Goat Butter: Any Experience?

[vinonola]

someone gave me a block of Goat Butter (can't remember the producer) from the Netherlands. 75% of the cheese I eat is from goat's milk so I was surprised I had never had/heard of goat butter.

I rendered some and cooked down some sliced portobellos just to see what the flavor was about and I put some on toasted sourdough.

I found the flavor to be very mild and oily, not at all pleasant or as decadent as I thought it would be.

Anyone have any experience/suggestions with goat butter/

Thanks!

[gfron1]

In the US I have had Meyenberg many times and don't really care for it. A bit too much -maybe the same thing are describing. My primary use is toast and I definitely prefer the cow.

[docsconz]

While cow butter is our standard, I like goat milk butter every now and again for something different. I find that freshness is much more important with this butter than ordinary cow's milk butter, though.

[syoung68]

I think it is delicious to butter bread with, but I am not sure I would actually cook with it as I think the underlying flavor would over power things.

[MikeHartnett]

I love Meyenberg, but I think it can only be used for bread or strongly flavored meats, like lamb.

[Katie Meadow]

Many many years ago I shared a few farm animals with a mixed collection of experienced rural types and adventurous hippies. We had one cow and several goats and did a certain amount of experimentation with whatever milk we had. The cow was outstanding, but my recollection of goat's milk butter is that the reason it isn't common is partly the goatey taste but mainly the fact that goat's milk is low in fat, so it isn't exactly cost-effective to try to make butter when the cream yield is so small. I suppose in cultures that don't have cows or among people who can only sustain goats it might be more appealing, although they might have easier access to various oils for cooking.

I think it would work paired with anything you could imagine combines well with goat cheese, like spinach or potatoes.

[markemorse]

I agree with Katie that this is probably a fat problem....and probably the reason that goat butter is not a more widely-known product...

living in the Netherlands, we see a lot of commercially available goat milk and cheese, but I've never seen goat butter in a grocery store before, not even in the organic/whole foods grocery store. i'm wondering if this purchase came from a particular independent goat farm in the center of amsterdam...seems like they would most likely be the highest-profile purveyor of goat butter in the city.

i guess my point is: goat butter is not even popular over here...and based on your kitchen experiments, there's probably a good reason for that.

mark

+++

[BadRabbit]

I bought some Meyenberg goat butter the other day and I am looking for something interesting to do with it. To me, it seems to be a good bit richer than cow's butter and I thought that might work well with some sort of acid to balance out that richness(perhaps a sauce for fish with lemon and butter).

Any ideas ?

Also, does goat butter have any significantly different properties from cow butter (e.g. smoke point, texture at room temp, etc...)?

I first thought I might clarify some but then reasoned that most of the unique proteins were likely in the milk solids and therefore it would not be significantly different from regular clarified butter. Is this thinking correct?

Edited May 19, 2010 by BadRabbit (log)

[BadRabbit]

I love Meyenberg, but I think it can only be used for bread or strongly flavored meats, like lamb.

My wife would eat nothing else if I would let her. I think the Meyenberg is really spectacular and I don't find it particularly "goaty." To me, it is more rich and creamy than cow butter.

It really shines on new potatos with mint but I like it in almost any melted butter situation. I haven't cooked with it but the fat content of the Meyenberg is higher than Land o' Lakes regular butter so I would guess it would do fine in that application. I just don't use it that way because it is really expensive.

Edited May 17, 2011 by BadRabbit (log)

[wkl]

i think this goat butter is delicious: http://www.sthelensfarm.co.uk/more_info.asp?current_id=82

i don't find the flavor strong at all. expensive but really good.