Get Great Tasting Milk from Your Goat!
Goats have the wonderful ability to flavor their milk with what they eat so you can have an influence on the taste of the milk by what you feed them. It also means that unpleasant flavors can be imparted to the milk by things they eat. The milking environment and how the milk is handled also has a large impact on the flavor of the milk. Many people think ofgoats milk as 'yuck'. In reality it does not taste too much different from fresh whole cows milk if it is handled properly. This article will give you some tips on how to help your dairy animal give you some of the best milk possible.
Steps you can take to ensure tasty milk...
Plant your pastures with flavor, butterfat and milk increasing herbs. Many of these can also be used in the ration either as a feed or a top dressing (most herbs are dried for preservation) Below is a list of herbs that are excellent for improving the quality of your milk:
- Thyme (flavor)
- Marjoram (flavor)
- Lavender (flavor)
- Rosemary (flavor)
- Clover (flavor)
- Sweet briar rose (flavor)
- Mustard (flavor)
- Nettle (flavor) - you probably won't have to plant this as it likes to volunteer itself ;-)
- Dill (volume, flavor) - dill and fennel seeds can also be used to top dress the feed
- Fennel (volume, flavor) - do not plant near dill or you will have 'fendill'
- Borage (volume)
- Anise Hyssop (volume)
- Blue Melilot (volume)
- Milk thistle (volume)
- Balm (volume)
- Blue Melilot (volume)
- Buttercup (butterfat and flavor)
- Marigold (butterfat and flavor)
- Corn (butterfat, flavor)
Here are some other herbs and supplements/feeds that you probably can't grow in your pastures, but can add to your feed mix or use as a top dressing:
- Fenugreek seeds (volume, butterfat and flavor)
- Sunflower seeds (butterfat, flavor)
- Flaxseeds (butterfat, flavor)
- Molasses (butterfat, flavor)
- Buckwheat (butterfat, flavor)
Keep plants that give off flavors out of your pasture. Garlic and
onion can give an unpleasant flavor to the milk so keep them out of the
pasture and only use them at milking time so the flavor has left the
system before the next milking.
Keep your milking area and equipment spotless. Raw
milk picks up flavors readily so keep everything very clean. Keep goat bucks
(male goats) away from the does and milking area as their
musk/'cologne' can flavor the milk
and give it a 'bucky' flavor. Stainless steel milking equipment is the
best choice for flavor.
Wash the udder before milking. This will help
prevent manure, dirt, dead skin and hair from falling into the milk.
You can also brush the animal before milking - especially if they are
shedding.
Strain the milk
immediately after milking. This gets anything that may have gotten past
you preventative measures mentioned above out of the milk
quickly. Cool the milk
as quickly as possible after milking. Placing it in the freezer after
milking can speed this process up much quicker than putting it in the
refrigerator.
Store the
milk
in glass and keep it covered. Milk
picks up flavors and smells easily so keeping it covered will help keep
it from picking up smells from
you
refrigerator.
Additional Tips
Keep you barns and loafing areas clean
Keep the fly population down - fly predators are great fly management
Keep udders and belly trimmed of excess hair
Don't let bucks live with milking does
Do not use milk that has been stepped it. Your dog or cat will love it, but it should not be used for human consumption.