have a hard time tasting a difference if you had properly handled and chilled raw goat milk.

[SHELBY]

Originally Posted by mdharris68

Scrounger,

If you ever make it to NE Kansas, I would like you to drop buy for a milk tasting contest. I think you would have a hard time tasting a difference if you had properly handled and chilled raw goat milk.

I'm with Scrounger on this one,

I have had properly handled and chilled raw goat milk, Although it was good, I could tell the difference and prefer raw cows milk.

[mdharris68]

Originally Posted by SHELBY

I'm with Scrounger on this one,

I have had properly handled and chilled raw goat milk, Although it was good, I could tell the difference and prefer raw cows milk.

Ok the invitation is extended to you as well.

[SHELBY]

No, thank you,

I'll stick with my jersey's fresh raw milk.



Nothing against goat milk or anything, just don't prefer it. If we didn't have a cow, and goat milk, it would be alot better than that watered down and killed store milk.
But I'm not sure if the kiddos would drink as much as they do the raw cows milk.
They've tried it too and liked it but not as well as the cows milk.

[Timberline]

We milk our Dexter cows and Nubian goats. I can't tell much difference in taste or fat percent, very similiar. I have been milking cows for 10 years and goats for only a year and a half and would like to add this from my experience:
Pros for the goats:
~much cheaper to buy, feed and house
~breed to freshen at one year of age (two years for a hefier)
~feeding and maintaining a pregnant doe for 5 months (instead of nine for cow)
~if you live where you can legally sell raw milk, goat milk tends to bring quite a bit more per gallon
~if you're into making soap, goat milk soap is getting more popular among the masses and is a good seller
~much less manure and easier to clean up after

Pros for the cows:
~generally more milk produced (although I have seen good dairy goats that produce as much or more than some Dexters)
~beef from your calf (I have tried goat and really prefer beef)
~easier to keep in the fences
~much less predator risk
~bulls don't stink like bucks in rut do (but I'd rather deal with a 200# mad buck than a 1200# mad bull)

I love both my cows and goats and can't decide between them, so keep both, so I guess I'm not much help to you.

[Scrounger]

Originally Posted by mdharris68

Scrounger,

If you ever make it to NE Kansas, I would like you to drop buy for a milk tasting contest. I think you would have a hard time tasting a difference if you had properly handled and chilled raw goat milk.

Well - I'm in SE Nebraska! My wife's dad milked goats up until about 5 years ago. He chilled his right away and all, but I could still tell the difference. I've had milk from goat daries that still tasted nasty (to me). It's an "aquired" taste.....

[Use Less]

I handled the milk well, but some of the does' milk still tasted "goaty". It's a little musky and strong-scented/flavored compared to cow's milk. A couple of my does we just never got used to it. 'Course milk in glass tastes way different to me than milk in plastic-coated cardboard. You could try preocessed goat's milk from a healthfood store first. It's pricey, but probably more consistent/less pungent than from many farms. Then on to a farm where you might be able to taste. Folks in many areas don't sell goat's milk because of parlor and processing requirements.

[General Brown]

Thanks to all who replied. It sounds as if I need to go sample some goat milk!!

[ozark_jewels]

Properly milked, chilled and cared for fresh goats milk is delicious. Soooooo much better than storebought cow milk. Now, I am a raw Jersey cow milk fan. I will always choose that over good goat milk. I grew up on it and I just like it better. That said, there is nothing wrong with properly handled goat milk.
Scrounger, some breeds don't have as good tasting milk as others, and what they are fed and how its handled makes 100% difference in flavour. Goat dairies are the worst place to try out fresh goat milk because the milk is from many, many goats all mixed together in the bulk tank. Also fresh warm milk is mixed with 12 hour-old cold milk. I should know, I used to have a goat dairy. And I totally agree that some goat milk is just plain nasty.

As others have said, please taste the milk from the individual goat that you are considering buying. Some goats just don't have pleasing milk....but that is rare.
And General Brown, I applaud your idea of a Nubian. Or my other choice would be a Lamancha.
Hey, I see you are in MO. What part?? We are near Willow Springs/Mountain View area of Missouri. You'd be welcome to come over and see the gals and taste some fresh goats milk from my Nubians. I'll have Lamanchas milking later next month as well.

[General Brown]

We are located North of you in the Rolla area. Perhaps sometime when the weather straightens up we can make a drive down and do a taste test. My son must come, as he is the milk hog around here.(also the potential milker, hee hee).