How to Process Goat Milk at Home

Having fresh goat milk to drink is a novel experience that you can make safer by processing the milk in your own home. Processing goat milk involves pasteurizing raw goat milk in order to destroy potentially harmful bacteria that may have gotten into the milk. Although you can use a home pasteurizer to process your raw goat milk, you can also do it just as easily on top of your stove, according to Gail Damerow, author of ̶0;Your Goat.̶1;

Things You'll Need

  • Fresh goat milk
  • 4-qt. stainless steel pail
  • 12-qt. cooking pot
  • Candy thermometer
  • Spoon/ladle
  • Basin of ice water
  • Sterilized glass jars with lids (1 qt. size or larger)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Prepare your goat milk for processing. Carefully pour 2 to 3 qts. of strained goat milk into a clean 4-qt. stainless steel pail and lower the pail into your 12-qt. pot. Fill the pot with enough water from your kitchen faucet to reach the same level as the milk in the pail; place the pot on one of the front burners on your stove-top. This creates a simple double boiler that keeps your milk from scorching during the heating process, according to Gail Damerow.

    • 2

      Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the stainless steel pail, making sure the tip is inserted into the milk but isn̵7;t touching the bottom of the pail. Most candy thermometers have a metal clip on the side that you can use to attach the thermometer to the pail.

    • 3

      Turn the burner on medium-low heat and heat the milk slowly to 165 degrees F. Stir the milk with a spoon or ladle to distribute the heat as the milk increases in temperature. Monitor the heat as you stir, being careful not to remove either the thermometer or the spoon from the heating milk in order to avoid contaminating it with bacteria again.

    • 4

      Maintain the high temperature. Once the goat milk reaches 165 degrees F, set your kitchen timer for 30 seconds and maintain the temperature for that duration of time. When the 30 seconds have passed, turn off the burner and carefully lift the pail from the pot of hot water.

    • 5

      Cool the milk rapidly. Place the pail of hot milk in a basin of ice water and stir the milk slowly as it cools. Your goal is for the milk to reach 42 degrees F.

    • 6

      Store your pasteurized goat milk. Carefully pour the milk into your sterilized glass jars and cover the jars, screwing the lids on tightly. Clean any spilled goat milk from the outsides of the jars and store the jars on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator.