First taste of goat's milk--supposed to be creamy?

[SkyWarrior]

After much theatrics and a lack of a stanchion, not to mention a goat who hasn't been milked except by me I finally got a clean bit of milk that I strained and then pasteurized on the stove. Actually, I went higher in temperature longer. I put the milk in a ziploc and put it in the freezer to cool. I can't wait for my pasteurizer.

Anyway, I tasted the milk. Sweet and tasted like cream. Is it supposed to? How long before the goaty flavor sets in if pasteurized?

 

[Roll farms]

Now I will admit that because I have sinus problems and smoke....my taster isn't as fine tuned as a lot of folk's.

But I've pasteurized for 12 yrs and never tasted 'goatiness' in our milk, neither has my husband or any of the people who've tasted it.

 

[mama24]

Goat milk is sweet and creamy. I don't know why the store stuff is so nasty and goaty. I don't pasturize our goats' milk, though.

 

[DonnaBelle]

I don't pasteurize our milk.

I filter it, and keep it in glass bottles in the frig, cooling it ASAP.

I don't think any milk tastes as good as goat milk. If I could (I have high cholestral) I'd drink it all day long.

DH has been drinking it for 3 years now, as have various friends and family, no problems.

We do have a 6 month old baby we are furnishing goat milk to, as she cannot drink anything else. Her Mother heats it to 145 degrees for 30 minutes before baby drinks it.

It's a personal decision to pasteurize.

DonnaBelle

 

[SkyWarrior]

I don't pasteurize our milk.

I filter it, and keep it in glass bottles in the frig, cooling it ASAP.

I don't think any milk tastes as good as goat milk. If I could (I have high cholestral) I'd drink it all day long.

DH has been drinking it for 3 years now, as have various friends and family, no problems.

We do have a 6 month old baby we are furnishing goat milk to, as she cannot drink anything else. Her Mother heats it to 145 degrees for 30 minutes before baby drinks it.

It's a personal decision to pasteurize.

DonnaBelle

I'm pasteurizing because 1. My DH won't drink raw milk 2. New goat and not sure about her history. 3. Safer and I don't trust my handling. I get the concept of raw milk and I try to be very careful, but I don't think I'm up to it.

DH is very susceptible to stomach ailments. So much so that he doesn't trust stove pasteurizing at all.

So goat milk is sweet and creamy. Why does a number of goat cheese taste so...well, goaty?

 

[BlondeSquirrel04]

I'd encourage you to try some raw just so you trust yourself. You don't need to treat the milk like it's some crazy contagious disease. Clean hands, clean udder, clean bucket, and right to the fridge.

I've probably done some "no-no's" when I've milked, and I'm still alive When I milk, I get that foamy stuff on the top of the milk that takes a few minutes to go away. If for some reason a goat hair has gotten past the strainer and I see it on the foam, I simply pick it out. Done that several times already, and I've never gotten sick.

I think you'll find that drinking it raw will help any stomach problems because of all the good bugs in it. When a goat gets sick, we give it probiotics, right? Same concept here. Bacteria is not always bad, and we need a healthy amount of it in our gut to stay well.

As far as the cheese, that I can't speak to. I don't like any cheese. I've made goat cheese before, but I have never tasted it. Even if it was the best cheese ever created, I'd still probably spit it out. Possibly it could be the age of the cheese as milk tastes more "goaty" after it's been in the fridge for too long. Or perhaps the milk itself was not as sweet. Toggenberg goats' milk is better for cheese making because it is a bit more tart.

 

[animalmom]

With regards to goat cheese tasting "goaty," I think it has to do with the culture used to make the cheese. I do chevre and really didn't care much for it when I started. I thought it tasted and smelled "off." No one else seemed to notice the taste or smell.

I tried a different source for my culture and OMG the difference it made! My chevre now tastes and smells clean and I use my older milk for making cheese.

I think it is just my tastebuds didn't like the one culture. I don't think it was bad but I won't buy from that source again... maybe it wasn't real fresh. I don't know. I do know I like the second culture so much better.

When we started out with our goat milk we pasteurized it and were real franatics about milk handling and darn near drove us crazy. We took the plunge and started using the milk raw and have not had any problems because of it. When we make yogurt or cheese we do pasteurize the milk and then cool to the appropriate temperature. When we have iced coffee we just add milk straight from the fridge. Yummy and creamy!

There was someone on BYH selling a pasteurizer, a nice one, for a very reasonable price. If you haven't already purchased yours you may want to look for the ad in the Buy/Sell/Trade section.

Good luck with your milk and don't give up on cheese. It can be good.

 

[Catahoula]

So goat milk is sweet and creamy. Why does a number of goat cheese taste so...well, goaty?

I think it is the culture you add to milk to make cheese cause the different taste to the cheese (than milk). I can drink goat milk but don't care for the cheese. I am the odd one here too...I think whole cow milk tastes better than whole goat milk and I can't really tell the difference between pasteurized or raw goat milk.

 

[quiltnchik]

Pasteurization will make goat milk taste "goaty." The best - and only - way (IMHO) to drink it is raw; that way you get the full benefit of the only reason to have your own goats (again JHMO).

 

[SkyWarrior]

Pasteurization will make goat milk taste "goaty." The best - and only - way (IMHO) to drink it is raw; that way you get the full benefit of the only reason to have your own goats (again JHMO).

Now, I've heard the opposite is true. I've noticed that the milk I drank was good tasting. Yummy in barley tea.

I'm not disputing that raw has very good qualities. I just know my DH won't drink it raw.