Barnyard Milk?? What Should Raw Milk Taste Like?
If you’ve never had raw milk, one of the main questions people will ask is “what does it taste like?” It can sound like a silly question, but it’s not!
Of course, it tastes like milk, but there can be different flavors and undertones to milk. These come from a variety of different factors. Let’s break it down!
First, and maybe the most obvious, milk flavor varies on lactating mammal! Cow, goat, sheep, camel, and human milk all taste different! Goat milk is more tangy while cow milk is more mild and sweet! It all depends on your preference! While I’m partial to cow’s milk for obvious reasons, I do enjoy different milk and cheeses for different things!
Milk flavor can vary pending on what the cow is eating! Her diet can affect the flavors. My dad tells the infamous story of another farmer up in the thumb who had a side business of distributing milk to the local schools. The milk he was providing for the schools was from other farms. He eventually switched to using milk from his own cows. The key difference was that he also grew sugar beets and fed them to his cows. The sugar beets made for a different flavor of milk. The kids hated the flavor and didn’t drink the milk so he lost his business of sharing to the schools.
Milk flavor can also be altered by processing. Pasteurization and homogenization can alter the milk’s flavor. Milk from the store will taste different than milk fresh from the cow.
Cream content will also change the flavor! Store milk averages around 3% butter fat. Our milk on our farm is on average 4.5-5% butter fat. Pending on feed and breed, it could be even higher! It’ll have a creamier flavor and texture. Skim or store milk tastes more watery.
Age of raw milk affects it’s flavor! Fresh raw milk is sweet! We’ve had people say it tastes like melted ice cream almost! Think of a milked down sweet cream flavor! As it ages, raw milk doesn’t spoil, but it does sour. Older milk will change from a sweet cream flavor to a sour cream flavor! There’s still plenty of good uses for it, but raw milk becomes less sweet as it ages.
Lastly, but maybe most important, in the world of raw milk, cleanliness matters! Raw milk should not taste like a barnyard. I repeat: RAW MILK SHOULD NOT TASTE LIKE A BARNYARD. If you try raw milk that has a hint of poop flavor to it, I hate to break it to you, but there’s probably some poop in it. Proper cleaning of the cows, milk line, and equipment should make for clean milk that doesn’t taste like manure. A filter for the milk to go through can also help!
Our milk at MarGro Farms is sweet and creamy. We consistently feed our cattle the same foods year round to assure flavor stays as close as possible to what our owners have come to know and love. While they do eat more fresh grass in the spring through fall, we still give them access to their pastures to eat what they can in the winter! And even through the warm months, we give them the same feed we grow here on the farm so they can munch on it if they choose to! Our owners get to pick up fresh milk every week to assure they get the sweet, creamy milk they love. We work hard to ensure our cows and equipment are clean to avoid any barnyard taste. There’s no poop in our milk!
If you’re interested in the best tasting milk you’ve ever had, be sure to reach out to us! You can fill out a contact form on our herdshare page to send us an email directly about it! Click here to go to the page to message us!
