# Shelf-life of goat milk?



## TigerLilly (Sep 4, 2011)

How long does raw goat milk stay fresh in the fridge?
I have been freezing mine because I don't drink that much; I should, so I'm trying to figure out how long it will last before it sours.
Once it sours, can it be used for anything? Cheese? 
I'm just now getting to the point where I can use my goat milk for other things because I've gotten so much stock-piled. T
he babies are being weaned & I'm getting more out of her, so that helps as well.


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## freemotion (Sep 4, 2011)

If your milking procedure is very clean, it should last for a couple of weeks at least.  It keeps best in the back of the fridge, undisturbed.  

Soured milk, as long as it smells "good sour" and not "bad sour"....although I've never had raw milk go "bad sour," only store milk....can be used in baking in anything that calls for buttermilk, such as pancakes and biscuits, especially anything that calls for baking POWDER in the recipe.

I don't use soured milk in cheesemaking, as the process incubates certain bacteria and you don't have control when you use soured milk....you may lose the entire batch, and when you spend a few hours making cheese and a few days, weeks, or months aging it....you want control, trust me on that one!

The critters love the soured milk, too....hens, pigs, dogs all love it.

To use up milk, consider.....shakes, chowders, kefir, yogurt, ice cream, pudding, hot chocolate, latte, soap making, and lots of cheeses.


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## TigerLilly (Sep 4, 2011)

Thanks for that--I was hoping that you would chime in on this.
I'm not sure what differentiates "good sour" from "bad sour"....my nose is very sensitive & it ALL smells bad to me!  
I don't plan on making ice cream or shake (almost lost 10 lbs AND quit smoking), but I am going to experiment with cheese & kefir--and definitely SOAP! LOVE THAT STUFF


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## kstaven (Sep 4, 2011)

Clean raw milk sours and naturally expels whey. While pasteurized product goes putrid and turns funky colors. The difference in smell is unmistakable.


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## aggieterpkatie (Sep 5, 2011)

If left long enough clean raw milk definitely gets funky and turns colors!  Ask me how I know.      Usually mine is good for at least 10 days, but gets too "goaty" for me to use much past that.


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## kstaven (Sep 5, 2011)

It should separate into distinct layers with time. I can show you milk that has been in the bottle for over a year and there is no sign of mold fungus, discoloration or anything of the sort. We do this to show people what happens to milk and help explain the cheese making process.


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