how long does the milk stay good in fridge

[pygmybabies]

i have quite a bit of milk in fridge raw how long will that stay good

[Alice In TX/MO]

More than a week if you followed clean milking techniques, put it in scrupulously clean glass jars, and kept it at 36 degrees.

Use the older milk to make cheese today!

[TroutRiver]

I find that my milk tastes more "goaty" after about 3 days of being in the fridge. I really don't like that "goat funk" taste in milk (I don't mind it too much in certain kinds of cheese) so I definitely notice it. The older milk is still perfectly fine, it's not "bad," it just doesn't taste quite as good as really fresh milk. Maybe I need to be more of a stickler about cleaning and see if it keeps longer.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I was serious about the fridge temperature. Get a thermometer and check. Also, do NOT keep your milk on a door shelf. That is the warmest place in the fridge, and the milk gets jiggled more, leading to breakdown of the proteins, aka goaty flavor!

The best place is the bottom shelf, toward the back.

I highly recommend using cleaning products for your milking bucket, etc., that are designed for use in the milk industry. Grocery store soaps and detergents just do NOT work as well. The build up of cream scum, "milk stone", and bacteria will make your goat milk deteriorate more quickly.

Here's a starter collection of cleaning products from one of the goat supply places. You use SMALL amounts, so this lasts a LONG time.
http://www.hoeggergoatsupply.com/xca...&cat=15&page=1

[LoneStrChic23]

I agree with Alice!

My milk had a 5-7 day shelf life before it started to get a slight goaty after taste....until I started using that Hoeggers cleaning system. I have mine in spray bottles labled : "Step #1 Dairy Detergent", "Step #2 Acid Wash", "Step #3 Chlorine Rinse". I have a long handled brush that is used ONLY for milk jars & pails.

Now my milk is still great tasting for 2 1/2 weeks with NO goaty flavors or after taste..... I'm EXTREMELY picky.....do not like even the slightest goaty flavor or goaty cheese, so being able to keep fresh tasting milk for that long is great! I chill rapidly & won't place in the fridge until it's icy cold & I store on the bottom shelf in the back.

[CaliannG]

~smiles~ I admit that I am sometimes lazy. Right now, NO milk is managing to inhabit my refrigerator longer than 36 hours. So I am just washing with regular, antibacterial dishwashing detergent and air drying...and milk goes from goat, to bucket, to filter, to fridge in about 20 minutes. I DO have a good fridge that gets things to 36* pretty fast.

When I don't have bottle babies and therefor HAVE some milk that might stick around for a few days, and have surplus to make cheese, then I get all rabid about milking practices, milk into filters, chill instantly with ice water, use 29% peroxide for a final rinse, etc.

The longer you are going to store your milk without freezing, the more fanatical you need to be about your milking practices. Add an extra cleaning step for every day milk is expected to be in your fridge.

[MDKatie]

Mine is good for at least 10 days. After that it starts tasting a little too "goaty" for my tastes.

[homstdr74]

Originally Posted by TroutRiver

I find that my milk tastes more "goaty" after about 3 days of being in the fridge. I really don't like that "goat funk" taste in milk (I don't mind it too much in certain kinds of cheese) so I definitely notice it. The older milk is still perfectly fine, it's not "bad," it just doesn't taste quite as good as really fresh milk. Maybe I need to be more of a stickler about cleaning and see if it keeps longer.

I'm in agreement with this time frame of three days. For us it's always better to make cheese the first couple of days; after the third day the cats get a milk booster!