The Importance of Chilling Goat Milk

So many people have a bad opinion of the taste of goat milk! Usually, they tried it once years ago, and they remember an aftertaste reminiscent of a buck goat in rut on a hot August day! I can’t say I blame them for not wanting to try goat milk again, as I have had bad-tasting goat milk myself and I won’t drink it, either. However, permanently judging the flavor of goat milk because of a bad experience is like deciding all steak is tough because you once had a tough one, or all fish is bad because someone once served it to you less than fresh!

For great tasting goat milk, it must be strained and chilled in ice water immediately after milking. Goat milk has a component called capriotic acid, and many times it is the culprit behind strong tasting goat milk. The longer the milk is kept at a warm temp, the more the ‘goaty’ flavor asserts itself.

When we milk our goats, we milk into a pail, bring it directly in the house, strain it into ½ gallon mason jars, and then immerse the jars in large pitchers of ice-cold water up to the neck of the jar. We then put the pitcher/jar combo in the refrigerator.

I don’t know how many people I have convinced to give goat milk another try. I do know the routine, though! I pour a small amount of fresh goat milk into a glass and give it to them. They tell me again of how bad it tasted before when they tried it. They eyeball the milk suspiciously, looking for floating goat hairs or a dead fly. Finding none, they pick up the glass, and take a sip. Then, they always say the same thing in a shocked tone… “It tastes like MILK!!!”

And that is what goat milk is supposed to taste like! Sweet and fresh and cold…YUM!!