Goat milk butter (or goat butter) has an almost velvety texture and a true melt-in-your-mouth quality that, to me, elevates it beyond any other butter out there. Here’s what to know before subbing goat butter in every recipe you know and love.
How Goat Butter Tastes
All butter is made by the same process no matter what animal’s milk it comes from, says Seair Lorentz, communications manager with California-based Meyenberg, the country’s largest producer of European-style goat butter and the only one that ships nationally. What sets a type of butter apart is the source because that will give it distinctive properties. In general, goat milk butter has more flavor than standard cow’s milk butter. There’s a bit of tang and a bit of earthiness, but the flavor isn’t as strong (or perhaps, as polarizing) as goat cheese. “It’s a much more dialed-back experience,” says Lorentz.
Color
Another big difference between goat butter and standard butter is the color. I was surprised to find that goat butter is stark white, almost like shortening. The reason for this is that goats process beta-carotene—the pigment found in things like hay and grass that animals graze on—differently, so the color isn’t passed on to their milk the way it is in cows, Lorentz explains. “What’s cool about this is that if you’re looking to make a white decoration on a pastry or frost a cake, you can have it be a true stunning white,” she adds.
Melting Point
One last major variant of goat butter is that it has a slightly lower melting point than regular butter: 6˚F because the fat globules in goat’s milk are smaller than they are in cow’s milk. This is the quality that really gives goat butter its magic. “When you make something like an all-butter pie crust [with goat butter], you get this incredible lamination and flakiness, almost like a croissant,” says Lorentz. “Similarly, with a quick bread like zucchini or banana, the low melting point adds a velvety mouth feel.” It also makes it delightful to eat smeared on a slice of sourdough or, even simpler, a cracker. “Even that raw experience of it is so good,” Lorentz notes, adding that it’s also amazing melted over popcorn.
What to Know Before Substituting Goat Butter
The Flavor Might Be Off-Putting on Its Own
First, don’t be afraid of the distinct flavor. While on its own, you might notice goat butter has a bite similar to goat cheese, the flavor becomes less pronounced when it’s incorporated into baked goods or other cooked preparations, says Michael Laiskonis, chef and creative director at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. If you really enjoy that tang, however, Laiskonis suggests using goat butter in savory baked goods, like scones or drop biscuits, which allows the flavor to stand without being obscured by any sweetness.
Some Recipes Could Be Cost-Prohibitive
It Takes Less Time to Melt or Cream Goat Milk Butter
When you are working with goat butter, be mindful of the lower melting temperature, as it can sneak up on you if you’re not careful. For example, baking in a kitchen that’s already warm from a lot of oven use can cause your goat butter to get too soft when making pie dough. If you’re making a recipe that requires creaming butter and sugar together, keep in mind that your butter will cream faster than usual, so be wary of overmixing. Likewise, making something like caramel with goat butter can be tricky because the butter can burn much quicker than you’re used to. It can be done, however. Jimmy MacMillan, a pastry chef at Pastry Virtuosity in Chicago, says he loves using goat butter to make actual caramels—they stay chewy and soft at room temperature, and the translucent color of the butter allows for a rich brown color in the caramels.
Recipe Ideas
Technically, you can really use goat butter for anything you can think of in place of regular cow’s milk butter. It gives biscuits a wonderfully fluffy texture, gingerbread cookies a perfect sandiness, and imparts impeccable flakiness to shortbread wedges. You may want to avoid making something like croissants with goat butter, Laiskonis says, because that can be cost-prohibitive due to the amount of butter required. Brioche, on the other hand, could be a great item to experiment with, he adds. One last thing to note: Goat butter freezes beautifully, says Lorentz, so you can stock up and pull out a package when needed (that is if you don’t use it all up on your morning toast first).
