Goat milk: benefits, harms, recipes

2024 Author: Arianna Cook | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-12 17:55

Features and chemical composition of the drink. Why goat milk is useful, possible harm when consumed. Recipes and interesting facts.

Goat's milk is a physiological fluid produced by the mammary glands of the domestic goat. The animal was tamed and domesticated in the Middle East over 9 million years ago. The product is used more for medicinal purposes than food. The lack of popularity is explained by everyday prejudices about the presence of smell and the difficulty of keeping an animal. Goats need more care than cows and mechanized milking is much more difficult. In addition, the taste of goat milk largely depends on the quality of the feed: in summer it is sweeter and softer on grasses, and harder on twig feed. The color is white or yellowish, the consistency is uniform. An unpleasant aftertaste may be present if the animal is not well cared for.

The composition and calorie content of goat milk

There is an opinion that this is a product of increased fat content compared to cow's milk, and if you want to lose weight, you must refuse to use it. The fact that the consistency seems thick is due to the structure of the fat - it is formed into small balls and evenly distributed throughout the volume.

The calorie content of goat milk is not much higher than cow's milk - 68 kcal per 100 g, of which:

Proteins - 3 g;
Fat - 4.2 g;
Carbohydrates - 4.5 g;
Ash - 0.8 g;
Water - 87.3 g.

Vitamins per 100 g:

Vitamin A - 60 mcg;
Retinol - 0.06 mg;
Beta Carotene - 0.04 mg;
Vitamin B1, thiamine - 0.04 mg;
Vitamin B2, riboflavin - 0.14 mg;
Vitamin B4, choline - 14.2 mg;
Vitamin B5, pantothenic acid - 0.3 mg;
Vitamin B6, pyridoxine - 0.05 mg;
Vitamin B9, folate - 1 mcg;
Vitamin B12, cobalamin - 0.1 μg;
Vitamin C, ascorbic acid - 2 mg;
Vitamin D, calciferol - 0.06 μg;
Vitamin E, alpha tocopherol - 0.09 mg;
Vitamin H, biotin - 3.1 mcg;
Vitamin PP - 1 mg;
Niacin - 0.3 mg

Macronutrients per 100 g:

Potassium, K - 145 mg;
Calcium, Ca - 143 mg;
Magnesium, Mg - 14 mg;
Sodium, Na - 47 mg;
Phosphorus, P - 89 mg;
Chlorine, Cl - 35 mg.

Microelements per 100 g:

Aluminum, Al - 22 mcg;
Iron, Fe - 0.1 mg;
Iodine, I - 2 μg;
Manganese, Mn - 0.017 mg;
Copper, Cu - 20 μg;
Molybdenum, Mo - 7 μg.

Digestible carbohydrates per 100 g:

Mono- and disaccharides (sugars) - 4.5 g;
Lactose - 4.5 g.

Essential amino acids in goat milk - 1.295 g per 100 g, 12 items. Most of all lysine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine + tyrosine complex.

Replaceable amino acids - 1.784 g per 100 g:

Alanine - 0.121 g;
Aspartic acid - 0.249 g;
Glycine - 0.046 g;
Glutamic acid - 0.594 g;
Proline - 0.271 g;
Serine - 0.154 g;
Tyrosine - 0.105 g;
Cysteine - 0.03 g.

Cholesterol - 30 mg per 100 g.

Fatty acids per 100 g:

Omega-3 - 0.08 g;
Omega-6 - 0.13 g.

Saturated fatty acids - 2.64 g per 100 g, 8 items. Most of all myristic and stearic.

Monounsaturated fatty acids - 1.14 g per 100 g:

Myristoleic - 0.03 g;
Palmitoleic - 0.1 g;
Oleic (omega-9) - 0.93 g.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids - 0.21 g per 100 g:

Linoleic acid - 13 g;
Linolenic - 0, 08 g.

When determining the quality of a product in large farms, other parameters are also taken into account. Acidity pH - 6, 4-6, 7 units, density - 1033 kg / m³.

When introducing a drink into the diet, one should be guided by the following data:

Goat milk	Calorie content
Tea spoon	3.4 kcal
Tablespoon	12.2 kcal
Thin-walled glass, 200 ml	136 kcal
Faceted glass, 250 ml	170 kcal

The beneficial properties of goat milk are preserved with short-term heating due to the high content of ionized calcium. In addition, the product can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. Due to the special composition, souring does not occur.

Useful properties of goat milk

The quality of the product can be assessed at the milking stage by filtering through cheesecloth. If lumps appear, then the animal has health problems, such as mastitis. In this case, milk does not have medicinal properties, and it is undesirable to eat it.

The benefits of goat milk were noticed by Hippocrates, the doctor of ancient Greece. He advised drinking it in the treatment of diseases associated with disruption of the cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems.

Useful properties of goat milk:

Pronounced antimicrobial action. The vital activity of pathogenic microorganisms is completely blocked.
Increases immunity, normalizes cholesterol levels and has an anti-sclerotic effect.
Improves liver function, prevents obesity.
Reduces the acidity of gastric contents, prevents the appearance of heartburn, the development of gastritis and peptic ulcer disease, relieves the inflammatory processes of the mucous membrane of the larynx, digestive tract and organs.
Reduces the risk of rickets in young children, osteoporosis and osteochondrosis in adults.
Restores the quality of muscle and cartilage tissue, increases the production of synovial fluid, accelerates the regenerative properties of the body during sprains and ruptures of muscle fibers and ligaments.
It normalizes metabolic processes, improves the functioning of the hematopoietic system, and replenishes the potassium supply.
Restores the functions of the endocrine system and, in particular, the thyroid gland.
It has an antioxidant effect, prevents malignancy, stops the growth of existing neoplasms.
It has a mild diuretic and choleretic effect.
Accelerates detoxification after radio, radiation and chemotherapy, antibiotic treatment, poisoning with salts of heavy metals and some poisons - it has been officially proven that arsenic is partially neutralized.
Normalizes blood sugar levels and replenishes the body's reserve of nutrients.

It is recommended to be added to the diet in the treatment of tuberculosis, polyvalent allergies and hay fever, colitis of various etiologies and bronchial asthma, arthritis and arthrosis, migraine.

For adults with lactase deficiency, it is recommended to switch from cow's milk to goat's milk for 2 months. In 80% of patients, the disease goes away.

Homemade goat's milk (4: 1) diluted with water is more suitable for babies than cow's milk, it contains less lactose. Due to the special structure of proteins and lipids, the product in the stomach curdles into a loose clot, making it easier to digest. Assimilation is complete. However, in its pure form, it can be given to babies only from the age of 9 months.

Fermented milk products made from goat's milk prevent the development of dysbiosis and create favorable conditions for increasing the activity of beneficial intestinal microflora.

Harm and contraindications of goat milk

No studies have been carried out to indicate the hazards of this product. If the drink is familiar, you can continue to drink it in any state and position. There is only one absolute contraindication to use - individual intolerance.

Abuse with increased weight and gastroenterocolitis in the acute stage due to increased fat content and high digestibility should be avoided.

An allergic reaction can occur when the animal's food is changed. But from one-time manifestations, one should not conclude that the product needs to be completely abandoned.

The harm from goat milk for babies when replacing mothers can appear due to the low content of iron in the product. If you do not replenish the diet with foods with a high content of this trace element, iron deficiency anemia (anemia) develops. In order not to provoke a deterioration in the condition, you should use, on the recommendation of a pediatrician, special drugs.

Too frequent use of the product can provoke hypervitaminosis. The increased content of calcium and potassium in the body causes irritability, a constant feeling of thirst and hormonal disruptions, urolithiasis and cholelithiasis.

It is worth limiting or refusing to enter the diet with chronic pancreatitis, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, with varicose veins and thrombophlebitis - because of the property to increase blood clotting.

Goat Milk Recipes

If, during preparation, the initial product is heated no higher than 130 ° C and no longer than 7 minutes, the beneficial properties are retained in full.

Recipes with goat milk for a variety of dishes:

Sour cream … The raw materials are poured into a flat wide container - an enamel basin is best suited. Fresh goat's milk (you can pasteurized, but if you are sure of the manufacturer, it is enough to strain) is fermented sour. Proportions: 2 l to 0.15 l. Cover with gauze, folded in several layers, or a clean canvas cloth, leave for 4 days at a temperature of 25 ° C. When a layer forms on the surface, it is removed with a spoon. Sour cream is stirred and put into the refrigerator.
Goat cheese … Dilute 0.1 g of pepsin, at the tip of a knife, in 50 ml of boiled chilled water. Milk, 5 l, heated to 35 ° C, pour in the leaven and leave for 45 minutes. Readiness can be judged by the consistency - it should resemble jelly. The curd is cut with a very sharp knife into cubes with 2 cm edges, heated to 38-40 ° C, stirring constantly to avoid sticking at an early stage. After 3-4 hours the cubes should become more "airy". Salt before turning off, focusing on their own taste, throw the contents into a colander covered with gauze. The cheesecloth is then hung to separate the serum more thoroughly. When a hard curd lump is obtained, the cheese is dried with a paper napkin, and then, replacing the gauze, a press is installed on top. You can eat in a day, but you can put it in the refrigerator for further ripening. In this case, the finished head will be in 2 weeks.
Goat condensed milk … Fresh milk is put on a fire to boil, sugar is added and boiled until it acquires a brownish tint. If the starting material is not very fresh, add a little soda before cooking. Proportions: 1 liter of milk, 2 glasses of sugar. Homemade condensed milk is stored in the refrigerator.
Butter … The boiled milk is removed from the cream that has formed after cooling. Then they are poured into a blender bowl, salted, a handful of saffron is added, beat for a long time, periodically pouring out the separated liquid. The process is lengthy. The more thoroughly the product is cooled, the easier it will be to beat.

In culinary recipes, goat's milk can be safely replaced with cow's milk. You just need to remember: you will have to use sourdough for acidification. If the product curdled on its own, an unpleasant bitterness appears in it.

Interesting facts about goat milk

The medicinal properties of the product were so appreciated that it was reflected in literature and mythology. According to Greek legend, Zeus himself, the supreme God of Olympus, was fed with the goat milk of Amalthea, the divine goat.

According to the chronicles, young Avicenna owes his fame to goat's milk too. The Bukhara emir was slowly fading away, his appetite disappeared, he could no longer get out of bed. After the diet prescribed by the novice doctor, the condition quickly recovered. The patient was transferred to medicinal milk and fresh vegetables.

The recipes of ancient healers have survived to this day. When composing mixtures to enhance medicinal properties, milk was boiled with sea stones and amber, insisted on gold, combined with snake venom and poisonous plants.

Since the benefits of such treatment turned out to be dubious, in the Middle Ages, goats were almost completely exterminated, being declared a devil's offspring.

The repeated rejection began at the beginning of the twentieth century. Pediatricians of that time actively urged to abandon cow's milk, since goats do not get sick with dangerous diseases (tuberculosis and brucellosis), protein is easier to digest. Indeed, infant mortality with complementary foods of this species has decreased significantly. But when they began to switch completely to goat's milk, babies began to weaken and die - as already mentioned, due to a lack of iron. And the goats were undeservedly "appointed" to be the culprits of what was happening.

Modern goat milk recipes are much safer than the old ones:

For migraines, knead white clay with a drink and apply a bandage to the forehead for attacks.
For allergies insist goat milk on birch charcoal and take 100 ml 3 times a day.
For coughing, dilute oat broth in a 1: 1 ratio, drink 1 glass each morning and evening, preheating it. For the same purpose, 1 tbsp is diluted in 200 ml of a drink. l. cocoa butter or the same amount of honey.

The medicinal properties of whey, which remained after the preparation of fermented milk products, are more pronounced. If you wipe your face, you can stop acne and stop possible suppuration. Douching eliminates candidiasis, when applied under a bandage, burns and cracked heels can heal faster.

Homemade cosmetics with goat milk restore natural glow, nourish and moisturize, and enhance local immunity. Ice from a frozen product stops age-related changes and increases vascular tone.

Homemade cosmetics recipes:

To improve the relief of the skin, mix 50 ml of milk and 1 tsp each. lemon juice and brandy. Apply for 10 minutes. It is more convenient to soak the gauze with the mixture, having previously cut out the holes for the eyes and nose, and lie down during the procedure.
For the preparation of a nutritious mask, puree from goat milk and rolled oats is made. Heat slightly above body temperature before application.
Banana puree is mixed with lemon juice and diluted with milk against scalp inflammation and to soften hair. First, rub into the roots, then distribute along the length. Leave for 30 minutes.

When buying at the market from an unknown seller, goat's milk is boiled. Despite the antimicrobial activity, you need to be on the safe side. There is no need to be afraid that useful substances will disintegrate - as already mentioned, this product is heat-resistant.

Watch a video about the benefits of goat milk: