Here on Deep Roots Farm we recently dove straight into our newest adventure…goats milk! Our two Nigerian Dwarf Goats, Mac and Cheese, had their first freshening this Spring, and with that comes lots and lots of milk. With all those early morning milking sessions we quickly became overwhelmed with the amount of milk we were getting (and we aren’t even getting all that they can produce!) 

We are very new to all of this, and we are constantly learning new things and new ways to streamline our procedures on the farm, but here are a few ways Deep Roots Farm has found to use our overabundance of milk during what we loveling refer to as our “experimental year”.

1. Goat Soap

This takes a little research (and maybe a few youtube how too’s) if you are not already familiar with soap making, but it is a great way to create a product that you can use every day in your own home, give to friends and family for gifts, or eventually sell. The best part is you should use frozen goat milk, so you are not pressured to use it up right away. The milk we want to use for soap we freeze in ice cube trays and then transfer the cubes to a freezer bag for easy storage. Soap making does take practice and some trial and error to find a recipe you like, but it is a great way to use some of the soap. A bonus: goat’s milk has huge benefits for your skin. Just google it!

2. Goat Lotion and other skin products

Similar to soap this is a great way to use a lot of milk. The benefits for your skin are endless. We searched Pinterest for different recipes. If you do choose to venture into lotions and skin products, you will need to research a preservative to use, as milk (or even water) is a great place for bacteria to grow.

3. Goat Cheese

You can make all kinds of different cheeses with goat’s milk, but my favorite is Chevre. It is the goat cheese you are most likely to find in the stores. Chevre is a soft cheese that you can eat plain (spread it on a bagel to replace cream cheese), or add different seasoning or herbs, or even jellies, to create a whole new taste. The process is fairly easy and only takes around 24 hours to make. There are countless Youtube videos to show you the process. This is my favorite how-to YouTube video https://youtu.be/dttuC2KuCu4. A note: you do have to purchase a few supplies from a cheese-making store or website. I got most of my items online from New England Cheesemaking Supply.

4. Goat Yogurt

This is our family’s new favorite way to use up goat’s milk. It is so easy and takes very little hands-on time. We have a Ninja Foodi with a yogurt-making setting which makes it even easier. It walks you through the steps. Nigerian Goats milk is so creamy and sweet that it makes delicious yogurt. All you have to do is add a little vanilla and honey. All you have to do is look up a recipe online or follow the recipe in your Ninja Foodi cookbook. Just use goat’s milk instead of cow’s milk. The best part is the Ninja Foodi pasteurized the milk for you during the cooking process.

5. Cook with it.

You can use goat’s milk in any recipe you would use regular cow’s milk. Although, there are huge debates online about whether you should pasteurize the milk first or use it raw. It is a personal choice but do your research. Personally, we are comfortable pasteurizing it for right now. We grew up in suburbia, so the whole using milk I just milked myself out of an animal is already taking some getting used to. Baby steps…haha.

6. Drink it!

You can drink the milk just like you would cow milk. Just remember Nigerian Dwarf milk is made up of 6% butterfat. Whole cow milk we buy from the store averages 3.5%. Nigerian Goat milk is very thick and creamy which makes it taste great in coffee.