When it comes to wholesome, old-fashioned goodness, goat milk clabber is a treasure that's been cherished for generations. Clabber, a naturally fermented dairy product, is rich in probiotics and packed with nutrients that promote gut health and boost the immune system. Unlike modern yogurts or kefirs, clabber is made by simply letting raw milk ferment naturally, allowing beneficial bacteria to flourish without any added cultures or sweeteners. The result is a thick, tangy product that's versatile in the kitchen and teeming with health benefits.
Not only does clabber improve digestion by introducing a host of good bacteria to the gut, but it also provides a rich source of vitamins and minerals like calcium, magnesium, and vitamin B12. For those who are lactose intolerant, clabber can be a gentle alternative, as the fermentation process breaks down much of the lactose, making it easier to digest. Milk is at its best when it has transformed into clabber.
Whether you're spreading it on toast, adding it to smoothies, using it as a base for salad dressings, or using it as a culture for cheese making, goat milk clabber is a delicious and nutritious way to enjoy the natural bounty of your homestead. Dive in with me as we explore how to make this traditional gem, it may not be quite as straightforward as clabbering cow milk but once it is established I believe it tastes even better than cow milk clabber.
Delicious clabber can easily be made with fresh raw goats milk. The finished product will not look exactly the same as cow milk clabber, it may appear a bit thinner and can sometimes be hard to tell if set (depending on the butterfat in your milk). Here are the steps I take in order to achieve a nice thick, sweet and active goat milk clabber.
Making Clabber:
Step 1: Wipe down your goat’s udder with a dry cloth before milking but do not use any iodine or other wash that will strip the teats of their natural microbial population. Milk your goat into a clean jar or pail.
Step 2: Place a small amount of fresh milk, still warm from the udder (and unrefrigerated) in a 1/2 pint jar. I usually fill to a little under 1/2 full which is a tad less than 1/2 cup of milk to start with. Cover with a coffee filter, muslin, or linen cloth and secure with a rubber band. Place in an area with an ambient temperature of between 68-85ºF.
Step 3: Check your clabber frequently and try to catch it at the first signs of thickening and becoming slightly “jiggly”. You can gently tip the jar to see if it’s set and thickened - do not shake or stir at all. Don’t worry if you miss the jiggly stage and your clabber has begun to separate a bit, it’s easy to miss the ideal stage on this first jar of clabber. The initial clabber can sometimes take a few days, especially if temperatures are on the cooler side so be patient and check frequently.
Step 4: Once it has thickened you’ll want to “feed” it again with fresh udder warm milk if possible, milk that has been refrigerated is ok but not preferred at this point. To feed your clabber take about 1/2 tsp of clabber and add in 4 oz milk (a ratio of 1:50) to a clean jar. Gently stir and again set aside covered in a warm room. Watch this one carefully - it will/should clabber quicker than that first jar.
Step 5: Continue the process of feeding until your clabber becomes thick and jiggly in 12-24 hours. Once you’ve reached this point you have an established goat milk clabber! Now that it is established you can begin to use refrigerated milk for your daily feeding. Now, you can begin feeding your clabber at a larger quantity if you want - just keep that 1:50 ratio. When your clabber is at the perfectly set and jiggly phase you’ll want to halt fermentation until ready to use/or until the next day’s feeding.
This video will help you by showing the clabbering process from the very beginning; and giving you a visual as to what a good, healthy active goat milk clabber should look like.
Here is my personal flow for keeping/using my clabber once I have it established:
Milk goat.
Take clabber out of fridge and feed it at a 1:50 ratio with my fresh milk. I usually make 1 quart of clabber at a time because it’s so dang delicious.
Set on counter until bedtime (by which it has usually clabbered perfectly), then refrigerate until the next morning’s feeding.
Keep all jars of clabber “discard” in the refrigerator until ready to use but no longer than a week.
Quick Tips:
If you want to use your goat milk clabber as a culture when cheesemaking use it when fresh and jiggly. Refrigerated clabber can be used as a cheese culture but ideally it should be as fresh as possible (no older than 4 days).
Be patient when establishing your goat milk clabber - it’s normal to have a few failed batches before you reach success.
If you see lots of bubbles or clabber that floats up above the whey you may have yeast contamination. This is “ok” for that first batch and can be remedied with those first consistent feedings of fresh milk. However, you don’t want to see this with an established clabber as it would mean it has over fermented and shifted to a yeasty phase.
Goat milk is more delicate than cow milk so keep that in mind when following recipes written for cow milk. Usually less stirring of curd (or none at all) and lower temperatures are required when making cheeses using goat milk. As a general rule of thumb I lower the temperature in cheese recipes written for cow milk by about 5-6ºF when making with goat milk.
Happy Clabbering!
Missy
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