Butterfat is what makes the difference in flavor between breeds, and mishandling of the milk (or time spent too close to bucks) is a secondary influence. Nubians have a high butterfat content, and Saanans have lower, which is most likely the thing that made the difference in the flavors between your friend's milks. Nubians and Nigerians are two of the highest butterfat breeds.
Bev Sieminski, Winding Rvr Farm said:
When we are talking about off flavor milk - do you think there are also some goats that just have bad flavor milk for some reason other than health. I remember a friend years back - I couldn't stand the taste of her milk from one doe but the other was always good. Both were handled the same but were different breeds. One was a sannan and the other a nubian. I have only had nubians and the nigerians with good results. ??
When we are talking about off flavor milk - do you think there are also some goats that just have bad flavor milk for some reason other than health. I remember a friend years back - I couldn't stand the taste of her milk from one doe but the other was always good. Both were handled the same but were different breeds. One was a sannan and the other a nubian. I have only had nubians and the nigerians with good results. ??
Yes. Rut makes things different. The wether I butchered obviously wasn't in rut, but my bucks were, and you could taste it. I also have a REALLY sensitive tongue when it comes to goat flavor. Rut also makes a difference in deer meat flavor. We had some relatives shoot a buck at the VEEEEERY end of deer season one year. My husband helped them process the meat, so I know it wasn't the handling. I am sure, knowing how bucks smell in goat terms, that he was coming into rut. You could smell it on him when they hung him up to process the meat. I could taste it in the meat too. I'm sure it had to do with where he was in the process of going into rut. It makes sense. :) And you're totally right. Handling/processing makes a huge difference too.
Bev Sieminski, Winding Rvr Farm said:
Rachel - we butchered a buck last year and had no bad taste in the meat. I don't remember when it was done but he probably wasn't in full rut. When my hubby used to hunt deer - it was usually a buck and he said it was the way meat is handled that makes a big difference. I am not sure what he does but the meat is always good. I think you have to be very careful. We have been given meat once in awhile from a relative and I have discarded it, tastes bad. Thankfully they don't offer us any anymore - I always had a reason why I didn't need any. They don't do a good job butchering.
I agree with you Rachel - I don't want any off flavor in my milk or my meat.
I use a camping trailer converted to a milk room - so have a working fridge right there and it is a very cold fridge. I milk, filter with milk filters and put the jar right into the fridge. I have no off taste in my milk except when they eat the iris flowers as I mentioned earlier.
Rachel - we butchered a buck last year and had no bad taste in the meat. I don't remember when it was done but he probably wasn't in full rut. When my hubby used to hunt deer - it was usually a buck and he said it was the way meat is handled that makes a big difference. I am not sure what he does but the meat is always good. I think you have to be very careful. We have been given meat once in awhile from a relative and I have discarded it, tastes bad. Thankfully they don't offer us any anymore - I always had a reason why I didn't need any. They don't do a good job butchering.
I agree with you Rachel - I don't want any off flavor in my milk or my meat.
I'll add also that I put the milk in ice water as soon as possible. This year, I started straining on the milk stand into its "storage" jar from my milking cup, then as soon as milking is done put the jar directly into the ice water. I have acquired a stainless steel ice bucket which I have ice water in (and leave in the refrigerator all the time) and clean it every few days in case milk is on the outside of the jars. I used to put milk in the freezer for a while until my son pointed out that putting it in ice water cools it faster and more effectively in a short period of time - he is right. Of course, because I only milk one or two goats, this works well - more would require a bigger ice bucket.<g> My milk is, of course, delicious with never more than 15 minutes from first from udder to ice water, often ten. If I were not weighing (I have my jar on the scale while I am milking), I would had the jar in the ice bucket as I am milking.
I don't like the flavor of my goat's milk until about 1 month after kidding. You can still milk, though, and save the milk for the chance that you might need it for babies if you have a complication where a doe can't nurse, or dies, or if you need to supplement for a doe with more than three kids... that kind of thing.
How long after kidding does goat milk taste good? I was told that it takes about 2 weeks after kidding for goat milk to taste "normal"
We tried drinking some of the milk Friday (5 days after kidding) and it did not taste good at all.
I house my bucks on the same property, but NOT in the same pen. I do not have buck flavored milk. HOWEVER:
I have heard that housing does and bucks in the SAME PEN can cause off flavor issues, and I tend to believe that, because I butchered a wether that I had housed with my bucks, and his meat was RUINED. It was awful. All I could taste was buck, just from being in the same pen, and having contact with the bucks and their odors. So I believe the stories that buck's stench can permeate udders if they are housed in the same pens. Some people don't mind the flavor, but I cannot stand drinking or eating any goat milk products that have even a hint of that flavor.
Bucks on the property do not cause goaty flavor. Bucks rubbing their heads on the doe's udder definitely causes nasty milk.
Goat milk should not taste "goaty." I've never lost a goat sale because someone didn't like the taste of the milk. It is really all about proper milking hygiene. Clean the udder before milking and do first squirts into a cup that will be given to the chickens or barn cats. Then strain the milk as soon as you get inside. We just use a wet washcloth to wipe off the udder. I think raw goat milk tastes MUCH better than raw cow milk, especially after a day or two, as cow milk seems to get a "cultured" flavor the older it gets.
How exactly is the best way to handle the milk to avoid an off flavor? I tried numerous things last year but my husband who loves store milk refused to drink it because it tasted goaty. He loves the butter Ive made but the milk doesn't fly. My mom in law enjoyed the milk and said it didn't taste much different from the raw cows milk they used to drink. Is it just the 'raw' flavor?
Replies
Butterfat is what makes the difference in flavor between breeds, and mishandling of the milk (or time spent too close to bucks) is a secondary influence. Nubians have a high butterfat content, and Saanans have lower, which is most likely the thing that made the difference in the flavors between your friend's milks. Nubians and Nigerians are two of the highest butterfat breeds.
Bev Sieminski, Winding Rvr Farm said:
When we are talking about off flavor milk - do you think there are also some goats that just have bad flavor milk for some reason other than health. I remember a friend years back - I couldn't stand the taste of her milk from one doe but the other was always good. Both were handled the same but were different breeds. One was a sannan and the other a nubian. I have only had nubians and the nigerians with good results. ??
Yes. Rut makes things different. The wether I butchered obviously wasn't in rut, but my bucks were, and you could taste it. I also have a REALLY sensitive tongue when it comes to goat flavor. Rut also makes a difference in deer meat flavor. We had some relatives shoot a buck at the VEEEEERY end of deer season one year. My husband helped them process the meat, so I know it wasn't the handling. I am sure, knowing how bucks smell in goat terms, that he was coming into rut. You could smell it on him when they hung him up to process the meat. I could taste it in the meat too. I'm sure it had to do with where he was in the process of going into rut. It makes sense. :) And you're totally right. Handling/processing makes a huge difference too.
Bev Sieminski, Winding Rvr Farm said:
Rachel - we butchered a buck last year and had no bad taste in the meat. I don't remember when it was done but he probably wasn't in full rut. When my hubby used to hunt deer - it was usually a buck and he said it was the way meat is handled that makes a big difference. I am not sure what he does but the meat is always good. I think you have to be very careful. We have been given meat once in awhile from a relative and I have discarded it, tastes bad. Thankfully they don't offer us any anymore - I always had a reason why I didn't need any. They don't do a good job butchering.
I agree with you Rachel - I don't want any off flavor in my milk or my meat.
I use a camping trailer converted to a milk room - so have a working fridge right there and it is a very cold fridge. I milk, filter with milk filters and put the jar right into the fridge. I have no off taste in my milk except when they eat the iris flowers as I mentioned earlier.
Rachel - we butchered a buck last year and had no bad taste in the meat. I don't remember when it was done but he probably wasn't in full rut. When my hubby used to hunt deer - it was usually a buck and he said it was the way meat is handled that makes a big difference. I am not sure what he does but the meat is always good. I think you have to be very careful. We have been given meat once in awhile from a relative and I have discarded it, tastes bad. Thankfully they don't offer us any anymore - I always had a reason why I didn't need any. They don't do a good job butchering.
I agree with you Rachel - I don't want any off flavor in my milk or my meat.
I'll add also that I put the milk in ice water as soon as possible. This year, I started straining on the milk stand into its "storage" jar from my milking cup, then as soon as milking is done put the jar directly into the ice water. I have acquired a stainless steel ice bucket which I have ice water in (and leave in the refrigerator all the time) and clean it every few days in case milk is on the outside of the jars. I used to put milk in the freezer for a while until my son pointed out that putting it in ice water cools it faster and more effectively in a short period of time - he is right. Of course, because I only milk one or two goats, this works well - more would require a bigger ice bucket.<g> My milk is, of course, delicious with never more than 15 minutes from first from udder to ice water, often ten. If I were not weighing (I have my jar on the scale while I am milking), I would had the jar in the ice bucket as I am milking.
I don't like the flavor of my goat's milk until about 1 month after kidding. You can still milk, though, and save the milk for the chance that you might need it for babies if you have a complication where a doe can't nurse, or dies, or if you need to supplement for a doe with more than three kids... that kind of thing.
We tried drinking some of the milk Friday (5 days after kidding) and it did not taste good at all.
I house my bucks on the same property, but NOT in the same pen. I do not have buck flavored milk.
HOWEVER:
I have heard that housing does and bucks in the SAME PEN can cause off flavor issues, and I tend to believe that, because I butchered a wether that I had housed with my bucks, and his meat was RUINED. It was awful. All I could taste was buck, just from being in the same pen, and having contact with the bucks and their odors. So I believe the stories that buck's stench can permeate udders if they are housed in the same pens. Some people don't mind the flavor, but I cannot stand drinking or eating any goat milk products that have even a hint of that flavor.
Bucks on the property do not cause goaty flavor. Bucks rubbing their heads on the doe's udder definitely causes nasty milk.
Goat milk should not taste "goaty." I've never lost a goat sale because someone didn't like the taste of the milk. It is really all about proper milking hygiene. Clean the udder before milking and do first squirts into a cup that will be given to the chickens or barn cats. Then strain the milk as soon as you get inside. We just use a wet washcloth to wipe off the udder. I think raw goat milk tastes MUCH better than raw cow milk, especially after a day or two, as cow milk seems to get a "cultured" flavor the older it gets.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next