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I am fortunate where I live to have convenient access to high quality, farm fresh milk from both cows and goats for reasonable prices. My family enjoys both types of dairy although each member of the family tends to have a preference if given the choice of one over the other.
One of my kids asked me the other day about goat milk versus cow milk and which was better than the other. Great question!
Goat Milk Advantages
The most significant difference between goat milk and cow milk is that fresh, unpasteurized cow milk forms a distinct creamline at the top and goat milk does not. The reason is that goat milk is naturally homogenized which means the fat molecules are smaller than in cow milk and so remain evenly dispersed throughout the milk. Incidentally, sheep milk is also naturally homogenized.
The smaller size of the fat globules seems to make goat milk more digestible for some people but not all. I personally find no difference in digestibility between the two.
While the protein structure of cow and goat milk is fairly similar, goat milk is missing an alpha casein present in cow’s milk. In addition, when you drink a glass of goat milk and it reacts with the acid in your stomach, the protein curds that precipitate are smaller in size and a bit softer than the ones that form with cow’s milk. This is another reason some folks find goat milk to be more easily digested than cow milk.
Cow Milk Advantages
Cow milk is higher is vitamin B12 which so many people are severely deficient in. Goat milk also lacks folic acid making cow milk more suitable for homemade infant formula in the event the mother cannot breastfeed.
Cow milk is also higher in B6 making it a better choice for pregnant mothers who have morning sickness. I myself suffered from B6 deficiency morning sickness and so found sipping fresh cow milk during the first trimester to bring immediate and welcome relief. Incidentally, B6 is destroyed by pasteurization so any sort of heat treated or pasteurized milk will not help in this regard. The milk must be farm fresh and preferably grassfed.
The Weston A. Price Foundation recommends adding 2 teaspoons organic raw chicken liver, frozen for 14 days, finely grated to each batch of the milk based formula if goat milk is used and encourages egg yolk feeding for babies to begin no later than four months old. If cow milk is used, egg yolk feeding can be started later if desired at 6 months.
Cow milk is usually more readily available than goat milk and is typically a lower cost per gallon making it more suitable for tighter budgets.
Sometimes I’ve heard folks say that they prefer the taste of cow milk because goat milk tastes goaty, but in my experience, goaty tasting goat milk is more a result of quality than anything. The goat milk I buy doesn’t taste goaty unless it is more than a week old (and then it only gets a slight goaty taste) and is generally very similar in taste to cow milk.
Goat Milk vs Cow Milk?
Ultimately, the choice of whether to drink fresh cow or goat milk is a personal preference. In my home, I have both available and while I prefer cow milk, I do enjoy goat milk kefir for my smoothies just to mix things up a bit and provide more variety to my diet. For straight drinking, my husband prefers goat milk but loves cow milk cream on his fruit. My kids generally prefer cow milk although they don’t mind a glass of goat milk when it is really fresh.
So what did I answer my child when he asked whether one milk was better than the other? I told him that it was kind of like the difference between turkey and chicken. They are both yummy and healthy and it’s perfectly ok to prefer one over the other or even drink both if you want to!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Sources and More Information
A lot of toddlers being weaned off breast milk accept goats milk a lot better than cows. It’s easier to digest, and there is more protein in goats milk as well as lauric acid. A better option IMO
We have dairy goats! It’s been six years now since we moved to our farm and began drinking raw goat’s milk. Delicious! It’s all in how you handle the milk and how clean things are. GM is very delicate. I must say that we are much healthier, with strong immune systems and fantastic teeth! Our goats browse, eat quality hay and are fed whole grains while milking (no soy, no corn, no preservatives, etc). Pound (of feed) for pound (of milk) a goat out produces a cow, is cleaner and easier to manage. We had a cute little Jersey cow for a year but much prefer the goats and their milk over the cow. Our milk is never goaty and keeps well for 10 days (although it never lasts that long!). :o) Mind you, we do have a milking routine, grooming the goat, cleaning the udder, milking into a sanitized SS bucket, straining the milk (KEY!) into sanitized glass jars and cooling as quickly as possible in an ice bath. Clean, clean, clean! We make great cheese, yogurt, kefir and ice cream, too! Most favorite is a tall glass of chocolate milk after finishing chores in this heat!
Wow! This is an awesome summary! Thank you for sharing your routine!
Susie, I second what you do! It almost sounds like something I would say. I agree, it’s milk handling. Plus I also think that pasturization does soemthing to the milk, though not sure on that one. Being in Illinois, in order to sell any dairy products, it has to be pasturized unless aged for 60 days. I don’t have that sort of equipment to make that kind of cheese, but as long as it is fresh milk, it is wonderful. Milk also picks up odors easily and it can pick up the barn odor! Must keep it covered (I milk by hand) between girls.
Has anyone tried raw goat’s milk for autistic kids? My son has autism and I am always looking for alternative kinds of milk, maybe he could tolerate this better? I would apprecciatte any feedback on this. Thanks.
Oops, my reply above was intended to go here.
The milk of the Nubian goats is sweet, and I like it..But the milk of the Sannon goats is goaty tasting and I do not like it.
I’ve heard great things about raw milk for autism, and especially camel’s milk (available online?).
I am so excited to find out that i will be able to get raw cows milk soon..I have been getting goats milk but I actually prefer cows because sometimes it did have that goaty taste and at other times it didnt. I guess its hard to get use to if it is not goaty all the time. Patience and searching has paid off
The raw goats milk i get from a friend from her amazingly healthy goats actually does form a small cream top if you let it sit in the fridge for 5 days! 🙂
Sarah, (or readers) do you know much about sheep’s milk? We are interested in getting a hair sheep for milking. I hear that the milk has a very high percentage of butter fat (yum!), but that it also is “naturally homogenized” and would require either a cream separator, or a lot of patience in waiting for a cream line. Pros and cons, for sure!
I do not know much about sheep’s milk but we used to get this amazing raw sheep cheese from a local gourmet food shop until it closed late last year. 🙁 I am really missing that cheese.
We have three Boer goats and the second one we got was the first one’s mama and she was pregnant when we got her but didn’t know it until two kids plopped out! Hubby milked her because one side of the utter was full and the babies were sticking to one side, but the milk didn’t seem clean enough for me to try and drink although I really wanted to. Then the babies grew up and mom dried up!
Hi
Great topic.
Besides what has been said above, I have been told that goat milk is good, but can be very stimulating. It’s good if you are an athlete, or have a high work load, but maybe not for someone who just has a regular day.
If you observe a cow, then generally they are quite placid, where as the goat is mostly a little ‘wired’, or more active than the cow. This seems to come through in the milk.
I have not had the personal experience in this instance, so feedback would be good.
I now drink a fair amount of raw milk now, after thinking for over 20 years that I had a dairy intolerance. But it was only a commercial dairy intolerance.
I find that drinking the milk at room temp. is much easier on the stomach than cold. Also for those attempting to return to drinking milk, just start with small amounts each day, to allow your system to get used to it. Usually after a 2 weeks, the body’s system would have settled into it.
Very interesting Keith. I have never considered that before! I am a pretty wired person by nature so perhaps that’s why I like cow’s milk better as it calms me down! LOL
I keep 2 Nubian goats for their milk. It tastes wonderful. “Goatiness” comes from poor milking practices, pehaps from eating strong herbs, etc., and I have been told that some breeds naturally produce strong milk. In the winter when we have to drink cow milk, my 10 year old says it tastes “watery.”