The composition of goat milk does not differ much from that of cow milk, however, it has a higher vitamin A content. The typical “goat taste” is caused by the short fatty acids present: caprine, caprylic, and caproic acid. Normally, if goat milk is treated properly and hygienically, it has a neutral flavour.

Vitamin B12 and folic acid content
In contrast to cow milk, goat milk contains less vitamin B12 and no folic acid. If you only consume goat milk, a shortage can occur. This can be easily supplemented with other sources, such as eggs and meat. Folic acid is also available separately for mixing through the milk. This is recommended for infants and vegans.

Allergy
Goat milk is often considered a suitable alternative in case of cow milk allergy. However, this is not always the case.

Most people with a cow milk protein allergy are allergic to the b-lactoglobulin protein. This protein is also present in goat milk, although to a lesser extent. The content of another protein, albumin, is the same in both cow milk and goat milk. Therefore, goat milk is not always a suitable alternative. However, the nature of the allergy can be determined in consultation with your doctor or dietitian. You may still consider adding goat milk to your diet as a source of protein and calcium.

The goat yogurt from Goat Farm Vliek has the following important properties:

• It contains less albumin than cow yogurt
• It contains more vitamin A than cow yogurt
• It contains many proteins and minerals
• It positively contributes to maintaining healthy intestinal flora
• It contains less vitamin B12 than cow yogurt, for more information see: goat milk.

In goat yogurt, bifidus and acidophilus cultures—right-turning lactic acid bacteria—pass the stomach undisturbed and have a positive influence on intestinal flora in the intestinal tract.

Besides this, the characteristics of goat yogurt and goat milk are the same.

Thickness of the yogurt
Goat yogurt is less thick than cow yogurt. The fat globules in the goat milk are much smaller than those in cow milk so that the gel does not become so thick. The amount of fat in the milk also plays a role. The fat content of our milk fluctuates throughout the year. In winter, the fat content is highest and the yogurt naturally thicker. During the summer, the fat content is at its lowest, causing the yogurt to be less thick.

Production process goat milk
The production process of our goat milk is as follows:

• Warm up the milk
• Homogenization
• Pasteurization
• Cooling
• Packaging
• Refrigerated storage

Because there is fat or cream in milk which can float to the top in the package, it is important that the milk is homogenized. This means that the milk is pressed through very small holes so that the fat globules are divided into tiny droplets. They now no longer rise upwards but are evenly distributed over the milk.

Pasteurization means that the milk is briefly brought to 72ºC killing all possible pathogenic bacteria.

Production process goat yogurt

• Warm up the milk
• Homogenization
• Pasteurization
• Cooling down
• Add lactic acid
• Packaging
• Incubation in incubator
• Cooling

Because there is fat or cream in milk that can float to the top in the package, it is important that the milk is homogenized. This means that the milk is pressed through very small holes so that the fat globules are divided into tiny droplets. They now no longer rise upwards but are evenly distributed over the milk.

For the yogurt, pasteurization means that the milk is briefly brought to 87º C so that all possible pathogenic bacteria are killed and protein structures are broken. If we don’t do this, the yogurt will not set.

After the yogurt has matured in the breeding cell, the pH is measured. The PH value must be between 4.3 and 4.5.

Quality
Our products are checked monthly by Qlip for, among other things, the presence of pathogenic bacteria.

Annually, the dairy installations are checked for safety and hygiene by the COKZ.

Every year the farm is visited and checked by SKAL, the regulator for demonstrable reliability of organic products in the Netherlands.