[rd200]

Well, the title says it all! Actually the milk taste like sh*t is what it tastes like. what am I doing wrong?? I read that it is from not cooling it fast enough so I have been playing with my milk handling/cooling strategy the past week and thought I had it down pat but the gallon I just started drinking today is only 2 days old and the aftertaste is like a barn.
Okay, so I have a SS pail, then I put the filter on top of the pail and milk directly into the filter (that way I dont' get anything floating in my milk at all from the get-go) hair, dirt, stuff like that) anyways, so now I put a larger SS stock pot on the outside of the SS pail and that has Ice water and Ice in it so it's cooling the milk immediately as I'm milking into the bucket. Kinda like a double boiler concept. So it takes me like 20 minutes to milk. As soon as im done I go put the whole thing in the freezer. Both buckets, I just take the filter off the top and put a cover on the pot and throw it in the freezer. I come back 1/2 hr later and swish it around to kinda "stir" the milk without actually touching it or anything. Then about an hour after im done milking I stick a thermometer in it and it usually down to 40 degrees. I then put it in the fridge. (which is about 36-38 degrees)
why does my milk taste horrible???

Another question: If I try and make Kefir out of it it REALLY taste horrible. No matter if it didn't taste like crap before, about an hour after I add the kefir grains I open it and smell it and it smells HORRID!

Please tell me what im doing wrong. I can't stand to drink it right now and I don't want to waste the milk.....Thanks!

 

[ksalvagno]

Do a search on "milk tastes bitter salty" and that will give you a lot of good ideas

 

[kbluebkeman]

I move my milk into glass as soon as possible.....also if the container you are using is very wide only the outer edge is benefiting from being near the ice water....the milk in the middle is not near the outer edge......

I put a 1/2 gallon mason jar in a 8-10 quart pot that has ice water in it. I stay in the kitchen and every 5 minutes or so in the beginning I shake it all up. After about 20 minutes I stop shaking it up........the heat of the milk will warm the water it is sitting in so make sure you don't need extra ice. I would suggest dividing your milk into two containers......its a pain.....I know. I feel like I have stock pots out on my counter all milking season. Oh yes, I also put the mason jar in the freezer when I go down to milk so the milk goes into a very cold container right from the get go.

 

[kbluebkeman]

Also make sure you are not getting milkstone buildup on your stainless steel container. Never use warm water to rinse stainless steel that has milk on it. Rinse it with cold water and get rid of the milk before washing in warm water. Milkstone can make milk taste awful......

 

[rd200]

thanks, I don't have build up on the pails. I know from raising calves that you have to rinse in cold first-
I had been putting it directly into quart jars to try and cool it faster and that didn't seem to affect the taste or how fast it cooled. The pot isn't very far around, but I guess that could be a factor also that I hadn't thought of.

Can their diet affect the taste?? She currently is eating a lot of weeds, some grass, some Oat hay overnight, and then her grain mix is Oats, barley, BOSS, and mineral.

I tasted her milk by the ladies' house before I bought her and it tasted great!!! But now it tastes Terrible!!! I just don't get what I'm doing wrong. Its really frustrating me and since we drink it raw it's making me paranoid that it's "bad" and we shouldn't drink it.

 

[kbluebkeman]

I make sure there are always ice cubes evident while my milk is chilling.......otherwise I don't feel it is cold enough. The shaking distributes the cold milk from the side of the jar to mix with the warmer milk in the middle.

When do you grain in relationship to when you milk? My girls eat their grain and then I milk them about 8-9 hours afterwards depending on the day. I have heard that if they eat grain a few hours before milking that can effect the flavor of milk but I have not practical experience with that.

Did you think to ask what the previous owner was feeding? Feed can make a difference in flavor I have been told.

 

[TDG-Farms]

Are you milking at the right time? You should wait at least 4 hours from the last time they ate anything to the time you milk. If at all possible, and they are not on pasture, milk, then feed. The reason cows milk tastes the way it does is because of how and when they feed. The farther away from alfalfa and grain you get, the worse the milk can taste. A half cup of baking soda 2-4 hours before you milk them will add butter fat and clean up the taste of the milk as well.

Also, what kinda goats are you milking? You can also sample each ones milk. Some animals just have nasty milk no matter what you do. Here, we take from the Lamancha for house milk most often as it is the most consistent in taste. And she milks a ton

You can grain as you milk. It will not have time enough to change the flavor of the milk that quickly

 

[enchantedgoats]

what breed of goats are you milking? different breeds have stronger or sweeter milk. i would say that you might try adding vit B to their feed as this is supposed to help with that awful goat taste. i agree with TDG get a sample from each doe and see if it's just one or all your does, and go from their. Also, if you are saving milk from does that have just freshened it sometimes takes a couple of weeks for the milk to taste right.

 

[NyGoatMom]

There are so many factors it could be....here is my story...

http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f183/milk-tastes-bitter-salty-148778/

 

[christinajh]

I'd suspect the weeds as making the milk off

 

[wyofarmgal]

I with the rest on the weeds. I feed my goats grass hay and grain with minimal time on weeds and our milk tastes fantastic. The few times I let them eat alot of weeds, the milk tasted like goat.
I also do glass jars as soon as possible with a double filtering and then into an ice bath for 30 minutes before going into the fridge.

 

[rd200]

Weeds huh.......well that kinda sucks cuz I mainly bought them to control the grass/weeds/brush and to have fresh raw milk. The weeds are particularly bad right now cuz ive only had them a few weeks and the weeds are still overpowing the pasture.
She is an Oberhasli.
I go out in the morning, put her on the stand, milk, feed her grain while milking, then put them out on the pasture until nighttime. Then put back in pen with some oat hay for overnight.
She doesnt' have any alfalfa right now cuz I don't have alfalfa hay and she refuses to eat the nice green organic alfalfa pellets I got her I do have some really nice 3rd crop mostly grass part alfalfa soft hay for wintertime. I have ALOT of brush and long grass for them to eat but if it's going to make her milk taste like crap then I don't know what to do. I want the weeds down but I want good tasting milk!

I'm also trying some suggestions posted on milk cooling.

Perhaps I should keep her in the pen tomorrow and just feed her hay and see if he milk tastes better the next day. Would it take only one day? or two to taste a difference???

Grrrr.......its just making me mad.

 

[janeen128]

If she doesn't eat the alfalfa pellets dry then try to soak them.. I have 2 does that won't eat them dry... My girls eat weeds, grass, trees etc... Their milk taste great. I would check for fish tail, and a dull coat, it could be copper deficiency. I own 2 oberhasli wethers and a buck, no purebred does as of yet, but coming... From what I've read oberhasli's can become copper deficient more so then most... not sure if this is true or of the cause... but it wouldn't hurt to check it out...

 

[liz]

In all honesty, the flavor of the milk can be affected by the doe herself... not just what she eats.
Certain does just have a strong flavored milk regardless of how well they are fed.
I was raised on the milk from Alpine, Nubian, Togg and Saanen and though they produced alot and knowing know the composition of each breeds milk as far as flavor, I remember the one Nubian doe having very strong "goaty" milk, even though research suggests that Nubian milk is one of the sweeter goat milks.

If the change of diet doesn't help, you can keep her milk separate to be used for bottles or soap.... even try making a cheese with it, sometimes that strong flavor can compliment cheese.

 

[ksalvagno]

What breed is your goat? You can also try B Complex shots if you have Toggenburgs.

 

[christinajh]

Another option is to pen her up at night and use the morning milk for drinking. If it is weeds causing the off flavor, then the 12 hours penned up away from weeds would make morning milk good. Then you can use the PM milk for chickens, dogs, pigs, soaps, whatever. That way you get weed control and good tasting milk. Now that's only going to work if it is the weeds.

Edit: I just noticed you do pen her up at night. Maybe try a couple days and see what happens. Also, she could need copper or something.

 

[goatylisa]

great advise here!! I was doing a site search and stumbled on this thread. I am having the same problem and I think it's due to an over abundance of acorns this year. I seriously have a bumper crop of acorns and I can't stand the flavor of my milk! So I'm going to pen my choice milker up tonight and see if I can get a different flavor. Hopefully the 12 hours will change things. I'll let ya'll know

 

[Gary_and_Ash]

I'm not sure. My 4-H book says theres 2 different kinds of milk. Goat milk, and doe milk. There are different kinds of test for milk. You don't need to do that though. Look up "What's the difference between goat milk and doe milk?" then it should tell you how to make doe milk. Lots of people say goat milk taste 'goaty'.

 

[ksalvagno]

Not sure where your 4H got that notion. Goat milk is goat milk. The flavor depends on many factors. If the milk is tasting goaty, then you need to look into many reasons why it would. Goat milk should just taste like milk, plain and simple. There is no difference.

 

[goatylisa]

Yes, I have to agree with Karen, it's really what sold me on 'goat everything'.

Before this season I would tell people they could not tell the difference between whole cows milk and my goat milk. When I put my friends to the test they really couldn't, so sad I lost that this year.