Sensory, physico-chemical and microbiological characterization of goat milk: a review

Abstract

The goat milk has several peculiarities, being a food of high digestibility and high nutritional value. The consumption of this product has increased due to demand for dairy products (cheese and yogurt) and the problems of allergy to cow's milk. The goat gives milk white, mild odor and taste sweet. The components of milk may be influenced by species, breed, nutrition, health, environment. The milk of goats has increased quantity of protein and lower in dry extract than cow's milk. In the diet rich in concentrate there is greater yield of milk, and greater amounts of forage in the diet causes an increase in fat content. The microbiological composition undergoes the same changes observed in other animal species, therefore it is important to obtain milk from animals healthy and hygienic way. Keywords: α-casein, lactose, goat culture.