Milk ONLY tastes good pasteurized.

[mygoat]

I've been having such trouble with my goat's milk. I want to drink raw, but the raw milk lasts no more than about 24 hours in the fridge before it has a horrible bitter/goaty taste to it. Sometimes even less than that and it's undrinkable.

I first read about the lipase enzyme that causes this when someone on the forum posted this: http://lindercroft2.blogspot.com/201...t-article.html

Goats are disgustingly healthy, and they are on DHIR test and have never had high somotic cell counts. I copper bolus/offer sweetlix magnamilk mineral, and B-12 (cobalt) had cured the aftertaste problem in very fresh raw milk. I have VERY good/sanitary milking habits, strain immediately, and used to chill immediately with the raw milk. Nothing worked to cure the goaty/bitter taste, and I've tried everything.

Now I milk both does and strain into a gallon jar, and carry it inside after I'm done milking. I pasteurize with a double broiler system on the stove. I usually clean the milking equipment while the milk is on the stove. As long as I let it hit only 161* for 15 seconds, it tastes PHENOMINAL, though sometimes it gets hotter and gets a 'cooked' taste too it. Even WITH the cooked taste, the milk is absolutely wonderful.

*sigh* I WANTED raw milk. But at least now it's edible and doesn't get dumped to the chickens.

[susanne]

sometimes it comes with the breed.we had one alpine two year ago because of milk shortage here. nobody liked the milk and we ended up selling her again.
i never had bitter tasting milk with my does.

[Oat Bucket Farm]

My LaManchas always give wonderful milk that keeps in the fridge for several days with no problem. I milk into SS, put a lid on it and carry into house when chores are done and pour through a filter into glass jars. Put into the freezer for an hour then it goes in the fridge.

Perhaps its the breed? I have heard that some lines of Alpines can have strong milk.

[LoneStrChic23]

How weird!

I hate pasteurized milk.....no matter what I've tried, how sanitary or how I pasteurize my pasteurized milk is VERY goaty & to me, smells funny.

My raw milk is great and has a good shelf life..... I too am milking an Alpine..

[Creamers]

For me. . .Alpine milk - every single time I've had it - was goaty when I drank it raw. . .

[Wags]

So did you try some of the things suggested in that article? I can't stand the taste of pasteurized goat milk. *shudder*

[Ranger]

I don't have Alpines, but I'm wondering if they are eating something while out on pasture that is making the milk taste bad. Maybe a walk around the place might be of some help. Just a thought. My milk tastes great, and will last for a week if it stays cold. Did you check the temp in your refridgerator?

[steff bugielski]

Check the taste of each goat separately. You might have one that is bad.
It really should be the other way around. The heating damages the enzymes causing the bitter taste.
Yes check the temp of the fridge.
Have you down a milkstone removal lately? I use an acid wash once a week on all my milking equipment, pail, stainer, jars, to keep the residue down. If you get a build up of milk stone it can collect bacteria and that can give an off taste, then by pasteurizing you are killing that bacteria and it tastes good again.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Sounds like our crew here is making great suggestions.

The top one that I've found is fridge temperature. If you don't have a thermometer for the fridge where you store your milk, get one *today.* Also, store the milk on the bottom shelf, toward the back. Never on the door, as it's the warmest place.

If you are storing the milk in gallon glass jars, chilling just by putting in the fridge, it can't cool off fast enough. Just the mass of that much milk keeps it from chilling quick enough to inhibit bacteria. Smaller jars, ice water bath.

Using the acid wash on your equipment is the only other thing I can think of to change in your routine.

You can experiment on small amounts... quarts?

But please do get the thermometer for the fridge.

[Goat Servant]

My raw from Boer/Nubian crosses is wonderful & lasts several days too.
Yes do check your fridge temp. Years ago I had a horrible hand me down fridge that collected water in the bottom. Milk only lasted a couple of days.

[southerngurl]

Milk each goat separately and figure out if it's just one of the goats and go from there.

[billooo2]

I had that problem last year........I bought a thermometer for the fridge....the fridge was not cold enough. Set it to a cooler setting.......problem solved.

I always strain the milk into 1/2 gallon glass jars........set them in the sink, run cold water in the sink and then I add either frozen water in Dr.Pepper bottle......or the re-usable 'ice packs.' I found a long time ago that if the milk does not get chilled quickly enough, then there are usually taste problems.

[RedSonja]

I've found, with the weather so hot right now, I have to milk with my SS tote sitting in an ice water bath. I also milk through a paper filter so the milk is filtered and chilled within a second or two of leaving the goat. I put the lid on the tote and put the whole thing, ice bath and all, in the fridge. I have milk that's at least a week old we're drinking now, that's as good as the day it was milked. I also give each doe a "treat" of a 5000mcg B12 sublingual lozenge and a chewable VitC tablet after milking.

We did go through a week or so of bitter tasting milk, I think that was something they were eating because once I rotated them off that section of the property the milk was fine again.

-Sonja

[Hollowdweller]

Early in my goatkeeping career I started out with 2 does. Both Grade saanens.

The milk would taste ok just when cooled but would not keep. In 6 hours it would be bittery and goaty like you mention. Worse on the one doe than the other.

So of course being the inquisitive kind, and having drunk good goat milk before, and this, being before the intraweb and having a library just down the street from me I researched it.

I tried worming, Bo Se, swapping the feed and grain, difft minerals, treating for mastitis, herbs YOU NAME IT.

I got rid of one of the does and the better one I figured I'd keep a doe kid out of her and just use the other doe for brush control.

When her daughter freshened her milk was TWICE AS BAD.

I ended up culling all the goats and starting with some others from a dairy that I got a chance to taste milk from.

All I could figure is I had goats that had genetically crappy milk because my management hasn't changed that much and the milk is so much better.

On the other hand I do know of people that have tried the things I tried w/o success and their bad tasting milk went away.

Also I do agree with the statements of previous posters that some alpine lines I have drunk milk and ate cheese from had the goaty taste even though I knew the owners management was as good or better than mine. Toggs have the problem too I think some of them. Not all.

I think that not only goaty milk but individual milk flavor (ie sweet, nutty bland, creamy etc) is heritable and like some say separating milk from your various animals and tasting it periodically and then including flavor in your selection of herd replacements is a good idea

[mygoat]

All the hoops and suggestions offered have been tried. The fridge temps (I used two fridges) have been lowered, milk stored on the bottom shelf. Trust me, fridges are not too warm.

Procedure:

Milk into SS, strain immediately into glass 1/2 gallon jars, put in bucket of ice water. Repeat with second doe. (Up till I started pasteurizing, each doe's milk was separate and BOTH were NASTY). Carry milk to barn freezer, and put in icewater there (usually 12 hrs later at next milking, there was still ice in the water except on 90*+ days). I'd then carry the previous milking's milk from that fridge up to the house fridge. I'd then wash the equipment with dairy soap, spray down with dairy sanitizer to let dry next time. Milk goes right into the fridge.

So, literally seconds after milking in a sanitized manner, the milk was in icewater. It stayed in icewater for 12 hrs. The equipment was clean, the does do not have mastitis, and their nutritional needs are met.

Jars and lids were washed thoroughly and sprayed with sanitizer.

Weekly acid wash was used on all the equipment.

Sometimes milk 12 hrs old was bad, almost always bad by 24hrs.


Now, I milk into SS, strain into gallon jar. Strain 2nd doe's milk into the same jar, tote it up to the house where I have a double broiler SS stock pot system heating. Pour milk in to the inner pot, crank heat. As I wash the equip, I watch the temp. It hits 161*, let set for 15 seconds, then right into a sink of icewater.

As I said, milk sometimes tastes slightly cooked IF I let the temp get too high/too long. Still 9,000 times better than raw, as it's not a BAD flavor.

So far, the oldest pasteurized milk is from 7/29 - similarly aged raw goat milk would likely make me gag by now. The pasteurized is still GREAT.

So, let me see - I've tried B12. They already get copper/selenium 3x per year, so that's not it. I've changed their diet. They do not have mastitis. I've tried not using dairy sanitizer, to see if that was causing issues. I've tried not using dairy soap, just dish soap. The fridge has been turned down - both of them. I've tried using a bleach solution to soak the equipment in (all of it) for 5 minutes, then allowing to air dry for 15. It is NOT a sanitiation issue, from what I can see.

So, I'm CERTAIN it's the enzyme causing the trouble. My does just overproduce it. I'm not sure it's an alpine thing, probably more a lines thing. Both of the girls are from the same sire, from same farm.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Have you tried a cobalt supplement, not just the B 12?

I wonder what the temp of the ice water is after 12 hours?

I'd have to read back through your posts.... are these does related?

What do they eat?

(grasping at straws)

[southerngurl]

Did you milk separately and see if it's one or all the goats?

[billooo2]

I have always had Alpines, and never had a "taste" problem. Even my Nubian friends would taste my milk, and say something like...."Gee your milk tastes just like our Nubians' milk. I did not think that was possible!!"

[Kwings]

This might be a shot in the dark, but maybe you just don't like unpasteurized goats milk?

[mygoat]

I used to milk them separately, now I mix it together and pasteurize. Both had bad milk. I would milk and strain individual doe's milk (I only have two does, hard to mess up) into 1/2 gallon jars, date and label with their initial. They are half sisters, from the same herd. I'm sure they're related back in their pedigrees at least once or twice as well. They're Frenchies.

They are being fed a goat ration currently, it's mixed at the local mill. It has a dairy pellet, Vit. E/Selenium supplement, oats, and a dash of corn. I mix it 50/50 with alfalfa pellets. I used to feed oats, corn, BOSS, and 50% Alfalfa pellets.

They also get free choice alfalfa/grass mix hay, baking soda, magnamilk minerals.

The b-12 IS a cobalt supplement - cyanobalamin or something (may be spelling that horridly wrong). From what I understand, cobalt is used in making vitamin B, so either way supplementing with vitamin B should solve the issue. It did solve the funky aftertaste of extremely fresh milk. This is not just an aftertaste issue. It gets worse with time, which is NOT b12 issues.

Considering the ice water after 12 hrs still often has ice in it except for the hottest of the hot days (often high 90's), I would assume it's temp to be 0*, maybe the temp of the fridge on the hot days. The cement basement barn is cooler than the house (no AC), and the fridge is on a very low setting. This is not a NEW problem, they've always had this issue. The 2nd freshener had this problem LAST year.

The more I think of it, the past unrelated American alpines I had years ago also did this. I love my alpines, but...