Butter

[Leta]

I am strongly leaning toward goats as our (future) dairy animal. Pros are smaller, less expensive, don't need a trailer to move, and, most of all, I have a goat mentor/ breeder who I trust and can therefore get quality animals from.

But despite having a herd of 5 does in milk, she still buys butter. Butter is damn expensive, and we use a pound a week as a spread/for cooking, plus more in baking (we are a family of five). I'll buy a cream separator, I have no problem at all with doing that, the expense is still less than the purchase price of a cow. But I'm concerned about how many "extra" milking does we'll need to keep us in butter (I know we'll have to freeze, again, not a problem).

Does anyone here live off their goat butter? I'd love some feedback on this! Thanks.

 

[doxiemoxie]

I'll second the question since this is something my husband and I talk about. The soft cheeses can replace butter that you'd put on toast or bread but for baking and cooking you really need butterfat. I priced cream separators and thought the price was outrageous. So what do you goat milkers do?

 

[freemotion]

I had high hopes about making butter, too, and did save cream to make it a couple of times. Not realistic, IMO. I then ended up with skim milk....blech. Here is how I solved the problem.

Pigs. Yep, a couple of fat pigs fattened up on mostly gleaned foods (I dare you to google acorn finished pork! It is a delicacy and very expensive....but I put an ad on craiglist asking for acorns and got hundreds of pounds and fattened the hogs up on these free acorns....by just dumping them in a large pile in the center of their pasture. There were actually some left over on which to start this year's pigs....so this fall, I plan on getting even more so I'll have some during the leaner spring and early summer months, when gleanings are more scarce.) The nutrient profile of the fat from pastured pigs fed a natural diet is NOTHING like that of commercially raised pigs, or even of home-raised pigs fed a commercial diet and kept inside or in a small pen with no foraging. Fat from pastured animals is actually GOOD for you. (Do some research on this on www.westonaprice.org for the science.)

I also got free pumpkins and corn from a local farmer who sells fall decorating stuff in my suburban neighborhood.

Lard is easy to make and is far superior for baking and cooking in than butter in most recipes. So now, although we still purchase butter, we use far, far less. We use it only for things like toast, where we will taste it.

I have even used saved bacon fat from our pigs (chemical free) on popcorn, then sprinkled feta that I brine extra long just for this purpose. To die for!

 

[Leta]

We cook with lard. (One of my nutrition profs had this whole powerpoint called "In Defense of Lard". So I converted before I'd ever even heard of Weston Price- Mo sold me. )
We got a pastured pig last year, DH made lardo and pancetta. Lard is good as part of the fat in pie dough, and we save and cook with bacon fat. I say, at least twice a week, "We need a pig", because that's about how often I make Greek yogurt and the vast majority of the whey just goes on the compost pile. (I try to use it for other things, but really, we just need a pig.)

But we still use a pound of butter per week.

Honestly, if I can't get butter out of goats, I'm seriously reconsidering. My friend with goats would be more than willing to trade chevre for Jersey butter. And my kids would eat a half gallon of Greek yogurt per day if I'd let them, which takes a gallon of milk to make. Plus they have milk on their oatmeal, and then the butter, of course... I could make lots of cheese...

Gosh, I really thought I had my mind made up for goats, but know I have some more thinking to do...

 

[AlaskanShepherdess]

I love my goats, and I can't really help you with the butter, but I just wanted to let you know there are mini cows.

 

[Leta]

Oh, my I would love a mini cow, but Lord Have Mercy are they every expensive! $2500-$5000 for a heifer! Unproven! Augh!

That's the thing that keeps going, hmm, goats, is that I could get proven milkers from someone I trust for $150-$300 per doe. Maybe it would be worth it to get more goats just for the butter...

I really want to get my ducks in a row. We looked at a place this week that we are very seriously talking about putting an offer on, and IF we get out there, I know the whole family is going to start agitating for critters right away.

 

[freemotion]

Goodness, if I had the pasture, I'd have a little Jersey on it in a heartbeat! Just for the butter! And a pig to drink up all that skim milk and buttermilk. Go for it. Maybe get one doe in milk for the first and second years and at the same time get a bottle Jersey heifer to raise up for milk in the third year? How old do cows have to be to breed them?

 

[Roll farms]

There's a poster here who says they make butter w/out seperating the milk, using a food processor of some sort. I think it's Livinright farm, maybe...?

I've made butter w/ a churn that's been in my DH's family for 100 years...it was fun / cool to do....and I can say I have made butter...
but I don't think I'll be making a habit of it.
I used the store-brand pasteurized heavy whipping cream...I bought a hand-crank seperator but my tennis elbow wouldn't let me use it.

 

[Snowhunter]

Heifers should not be bred before 14 months, so they calve when they're approx 2

Jerseys have a terrific feed conversion rate and such yummy creamy milk!

But I gotta say.. the goaties shine in personality compared to some cows

 

[Squirrelgirl88]

I just read in Storey's Guide that butter from Goat's milk is not easy to do. That is a little disappointing. But, since yogurt and cheese are good from goat's milk I guess it's ok. You can't have it all!

Maybe the plan should be for a goat owner and a cow owner to work out a trade. Trade goat cheese for butter!