Goat or Cow Milk?

[Raw in Florida]

Which do you prefer?

I have always heard that Goat milk digests easier and has different value s than cows. I definitely find goat to sour quicker and not taste as good even when fresh.

Does anyone know if there (on average) are different amounts of nutrients, fats, and proteins? (Coming from the same pastures)

[cherimoya_kid]

Goat milk will really help you gain weight, much faster than cow.  Other than that, they are not extremely different.  Goat probably is more digestible, for most people.

[Raw in Florida]

any reason why you would gain weight faster with goat?

[TylerDurden]

I#ve heard that goat milk is much lower in lactose(and possibly casein?) than cows' milk. I've heard vague reports that mare's milk or camel's milk is even closer to human milk than goat's  milk.

[Raw Kyle]

Goat's milk does get sour faster, probably the lower fat content.

[reyyzl]

    Aajonus says cow milk facilitates healing better that goat because of the effect on the adrenals.

[raw]

goat milk (very delicious) is excellent for little babies and older people. it is very easy to digest and contains little bit of vitD. some goat milk is from stinky goat and smell also stinky (extremely creamy texture).

cows' milk is very powerful milk than goat. they are little hard to digest than goat. people in asia, believe cow milk contains so much power.   

[Roxann]

I may get to try fresh raw goat milk tomorrow. The local raw goat dairy just had a lot of new kids born, much more than planned by them. I'd like to get some goats too.

[PaleoPhil]

Which do you prefer?

Neither. I prefer sheep dairy. Not surprising given that sheep were domesticated before both goats and cows http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestication. Much better taste and digestibility for me than either cow or goat--also much more expensive, unsurprisingly. Camel and horse milk is also supposedly superior to cow's milk, for some reason. Cow's milk seems to be the worst of the lot, unfortunately. Why don't you try the best of what's available to you and find out for yourself? Also, fermented milk is supposed to be more digestible than unfermented.

[Haai]

Neither. I prefer sheep dairy. Not surprising given that sheep were domesticated before both goats and cows

Why do you consider this unsurprising?

[PaleoPhil]

It fits that the animal that humans had the longest time to adapt to would produce the most digestible dairy, though I don't know if the time difference was enough to make a significant difference and it could be just coincidental.

Since that comment I've also discovered that there is also a wide range of quality within even sheep dairy products, depending largely on the types of processing and degrees of heating employed. For example, I found a sheep yogurt that is not nearly as thick and tasty as the first one I tried, apparently because the traditional Greek method of making yogurt (which includes straining) was not used.

[Bacchal]

The milk of some goat breeds has an odd, "off" flavor. I think Alpine might be one. So if you've tried it once and didn't like it, I would recommend trying it again from a different source.

[PaleoPhil]

I learned that strained yogurt is actually a less traditional style of Greek yogurt than unstrained (and sheep yogurt is the most traditional type of Greek yogurt, rather than the cow and goat yogurts sold in the USA as "Greek"), but yogurt companies have been marketing the strained or otherwise thickened yogurt as "Greek" yogurt in the USA. Doesn't bother me much, because I do prefer thicker yogurt anyway. I don't care for prevarication, but I expect most large companies (and governments) to lie, so I'm not surprised.

[svrn]

i definitly prefer the sheep over the other two. however it is 2x more expensive than the goat and 2x more than cow. So I stick with goat which Is good enough for me. I love it, cow not so much.

[RogueFarmer]

Depends on the cow or the goat. The average goat milk is probably better than the average cow milk, though my cows make milk I prefer to most of my goats, though a couple goats make milk even better tasting than the cows do. These are small goats that don't make much milk, but I have hybridized the big goats with the small ones and have yet to get a good impression of what the hybrid milk is like, but I think it is very good. 

[cherimoya_kid]

Depends on the cow or the goat. The average goat milk is probably better than the average cow milk, though my cows make milk I prefer to most of my goats, though a couple goats make milk even better tasting than the cows do. These are small goats that don't make much milk, but I have hybridized the big goats with the small ones and have yet to get a good impression of what the hybrid milk is like, but I think it is very good. 

As far as goat milk, I really prefer the fatty milk of the Nubians.

[Sully]

As far as digestion and how I feel, I do much better with raw goat cheese than raw cow cheese (When both are compared at same quality of course). Although I have never had goat milk, I imagine it's the same experiences like cheeses for me.

One time I had raw cow cheese after not eating dairy in a year or so. I was in serious pain that night, my stomach and my knees. Never experienced that before. So be very cautious. I once did the same with raw goats cheese, going very long periods without dairy, than having the raw goat cheese had zero to little affect on me (unlike the raw cow cheese).

So I definitely do better with goat dairy, but everyone is different.

[raw]

Thank u Sully for ur personal experiences on cow and goat milk. But I agree with Paleophil here, cause, sheep milk is the best. We are all looking here the digestive catagory, and raw sheep milk is the winner. Raw goat milk is the next. But camel raw milk is divine. Mongolians drink that raw camel milk. Some tribes in Africa only drink raw milk, blood, fish, fats, meat and blood but no plant based food...how cool!

[PaleoPhil]

Yes, I've heard that camel dairy is better than cow, goat or sheep, and RogueFarmer is right that we're talking about averages, as there are ranges of quality within each.

[RogueFarmer]

I should have mentioned too that depending on the breed and perhaps animal, the fat globules in the cream can be large or small. Goat globules are typically smaller, this is why the cream doesn't rise as well. Some cows such as Dexter and Brown swiss as well as others of the more "primitive" breeds.  have more goat size globules. Smaller fat globules are widely claimed to be easier to digest.

For better or worse, my Jersey's cream must have really big globules because the cream rises in a couple minutes when it's warm, while goats milk would take hours. This is practical if you don't have a centrifuge and you want to make butter or ice cream!

I have heard because of the higher protein levels in goats milk you can make a lower cream ice cream with equal consistency. BUT WHO WANTS THAT???!!!!!!!

Honestly though, I prefer the cow's milk, I feel like I crave it more. Haven't bothered to milk the goats in 2 years. That will probably change this year though.

[raw-al]

In Ayurveda the different versions of dairy are classified like everything else as being apropos to the different body types.

Here is roughly what I mean.

If a person gains weight easily, has slow digestion, has problems with oedema (liquid buildup) fatigue, poor digestion, then generally they would be well-advised to avoid dairy because it is heavy and can be difficult to digest.

If on the other hand, the person enjoys the milk and seems to have no difficulty digesting ie no bloating, tiredness etc. then the different dairy sources will come into play.

The physical appearance of the animal source is a rough guide as to which choice would be better. If you are light, lose weight easily, have a lot of energy, like the third guy from the left in the "Miracles", SMOKEYROBINSON & the Miracles- I second that emotion then dairy from the heavier animal will be best because it will pacify the excesses in your body type.

If on the other hand you gain weight easily or are heavy set like the guy in this  Temptations-Papa was a rollin stone singing this:
"And Mama, they talk all around town say that
Papa had three outside children and another wife
And that ain't right"
then milk from a light animal such as a goat would be apropos.

[HeatherRoses]

    Aajonus says cow milk facilitates healing better that goat because of the effect on the adrenals.

I asked Aajonus which was better Cow or Goat milk and he said "It depends on weight and reaction to high carbohydrate foods (fruits). If you are more than 40 pounds overweight or you suffer from intense highs and lows from eating high carbohydrate fruits, goat's milk is preferable. If not, cow's milk is preferable. Both are okay."

[Cosmo]

You will never gain weight if you drink goats milk, it's impossible, I've been drinking goats milk for a year and stayed slim.
This summer I had a craving for cows milk and I gained weight within a week.

[Iguana]

Wild animals' milk is best... LOL   

[cherimoya_kid]

You will never gain weight if you drink goats milk, it's impossible, I've been drinking goats milk for a year and stayed slim.
This summer I had a craving for cows milk and I gained weight within a week.

Most people do have the opposite experience, however.  Certainly I did.