I am not hoping to stir up trouble. I just have a question. For those of you who say goat milk is much better than cow milk. Is that store purchased goat milk is much better than store purchsed cow milk? Or is that home milked (and maybe even raw) goat milk is much better than store purchased cow milk? Apples to apples? Just wondering? I know many people don't keep a milk cow at home (although some do). Again, not trying to cause trouble - just asking because I am curious. Thanks.

-- Trisha-MN (coldguinea@netscape.net), January 10, 2002

Answers

That's a good question and since I have drank both I feel I'm qualified to answer. I think goat milk is better because good goat milk taste a little different than cows milk and since it is naturely homogenized that also improves it Trish are you trying to start a goat and cow war... He He

-- sherry (chickadee259@yahoo.com), January 10, 2002.

Goat's milk is more digestable, whether it is store goat milk (yuck) compared to fresh raw cow's milk or both are fresh, any way you cut it the goat's milk has a smaller curd and is easier to digest.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), January 10, 2002.

Fresh goat milk is much better than store bought. I firmly believe that goat milk is fragile (there is a chemical explanation to that) and therefore when it is not processed correctly or stored correctly it will taste terrible. I get so irked at the quality of goat milk in the stores too. We make our bread and butter shipping our milk to the plant that makes Myerburg canned goat milk which by the way tastes yukky!

The chemical makeup of cow milk is different, much as Rebekah mentioned. I do have an article someplace that says exactly why. I'll try to find it. But if you are comapring store goat to store cow, then store cow wins. If you comapre fresh goat to fresch cow, then goat wins. Just my humble opinion.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), January 10, 2002.

I've had fresh goat milk from Nubians, Saanans, and Alpines. I've had fresh cow milk from a few different breeds, including some crossbreds. IMHO Nubian milk is by far the best goat milk. Most fresh cow milk is yucky, with one exeption - Jersey milk. If you've got a good Jersey (we do) there is no better milk. I know goat milk is more digestable, but the Jersey milk is so wonderful we just can't give it up. We finally sold our Nubians recently because we weren't using them. Not trying to start a goat-cow war, just our personal experience.

-- Paula (chipp89@bellsouth.net), January 10, 2002.

Trisha,

See my threads "Goat Milk: Is Home Grown Much Better that Store Bought" and "Update on Goat Milk." I bought two samples of goat milk from the supermarket. The first one was nearly undrinkable. It tasted like what licking a buck must taste like. (Bucks have a very strong, musky odor which milk absorbs easily. If the buck is allowed around the doe (or if the doe finishes off a load of onions), you'll have off flavored milk.)

For the second sample, I went to Willow Run Dairy and got some right at the premises. That made a huge difference; the milk from the dairy was great. From that experience I inferred that home milked goat milk can be quite good, and store bought goat milk can be very bad.

As far as which is better, it depends upon your perspective. I grew up on cow milk and I'm used to that flavor. Most people in the world grew up on goat milk and that tastes "normal" or "right" to them. If all goes well with fencing and obtaining livestock my two-year-old can grow up having drunk goat milk all her living memory. She'll probably consider goat milk better tasting. Both are good, but they taste distinctly different.

By the way, I not only got used to but started relishing the flavor of goat milk by the time I finished the quart from Willow Run. However, at just under $5/quart (!) I'll put my money into getting my own goats.

Mark

-- Mark in West Central Ohio (mark@marksykes.net), January 10, 2002.

Wonderful responses so far! No - I don't want to cause a cow/goat war or any other problems - I was just wondering since I so often hear that phrase :-) To make things a bit clearer we too have goats (Kinder, Nigerians, Nubians and grade Alpines) and we also have a milk cow, a Jersey. Unfortunately, I seem to be able to taste the flavor of goat milk all the time, even when others in the family cannot. It doesn't start out too bad - I call it an effervescence - but it doesn't take long before I can't drink it at all . Thanks for the good discussion - I sure didn't want/mean to stir up any problems.

-- Trisha-MN (coldguinea@netscape.net), January 10, 2002.

$5.00 a qt almost??? YIKKS! I am sitting on a gold mine if I can figure out how to win the lotto to get the $ for a bottler. did figure out with the st dairy folks the other day that recycable glass would work and save us $50,000. Glad you like goat's milk:):) I remembered my daus as a child when my dad mad eus drink fresh or raw cow milk, I swore it tasted yukky, but it was creamier, from Jerseys. Dad would sneak it into the jug, but I always could tell. I recall thinking when i was a kid that the cream specs on top of Nestle quick milk was really sour milk. Best of luck in your search for the right doe, sound slike you are on the right track from your last posts.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), January 10, 2002.

Cows milk is excellent fresh, and I like it from the grocery store also. In reality 99% of the milk in the past in our fridge, even though we sold milk from the goats, was grocery store cow milk. When you get twice as much for goats milk as what grocery store milk sells for, you drink the grocery store milk and sell the goats milk! Summers when visiting the farm in Minnesota as a kid, we always drank raw cows milk, buttermilk etc. Loved it! I do know goats milk is better for you. Better for kids, and a more logical infant formula if you don't nurse. But I don't see where one is better than the other in all cases, well except that my feta turns out better with goats milk than store bought cows milk. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), January 11, 2002.

They do say raw goat's milk is the best for you. We have a jersey cow and alpine goats. We drink the jersey milk. Actually our jersey supplies 6 families with milk. We give any left over (and there is some) to our calves, pigs, cats and dogs. We have one family who buys goat's milk from us, as their children are allergic to store cow's milk. The rest of the goat's milk goes to the above list of animals as well.

-- M & M (amazinggraze@valkyrie.net), January 11, 2002.

My parents raised dairy goats as a hobby in the 50's and 60's. They had a small herd of 6 - 8. They had a mixture of breeds over the years, Tagenbergs(sp), Nubians, Saanans, and Alpines.

They sold raw milk to people who had a doctor's prescription for allergies or disease.

I was raised on raw goat milk and would not drink pasteurized cow milk because it tasted funny.

I have yet to find goat milk in a store. Is it pasteurized? It must not taste as as good as raw.

-- John Litmann (johntl@mtn.org), February 10, 2002.

Fresh raw goat milk, milked in a very clean environment, and chilled immediately is delicious. It is also easier to digest than cow milk due to the size of the fats and types of proteins. We have 20 alpine milkers and sell milk for $1.00 per quart in Gettysburg, PA. 717-334- 3263. If you're close by, come and try some! Unfortunately all our goats are dry right now-expecting first kids tomorrow-so we have been buying cow milk. The unhomogenized cow milk available to us has cream on top that won't shake in. Goat cream always shakes in. Homogenization has been shown to cause heart disease.

-- C Walker (rwalker@pa.net), March 09, 2003.