saanens milk taste

christie · #1 05/11/10, 10:54 PM

HI all,
I am an owner of nubian doe and I am interested in buying a saanen doe. I have inquired about a saanen doe for sale and when I asked her owmer how her milk tasted she replied that Saanens were bred to make cheese and have a goaty taste to their milk for that purpose. And that she would not use her milk as table milk.
Now I love my nubies milk , creamy... no diferent then the taste of cows milk! I want to keep that going.
I have heard that alpines and toggs were goaty tasting too!
I like the idea that Saanaens give more milk and are quieter in genral then my loud mouth nubians. But the taste of the milk is very important to me. I have no interest in making cheese { as of yet}
Let me say that I know nutrition and health are very important factors to. What you put in you get out. So maybe if I had her she wouldn't taste so bad?
Should I not look into any other saaanens or just stick w/ the nubi girls?
Christie

Jyllie63 · #2 05/12/10, 06:09 AM

Christie...I am milking my saanen this year along with my nubian (7/8 anyway). My DH thought the saanen milk was just a bit better tasting...very creamy. I don't like milk so I can't give an opinion on that, but we do use it for cereal and cooking and I've not found any bad taste at all.

Alice In TX/MO · #3 05/12/10, 07:16 AM

I would say that the person who said that didn't know what she was talking about.

Saanens are the dairy goat for large production, in the same way Holsteins are the high yielding dairy cow.

Lots of folks are drinking Saanen milk quite happily.

saanengirl · #4 05/12/10, 07:29 AM

I agree that she didn't know what she was talking about, and she probably doesn't handle her milk properly. My Saanens give wonderful milk with no goaty flavor (unless you allow it to go bad). Pretty much if Saanen milk has a goaty flavor it is the owner's fault, not the goat.

wintrrwolf · #5 05/12/10, 07:36 AM

I am milking my Saanen right now and the milk tastes just fine. Only problem is I have milk coming out of my ears, she is nursing twin boys and I get at least 2 quarts from only milking once a day from one side!! I was raised that we only had milk with breakfast cereal so gonna have to relearn that, now I can have milk anytime I want

My daughters both say its good!

IndyGardenGal · #6 05/12/10, 08:46 AM

I should be able to comment on Saanen milk after this weekend! I've always heard great things about Saanen milk.

Heritagefarm · #7 05/12/10, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

I would say that the person who said that didn't know what she was talking about.

Saanens are the dairy goat for large production, in the same way Holsteins are the high yielding dairy cow.

Lots of folks are drinking Saanen milk quite happily.

Except that saanans don't require massive quantities of grain and meds to produce that milk...

Cheryl aka JM · #8 05/12/10, 11:05 AM

when I first got my Saanen/Nubian cross last year her milk was off flavored. Someone told me or I read somewhere that Saanen milk was off because it was used for chease....I'd almost swear I read it in one of the dairy goat books I borrowed. But after we copper bolused her it was great. And this year it took about 4 weeks fresh to get all the colostrum taste out but now her milk is FANTASTIC.

Maybe its just SOME Saanen goats, or ones that need more minerals...copper? If I were you I'd be sure to ask to taste her milk first, and ask about what she feeds and if the doe has been bolused or not.

4piecesof8 · #9 05/12/10, 11:17 AM

My Saanen's milk is not goaty! what ever that means. I milk a Nubian and my Saanen. We just did a blind taste test last week. Both girls give wonderful milk, the nubian's was just a tad bit sweeter to us. What I am really looking forward to are the Snubian does that were born here this spring when they freshen next year. I hope I get the best of both worlds.

Pony · #10 05/12/10, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wintrrwolf

I am milking my Saanen right now and the milk tastes just fine. Only problem is I have milk coming out of my ears, she is nursing twin boys and I get at least 2 quarts from only milking once a day from one side!! I was raised that we only had milk with breakfast cereal so gonna have to relearn that, now I can have milk anytime I want

My daughters both say its good!

Have you considered freezing the milk (unless you plan to milk her through)?

I put milk in quart sized freezer bags, lay them flat on a cookie sheet, freeze, and then stack them up.

Good to have on hand for when the goat is dried off for the last part of pregnancy.

You can also heat process milk in mason jars. I don't have the particulars at hand, but Jackie Clay wrote a couple or three articles on the procedure in BHM.

Heritagefarm · #11 05/12/10, 01:39 PM

^
How can you heat process something in glass? Or are you double-broilering it?

christie · #12 05/12/10, 11:07 PM

Well I looked at A togg today and asked for a sampl of her milk.... And it was slightly goaty. I know w/ time in the fridge it would only get stronger. She had Saanens there too and said they all taste the same. Though admits she keeps milk together in the same pail. So I don't think she knows. Hopefully I can visit this SAanen Saturday And try some of her milk!
The toggs milk was definety different then the nubies!

"Goaty" glavor is the flavor of goat cheese..imo... Not that strong but hints of it.. Though I am sure it could get strong!!

wintrrwolf · #13 05/13/10, 06:58 AM

"I put milk in quart sized freezer bags, lay them flat on a cookie sheet, freeze, and then stack them up"
Ah HA! That is so simple good idea Pony! Thanks.
I don't need to copper bolus my goats but I do have 3 styles of minerals out for them so they have a choice of what they want. I think as long as everything is in balance and they are on good forage, you get good milk

But of course this is my first time milking.

Alice In TX/MO · #14 05/13/10, 07:00 AM

My goat cheese does not take like store bought goat cheese. The cheddar tastes like cheddar!

I use the chevre (soft cheese) in place of cream cheese and sour cream in recipes.

Fresh goat milk, cooled quickly, from does with good nutrition, milked with sanitary methods, will not taste goaty.

Wolf Flower · #15 05/13/10, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christie

she replied that Saanens were bred to make cheese and have a goaty taste to their milk for that purpose.

I've heard that about Toggs, but not Saanens. My Saanen has great milk, no goaty taste at all.

Heritagefarm · #16 05/13/10, 01:01 PM

'Goat' flavor is created when the milk is not chilled fast enough. It doesn't usually have anything to do with the goat.

robinthegeek · #17 05/13/10, 01:21 PM

I'm really sensitive to the goaty flavor, I find it disgusting.

My Togg's milk will get goaty if I don't keep everything very clean, but it tastes just fine if I do everything right.

Now today at work I bought a salad with goat cheese in it, and it was so goaty I couldn't eat it.

I make chevre and it isn't goaty at all when it's fresh.

christie · #18 05/13/10, 01:48 PM

Now I expect chevre cheese to have that goaty flavor! Though I never had it fresh. But to me thats what goat cheese is suppose to taste like.
The togg milk definetly had a taste too it...

Heritagefarm · #19 05/13/10, 01:58 PM

Goat milk isn't SUPPOSED to have 'goat' flavor...

saanengirl · #20 05/14/10, 07:33 AM

The "goaty" flavor is a result of lipolysis--fat globule breakdown. Goat milk contains more short chain fatty acids than cow milk, particularly caprylic and caproic acids which are the ones that produce the "goaty" flavor. When those are released as free fatty acids by breakdown of the fat, you get a "goaty" flavor.