Goat Milk

 

Besides consuming goats milk daily, goats milk is also used to make soap.

 

What are the benefits of goat milk soap?

 

 

Skin Care

Goat milk soap gives a rich creamy feel and will leave your skin feeling very soft. Most people with problem skin, eczema (atopic dermatitis), acne, psoriasis and other sensitive skin find that after using goat milk soap their skin condition improve. The soap will clean and not irritate your skin.

 

One of the most popular additives to goat milk soap is  handmade soap. And rightly so. Goat Milk is a natural emollient that helps soothe and moisturize the skin. It contains vitamins A, B6, B12 and E. Goat milk has 3 times more beta-casein than cow milk. Caseins are easily absorbed into the skin and allow for quick hydration of dry skin. The content of triglycerides, capric, caprylic and caproic acid helps balance the skin’s natural pH and promotes natural exfoliation of dry skin.

 

Scented or fragrant goat milk soaps are like Floral, Oatmeal, Spice and Fruit Fragrances. Special Dermatological and Manuka Honey (unscented soaps) goat milk soaps are for people forced to use soap substitutes or very neutral soaps because of allergies or skin sensitive to perfumes. According to a survey, the demand for such soaps make up almost half of all sales.  Dermatologists commented that unscented goat milk soaps are particularly good for patients with skin problems because they leave no residue on the skin. These problems include eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis and infant eczema.

 

There are basically three ways to incorporate goat milk into your soaps however, each works a bit differently.

1. Fresh goat milk
2. Powdered goat milk
3. Canned/ Evaporated goat milk

 

 

Handmade Natural Goat Milk Soap Recipe

 

Handmade soap is akin to rediscovering the traditional value of doing things yourself, doing them naturally, and enjoying the benefits.

Making soap of any kind is fairly simple. Goat milk soap is no exception. Homemade soap can be a welcome addition to anyone bathing routine, especially for someone with sensitive skin.

Goat milk soap is a very moisturizing, soft soap and not that difficult to make. Follow some simple instructions and make goat milk soap for home use or to give away as gifts.

Lye and Borax are available at the grocery stores, make sure that the lye can states 100 per cent lye. Before you buy the lye, shake the can and listen to it to make sure it is free flowing for easy handling, and has no lumps in it. Borax – this boots cleaning ability, soften the water and helps with suds-ing. Liquid Glycerin is available at drug stores. Glycerin gives the soap more moisturizing qualities.

Lye heats the milk up very hot; the sugar in the milk will “caramelize” and the soap will be tan in color. Soap made with 100% lard will not lather a whole lot, but make a good cleaning, very gentle, moisturizing soap. Lathering and cleaning ability have nothing to do with one another.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

• 3 pints of ice cold goat milk
• 1 12 oz. can of Red Devil Lye
• 5 1/2 pounds of lard
• 2 oz. glycerin
• 2 Tablespoon borax
• 1/3 Cup Honey

 

Instructions:

 

*Cautions, wear rubber gloves when handling lye.

 

Use a stainless steel pot for your soap making. Very slowly pour the lye into the ice cold milk, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The milk will heat up very quickly due to the addition of the lye. If you add the lye too fast, the milk may scorch and curdle. The milk will turn an orange color and curdle a little bit but do not worry, add the honey. Let the mixture cool down to 85°.

 

While the lye and milk mixture is cooling, warm the lard to 90°. Slowly pour the lard into the lye and milk mixture, stirring constantly, and add the glycerin and borax.

 

The best thing to stir soap with is an electric hand held “stick blender” because you really need to stir the soap mixture to get it to “trace”. The slower your stirring is, the longer it will take to trace. You cannot just stop or go away and let it sit because if you do not stir constantly, the soap will never “trace”.

 

Add the glycerin and borax and keep stirring until the mixture starts to thicken like thin pudding nice “traces”. The mixture “traces” when a small amount of the solution drizzled across the top of the main solution’s surface leaves a faint pattern before sinking back into the mass. A trace should be reached within 10 to 20 minutes of hand stirring, or 5 to 10 minutes of stirring with a “stick blender”.

 

Add any essential oils you wish to add to the soap at this point. Stir it in well.

 

Pour the mixture into your molds. Cover the top of the molds with a cloth such as cheesecloth and then cover it with a blanket. Leave it undisturbed overnight.

 

The next day you can cut the soap into bars using fishing line. Stack the bars on a cookie sheet lined with a large paper bag. It is not ready to use yet; the mixture needs to saponify and cure. Let the soap cure by air-drying it for at least 6 weeks before using or giving away.

 

 

Handmade Organic Goat Milk Soap Recipe

 

Since I posted a topic about the benefits of goat milk soap, I have been asked “Do you have homemade milk based soap recipe for beginners?” After experimenting a few shortcuts, I recommend this simple Organic Goat Milk Soap recipe.

 

What are the benefits of  organic goat milk soap?

 

Organic goat milk soap offers a natural and less-abrasive form of cleansing bar. And organic goat milk soap aids in the treatment of mild to moderate acne.

 

Recipe:

 

Light essential oil scent can be added to the soap and oatmeal mix, if desired. The recipe yields approximately 12 bars of organic soap.

 

Ingredients:

 

• 15 oz. organic olive oil
• 5 oz. organic palm oil
• 5 oz. organic coconut oil
• 3.5 oz. lye
• 8 oz. goat milk
• 1/2 cup organic oatmeal
• 1 oz. lavender or lilac essential oil for fragrance (optional)
• Soap molds

*Cautions, wear rubber gloves when handling lye.

 

Instructions :

• Purchase molds. Chocolate or candy-making molds are permissible for use in soap making. Do not reuse molds for chocolate making once used in the soap making process.
• Combine 1/2 cup organic oatmeal with 1 oz. fragrance oil, and set aside. Lavender scent is recommended.
• Mix all remaining soap base materials together in a stainless steel bowl.
• Heat inside a slow cooker on medium heat until melting occurs. Do not reuse the slow cooker for food preparation.
• Mix fragrance mixture into the slow cooker.
• Pour soap mix into molds once it is warm enough to handle safely.
• Cool soap mix for 24 hours. Remover from molds and use. Clean molds with warm water, dry and store.

 

I love making this organic goat milk soap recipe because it is easy, good for your acne skin and shows my love for goats.

Want more fun DIY Skin Care recipes?  Check out my other DIY post as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creamy and distinct in flavor, goat cheese is a dairy product enjoyed around the world.

 

Goat milk cheese is a food consisting of proteins and fat from goat milk. It is produced by coagulation of the milk protein casein. Typically, the goat milk is acidified and the addition of rennet causes coagulation. The solids are then separated and pressed into final form. Some cheeses also contain mould either on the outer rind or throughout. It has a different color and structure and taste than that of regular cheese. It is usually white and breaks apart quickly.

Goat milk is highly suitable for the production of different varieties of soft cheeses that are popular in Europe, France, USA, Spain, Yugoslavia, Italy, China, Australia, New Zealand, etc. The goat milk can be admixed with buffalo milk at 50:50 level for the manufacture of Mozzarella cheese. The cheese made from goat milk had higher retention of moisture and lower sodium content, higher fat and dry matter content and the organoleptic quality is definitely superior when compared with cow milk cheese.

In Italy, cheese made from goat milk are either consumed fresh or ripened for 2 months. For ripening the cheese, white or blue moulds are used in order to produce a strong flavor and proper rind formation. The cheese made from goat milk is known for the desirable sharp flavor due to the presence of higher concentration of medium chain fatty acids. In many states of European Union, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, the goat milk cheese is marketed as premium quality.

Trials have been carried out by mixing 10-25% of goat milk in buffalo milk to produce cheddar cheese, which developed sharp and balanced flavor within 6 months of ripening. At 15% replacement in buffalo milk, the Gouda cheese developed pronounced flavor. Domiati cheese made from fresh goat milk and ripened for 90 days exhibited that the rennet type had little effect on the yield, acidity, moisture content, fat, salt, ratio between soluble nitrogen to total nitrogen, total volatile fatty acids and non protein nitrogen of cheese.

Summer is also the natural season for fresh goat milk cheese such as chevre. A word about storing cheeses in warm weather. All of them should be kept in the refrigerator. Creamy or sticky fresh goat cheese should first be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. Be sure to use a fresh sheet of wrapping paper each time you rewrap the cheese.

 

 

Nutritional facts:

A one-ounce (28 gm) serving of soft goat cheese contains 102 Calories; – Protein 6 gm, Fat 8 gm, Vitamin A 8% of the RDI, Riboflavin (vitamin B2) 11% of the RDI, Calcium 8% of the RDI, Phosphorus 10% of the RDI, Copper 8% of the RDI, Iron 3% of the RDI

 

 

 

 

Fried Cheese Sticks Recipe

 

The recipe is one of the quick and easier cheeses to make at home, using only 3 common ingredients.

 

Ingredients:

 

• 2 gallons fresh goat milk
• 1/2 cup or more vinegar
• Batters

 

Directions:

 

• Heat milk to 185°F in a stainless steel pot.
• Add vinegar until the milk begins to curdle, approximately 1/2 cup for 2 gallons of milk. Once the milk begins to curdle, stir well, and cover and let sit with no heat under it for an hour or more.
• Then ladle cheese curds into a lined colander (cheese cloth) and let drain over another pan to catch the whey. Drain longer for a drier cheese.
• Mold the cheese after draining fairly dry into carrot-stick shapes or into a rectangular box lined with parchment paper.
• Cut into strips and freeze individually on cookie sheets.
• Take from freezer and batter with your choice of batters, then fry quickly in hot oil.

 

There are a million variations on homemade cheese, though most require rennet, and often culture. If you want to have more fun, perhaps, you can dedicate time on making other cheeses like Mozzarella as well.

 

 

 

Nutritional facts:

The fried cheese sticks contains 197 Calories; – Carbohydrates 9g, Protein 10g, Fat 9g, Saturated Fat 5g, Cholesterol 38mg, Sodium 445mg, Potassium 59mg, Sugar 1g, Iron 0.6g.

 

 

More Goat Cheese Recipes , for you.  Click the link to view the lists NOW!

 

 

Vinegar Cheese

 

 

 

 

Homemade Cottage Cheese Recipe

 

 

Do you know that every time you choose to eat some cottage cheese as your bedtime snack, you are providing your body with a wide array of vitamins and minerals it needs such as Vitamin B. So, with  those benefits, wouldn’t you like to learn how to make your own cottage cheese?

 

This is a dry cottage cheese, if you like it wet, you may add some cream to it.

 

Ingredients :

 

• 2-3 gallons raw goat milk
• 1 cup. Buttermilk
• 1/2 tablespoon  liquid rennet,  dissolved in 1/4  cup water
• 1-2 teaspoons  kosher salt

 

Directions:

 

• Bring the milk to 86° and add the buttermilk. Stir well and let set, to ripen, for 1 hour. Add the rennet and stir briskly for 15 seconds. Cover the pot and let the milk set for 45 minutes, or until you get a clean break. Hold the milk at a temperature of 86° for the entire time.
• Cut the curds into 1/2? pieces with a stainless steel knife. This always seem to be the trickiest part of cheese making, but take your time, and don’t worry if all the curds are cut not exactly 1/2?. After you have cut the curds, do not stir them yet. Let them rest, undisturbed for 10 minutes.
• Now you can stir the curds gently and cut any that you had missed. What you are doing here is making the size cottage cheese curd you like. Raise the temperature of the curds to 95° over the next 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so the curds do not stick together. Let the curds settle for 5 minutes, undisturbed.
• Drain the the whey until it in level with the curds (about 1/2-3/4 of the whey). Add enough cold water to lower the temp to 85°. Stir as you add the water. Now, leave the curds in this cheese 85° water/whey for 10 minutes, stirring with your hand occasionally so that the curds don’t stick together.
• Pour the curds into a colander and let drain. Carefully stir occasionally so it dose not stick together. After about 1/2 hour, you can carefully separate or break up the curds into a bowl and salt to taste. Cover and let sit in the fridge at least 2 days. The curds may be squeaky at first, but with the aging, they loose their squeak.

 

 

 

 

How to Enjoy Goat Milk Cheeses

 

Delicious in many ways:

 

There are a varieties of goat milk cheeses available, like the Sweet combination, Wine combination and Chevre chaud. However, the varieties of goat milk cheese are not merely due to the various tastes but also partly due to the flexibility the cheese offer with its combination. Goat milk cheese can be savor both cold and warm and the way it is served will normally indicates the time of the year. Throughout the year, only during winter production of goat milk is temporarily suspended, at least for a few weeks therefore, it  is not available at year end.

 

Sweet combination

Chocolate mousse is not the only option for dessert, goat milk cream cheese combined with fruit is surprisingly tasty. The combination of mild soft goat milk cheese and strawberry or raspberry mousse  is a very harmonic combination. Exotic fruits are also a very compatible match to French goat milk cheese. You can also try pineapple with a Chabichou or mango with goat milk cream cheese.

 

Wine combination

The enjoyment can be completed with a matching wine. Particularly compatible wines are chosen from the same region as that of the goat milk cheese. A light Cotes du Rhone to Picodon , Tourraine Sauvignon to Sainte-Maure, Cotes du Ventoux to Pelardon , just to name a few. Champagne and fresh goat cheese also complement one another.

Additionally, it is also the taste and the maturity of the cheese that determines a suitable wine. Generally, goat milk cheese taste better with white wines than red wine especially salty goat cheese.

 

Chevre chaud

Chevre chaud is a French dish consisting of Chevre cheese served hot, the warm goat milk cheese which is coated in breadcrumbs or wrapped in bacon and is warmed in the oven. Several other variations are also available and are usually served on  baguette, so let’s ENJOY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary

 

A variety of manufactured dairy products can be produced from goat milk, including cheese, fluid products (low fat, fortified, or flavored), fermented products such as cultured yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream and kefir, frozen products such as ice cream or frozen yogurt, butter, and condensed, packaged and powdered products.

 

Goat milk is quite similar to cow milk in its basic composition, the significance of goat milk and it’s products in human nutrition and well-being can never be underestimated. However, producing high quality raw milk is of utmost importance for successful production of dairy goat products because dairy goat products provides essential nutrients in human diet, as well as income sources for the survival of mankind in ecosystems of many parts of the world. And the contribution of dairy goat products are also greatly valued by those who have cow milk allergy and other nutritional diseases.

 

 

Cheese

Cheeses hold the greatest economic value among all manufactured goat milk products. According to the Agriculture Handbook of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are more then 400 varieties of goat cheese and lists more then 800 names of cheeses, many of which are made from goat milk or combination of goat milk with cow, buffalo or sheep milk.

 

The general procedures of cheeses manufacturing are:-

• Preparation of goat milk
• Standardizing the milk
• Setting the temperature
• Adding starter cultures
• Adding rennet
• Cutting curds
• Cooking
• Draining whey
• Salting
• Hooping
• Pressing
• Packaging
• Aging

 

*Take Note: Soft cheese are made by natural draining without pressing.

 

Simple Soft Cheese Recipe

 

I have been experimenting exclusive Homemade recipes using unpasteurized goat milk, and the results are astonishing –  more suggestions and followers on social media platforms.

This is an easy handmade recipe that only requires half  gallon raw goat milk, the strained juice of 2 medium lemons, a thermometer capable of the 180-200°F range, some “cheesecloth” (many cotton cloths will work for draining), and some coarse salt,  like kosher or sea salt.

*Take note – The recipe will not work well with pasteurized milk.

 

Directions:

• Heat raw goat milk on medium heat (in a stainless steel pot) to 185°F
• Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice
• Stir for several minutes until milk has curdled
• Add 1/2 tablespoon of coarse salt (optional)
• Pour milk through cheesecloth
• Wrap curds in cheesecloth and hang (using a rubber band works well) in the refrigerator to drain
• Drain for 4-8 hours, depending on how dry you want the curds
• Scrape curds off cloth into bowl and stir

 

That is all there is to it!  You can use on toast, in salads, with pancakes or whatever you wish. Experiment using herbs (added at the end when you stir the cheese). For larger curds, heat the milk well into the 190’s before curdling. Experiment with curdling temperature and drying time to get the cheese that meets your needs. Happy experimenting !

 

 

Condensed,Packaged and Powdered Goat Milk

Today, Condensed, Packaged and Powdered Goat milk are manufactured and marketed in most part of the world besides the United States. Evaporation is usually done under reduced pressure, primarily to allow boiling at a lower temperature to prevent heat damage. Powdered products available include Whole milk, Skim milk, Whey and infant foods. Packaged products available include Skimmed, Whole and UHT milk.

 

Frozen Products.

Ice cream and frozen yogurt are manufactures from goat milk and cream. The popular flavor choice formulations of goat milk ice cream are Chocolate, Strawberry, French vanilla, Blueberries and Cream and combination with fruits or other ingredients.

Many varieties contain sugar although some are made with other sweeteners. In some cases, artificial flavorings and color is also used. This mixture is stirred slowly while cooling to prevent large ice crystals from forming. The result is a delicious and smoothly textured ice-cream.

 

Frozen Goat Yogurt Recipe

The homemade Frozen Goat Yogurt Recipe is creamy and delicious and with the frozen dessert, you can take an island vacation without leaving your yard. Adding coconut, pineapple and pecans give variety and flavor to this frozen dessert.

Want to learn how to make yogurt easily? And most importantly, be sure to allow sufficient time, up to one day for the yogurt to culture before you freeze it. The recipe is for a 4-quart freezer.

 

Ingredients

• 6 cups goat milk yogurt
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 can /13.5 oz. coconut milk
• 1 can /15 oz. crushed pineapple – undrained
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• * Optional – 1/2 Tbsp. rum flavoring

 

Directions:

• Heat the coconut milk in a sauce pan until steaming.
• Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Let cool – you can refrigerate, or cool it more rapidly by setting the pan in a larger pan filled with ice water and stirring frequently.
• Stir in the Yogurt and vanilla extract – and optional rum flavoring, and mix well.
• Pour into ice cream freezer canister. Add the pineapple, coconut and pecans. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s directions.
• Finally, sit back  relax  and enjoy that tropical breeze blowing through the coconut palms!

 

Nutritional facts

Per Serving (0.5 cup)  Frozen Goat Yogurt  contains 178 Calories; – Fat 6g, Saturated Fat 4g, Sodium 41mg, Carbohydrates 21g, Sugar 21g, Protein 10g.

 

Cultured Dairy Goat Products:

Cultured yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream and kefir are among the most common fermented dairy products, especially in the Western world. And they are my favorites cultured products.

 

Goat Milk Yogurt

Goat milk yogurt is one of the major cultured products. It may be made from  fresh, unpasteurized, goat milk that has been produced in a sanitary manner,  low-fat, skim or whole milk. Goat milk yogurt can be made in a similar manner to the cow counterpart. It is made essentially the same way as buttermilk, but a different combination of microorganisms is cultured at a higher incubation temperature. Goat milk yogurt is softer and less viscous and often lacks the typical flavor of cow yogurt.

The basic processing procedures of Goat Milk Yogurt include:-

 

• Preparation of goat milk
• Standardization (standardized to 1.0 – 1.7% fat)
• Pasteurization (72 degree Celsius for 20 second)
• Cool the pasteurized mix to 46.7 degree Celsius and hold in vat for up to  15 minutes.
• Inoculation – 45 degree Celsius ( carefully introduce into warm milk or milk mixes 1.25% by weight of active Lactobacillus bulgaricus culture.
• Packaging (set yogurt)
• Incubation (permit filled containers to remain in room at 45 degree Celsius for 3 – 5 hours or until a firm, smooth gel has formed to pH4.5
• Chilling (yogurt is chilled to 7.2 degree Celsius in less than 1 hour)
• Storage and Distribution (store the containers of yogurt at 4.4 degree Celsius or lower, the shelf life at this temperature is 30 to 60 days).

Yogurt made from whole milk (3.25% fat), low fat milk (0.5 to 2.5% fat) or skim milk. Sour cream must contain 18% fat in most states.

 

How to make Yogurt from Raw Goat Milk?

 

Yes, you can make yogurt from raw goat milk as well.

However, I would not suggest store bought milk for this method. You must use fresh clean milk that you have just milked out of your healthy goat and following extremely good sanitary procedure because you are not going to be pasteurizing the milk,  and any harmful bacteria may gets in the milk.

 

Directions:

1. Start with 3 1/2 Cup. clean fresh raw milk.
2. Stir in  1/2 -1 Cup. powdered milk if desired to produce a nice thick curd. (or a specially formulated culture)
3. Warm milk to 115 degrees by whichever method you desire to heat your milk.
4. Pour the warm milk into your incubating jars, add a couple of heaping tablespoon of plain “live culture” yogurt or DVI culture, screw the lid on tight and shake well.
5. Now it is time to incubate; Cooler/heating pad method. Use a larger cooler. Place the cooler in a place where it will be undisturbed. Place the jar with the yogurt milk in the cooler. Place a heating pad over the jar (loosely). Set the pad on high (some pad needs to be set on high, yours may differ) and place the lid on the cooler. Leave it undisturbed for about 6-8 hours. If this is the first time you use this method, put a thermometer in the cooler to see what the pad is heating the inside of the cooler up to. You want it to be at least 110 degrees and not more than 120 degrees. You may need to turn your pad to medium.

 

*There are various methods of incubation – Food dehydrator, Cooler/water method, Cooler/heating pad method, Commercial yogurt maker.

 

The Wonders of Yogurt:

Generally, yogurt contains live bacteria that helps to strengthen your immune system to fight diseases. It aids in stimulating the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria, discouraging and destroying harmful ones.

Yogurt can assist in restoring the digestive tract to its normal condition after a course of antibiotics, which are liable to destroy all intestinal bacteria, both good and bad.

And there is more; Yogurt not only provides you with internal benefits but also gives you other physical advantages. It is good for skin as it contains lactic acid which acts as an exfoliator that helps in getting rid of dead cells. Yogurt can also be used as a face pack for beautiful skin.

With all these benefits, some including myself  view it as “a wonder food”, therefore start taking your goat yogurt daily for good health!

 

Buttermilk

Most people assume buttermilk is high in fat, due to its name. Modern buttermilk is usually made from skim milk (less than 0.5% fat) using the by-product from churning butter out of sour cream.

 

Sour cream

Sour cream is made according to the same temperature and culture methods as used for buttermilk. The main difference is the starting material—sour cream starts with light 18 percent cream.

 

Kefir

Kefir is an acidic, slightly foamy product made from pasteurized and fat-standardized or decreamed goat milk that has passed through a combined acidic and alcoholic fermentation of symbiotic lactic acid bacteria and yeast kefir grains. The finished product Kefir, contains 0.6 to 0.8% lactic acid and 0.5 to 1.0% alcohol.

 

Acidophilus

Acidophilus milk can be made by the activity of L. acidophilus, which is capable of converting a greater proportion of the lactose to lactic acid (2%).

 

Other Cultured Goat Milk Products

Ghee is an Indian clarified butterfat product manufactured by fermenting whole milk into curd and churning out the butter, followed by heat clarification at 105 – 145 degree C.

Additionally, good goat milk products made in India include Chhana, Khoa and Paneer (a cheese). Chhana is an acid and heat-coagulated milk product and a chhana-based sweet is made by kneading chhana and cooking it in sugar syrup over medium heat. Khoa is a heat-desiccated indigenous goat milk product used for various sweets or candy.

 

 

How to Enjoy Dairy Goat Products?

 

A Few Quick Serving Ideas :

• Next time you want a glass of milk, try goat milk instead.
• Goat milk yogurt makes a wonderful base for savory dips. Simply mix in your favorite herbs and spices and serve with crudites.
• Crumble some goat milk cheese on a salad of romaine lettuce, pears and pumpkin seeds.
• Crumbled goat milk cheese is a wonderful rich topping for split pea soup.
• Add extra taste and protein to a vegetable sandwich by including some goat cheese.
• Soft, spreadable goat milk cheese is an exceptional accompaniment to crusty whole grain bread or crackers and fruit.
• Top sliced tomatoes with crumpled goat milk cheese and fresh basil. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

ENJOY!