GOAT MILK REVIEW - ORIG FRESH GOATNAN

Salam Aidilfitri kepada semua pembaca LRGF. Izinkan saya juga mengucapkan Maaf Zahir dan Batin dan diharap sambutan Idulfitri pada tahun ini meriah dan penuh bermakna kepada semua.

Time hari raya pun memang best dan seronok untuk penternak kambing, bisnes kambing panggang dan penggemar makan daging kambing sebab masa nilah order untuk kambing panggang berduyun duyun untuk tempahan open house, sampai tak cukup tangan dibuatnya. Secara tidak langsung, time ni lah buat marketing paling senang. Siap je lah business card tuh.

Tahun ni LRGF tak dapat cater for kambing panggang kepada orang ramai sebab kambing jantan tak cukup. 3 ekor je tinggal, nak standby untuk aqiqah atau jual sebagai penjantan. Walaubagaimanapun silalah ke facebook dan search Bek Golek (nama bisnes kambing panggang LRGF) sekiranya ingin membuat tempahan kambing panggang di masa hadapan.

Ok. Dah lama tak tulis blog ni. Masih lagi dalam mood raya. Tapi semalam bila minum teh tarik kat satu restoran Nasi Kandar, ternampak saya ada susu kambing yang dijual. This is good! 

Instantly I thought to myself, I should make a 'mission' untuk mencuba susu kambing yang ada kat Malaysia dan buat review untuk para pembaca atau orang ramai sebagai rujukan. Rasanya takde lagi kot orang buat, so hopefully it will be helpful and useful for all.

Berbalik kepada susu kambing tadi, check out the photos below.

Flyer yang diletak di atas meja makan

On the counter

Tumpang dalam chiller Nestle

Tuan puan sekalian. Brand susu kambing ni namaya Orig GoatNan. First time saya jumpa. Kalau tengok dari flyer, susu ni dari jenis baka saanen. Design with the chinese consumer in mind too as you can clearly identify the chinese characters on the bottle and flyer. Dipek dalam botol kaca and it is vaccum sealed! Dahsyat ni. Suprisingly it is displayed on the cash counter in room temperature. Jadi saya decide beli satu botol (kandungan 250ml) dengan harga jualan RM8.00 sebotol. Ambil yang room temperature sebab curious nak tahu fresh ke tak susu kambing ni.

Company Background

A chinese female answered my call. Syarikat Orig International Sdn Bhd in dah 5 tahun beroperasi, mendapat susu kambing dari ladang sendiri dan juga dari ladang ladang lain sekitar Selangor. Try tanya nak lawat ladang, tapi tak boleh katanya. Sebelum ni susu kambing OrigNan ni dijual di kedai menjual makanan organik dan baru baru ni mencuba pasaran di kedai Nasi Kayu Kandar. Pejabatnya di Sg Buloh. Home delivery services juga disediakan tetapi could not figure out what she was saying as the background was very noisy, macam kat kilang.

Packaging & Labeling

Lets check out the info 

Vacuum sealed for freshness

Susu botol ni di vacuum sealed, sticker terpampang jelas. Vacuum packaging ni ialah satu kaedah food preservation dimana udara (oksigen) disedut keluar sebelum pembungkusan / pembotolan. Dengan ketidakhadiran oksigen, maka sesetengah bakteria yang boleh merosakkan sesuatu makanan itu tidak dapat membiak. A lot of perishable food (including goats milk) benefits from vacuum packaging. It is an effective way to prolong the shelf life of the milk. Besar kemungkinan penggunaan botol kaca ini untuk memastikan agar tiada kebocoran berlaku yang membolehkan oksigen masuk ke dalam botol. For more info on vacuum packaging, here is the link.

From the link above - Warning - If vacuum packaged food is not top quality, fresh, prepared in a sanitary manner at proper pH levels and stored at an appropriate temperature, it may not reach optimum shelf life and could be harmful to a persons health if consumed. Vacuum packaging is not a substitute for canning. Perishable foods must be refrigerated.

Expiry date. Purchased on 13 August 2013. Satu tahun!! 

Sterilized Recombined Goat Milk?

Nutition facts, Halal Logo & Buatan Malaysia

What is sterilized recombined milk? Menurut beliau, susu kambing ni akan melalui satu proses 'sterilization' dan kemudian vacuum packed. Saya bertanya lagi adakah proses ni menggunakan chemical dan sebagainya? How does it work?. Jawapan diberikan ialah "Tiada additives dan preservatives. Maka bila botol susu kambing di dibuka, boleh lagi simpan dalam peti sejuk."

Ok. Jawapan yang saya dapat tu tak memuaskan curiosity saya. Mungkin communication tak clear kut, tambah pula dengan bunyi bising kilang. 

So menurut wikipedia;

Sterilization (or sterilisation) is a term referring to any process that eliminates (removes) or kills all forms of microbial life, including transmissible agents (such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, spore forms, etc.) present on a surface, contained in a fluid, in medication, or in a compound such as biological culture media. 

Sterilization can be achieved by applying heat, chemicals, irradiation, high pressure, and filtration or combinations thereof.

Adakah ini bermakna ia merupakan proses yang sama dengan pasteurization?

Pasteurization is not the same as sterilization. According to wiki.answer.com;

Pasteurized milk is milk which has been heat-treated to kill pathogens which cause disease. Not all pathogens are removed during the pasteurization process, so pasteurized milk is not 100% sterile, but many people consider it to be safer to drink than raw milk which has not been pasteurized at all. The bulk of the milk sold in commercial grocery stores is pasteurized.

Sterilized milk is Milk which heated to 120°C for a few minutes or to just over 100°C for 20 to 30 minutes and aseptically sealed in a narrow necked bottle with a crown cork. This process kills all pathogenic and most other microorganisms and spores and the milk will keep for 1 to 2 years. The milk is off white in colour and has a characteristic caramel, boiled milk taste which is not to everyone's liking.

So tuan puan goat milk drinkers sekalian, if we generally compare, both process goes through a heating application. This is to ensure that the milk is safe for consumption. A perishable product (goat milk) which can be made to have a longer shelf life makes logical business sense too. However there is still debate and many school of thoughts about the effect of this processes on the quality of the milk. At the end of the day, consumer has the right to choose what they think is best for them. 

I on the other hand still choose Raw Goats Milk for its awesome goodness. Kepada yang baru nak try minum susu kambing yang asli, raw lagi fresh, tanpa pastuerization, my advice is please do check from who you bought it. It is VERY VERY important and crucial to make sure that you are purchasing it from a trusted dairy breeder, practices clean and hygiene procedure in the miking process. 

The taste

Buka je penutup botol ni, first test was the smell. Ni ade percanggahan deria bau diantara adik dengan saya. She said there was a SLIGHT goaty smell from the milk. Maybe she was right as she is not use to drinking the milk daily compared to me. Kerana menjadi kebiasaan saya minum setiap malam, i could not differentiate or detect a goaty odour.

Then comes the first sip. It tasted a bit sour. Alamak! Takkan dah basi. Cannot be. Or is it because of my taste bud yang masih confuse kerana baru tibai kueh teow pedas yang dimasak oleh isteri. So i passed it to my sister for a second opinion. She disagreed with me and said it tasted ok. A bit goaty aftertaste but still drinkable (tidak masam).

Nak bagi first review ni bukan senang rupanya. Dah lah bukan seorang food critic. Nak explain flavour pun payah jugak. 

Anyway it took me 5 gulps to finish the goat milk. My first impression was, this milk is 'thin'. This  maybe due to the milk is from the saanen breed. (I was told susu dari kambing saanen ni cair sikit.  I cannot vouch this sebab ini PERTAMA KALI MINUM SUSU KAMBING SAANEN) Maknanya texture susu ni tak berapa creamy dan full bodied sangat. If we do a close eye test and put this goat milk and susu lembu Gooday (yang kotak warna biru dan putih) side by side, its quite similiar and hard to distinguish which is which. Nevertheless its still feels smooth, but not silky. The colour of the milk is not pure white, more towards light beige colour.

Another thing i realise is there is a slight bitterness in the milk, tetapi tidak menggangu rasa susu. One thing for sure, this milk does not leave a long aftertaste lingering in your mouth. In addition to that, there were no small small bits of curdle (lemak) floating in the milk. Ini kelebihan susu kambing tuan tuan puan puan because goat milk ni is naturally homogenized due to the size of fat globules. You can mix milk from various goats and the milk stays suspended. Tapi susu lembu sebaliknya.

Conclusion

With the sterilization and vacuum sealed process, i can say, this goat milk is safe to drink. Although i was unable to verify this by visiting the factory, tetapi dengan membeli susu ni di atas counter under room tempreture, the taste and flavour is still pleasant and delicious to enjoy. In terms of freshness, its hard for me to put my comment here as the definition of 'fresh' ni subjektif. If you have tasted fresh raw goats milk, non pastuerize or non sterlise, you can taste the difference.

Kalau susu ni ditambah dalam kopi ke, teh ke atau bagi budak makan dengan cornflake, they thought they were drinking cow's milk. So its a good way to 'manipulate' them to slowly enjoy the benefit and goodness of goats milk.

So there it is, my first post on goat milk review. This review is from my personal point of view and taste. It is not meant to tarnish or damage any goat milk brand or dairy breeders. I am not a professional, food critic, nutritionist, milk scientist, professor dan sewaktu dengannya. Just an addicted goat milk drinker je.

Hope you enjoy the post. Comments are most welcome. Selamat mencuba

Pros

Recommended for first timer due to its balance, pleasant and light taste.

Good packaging. Consumer feels confident. 

Cons

RM8 for 250ml is a bit pricey.

May not appeal to the muslim consumer. (I may be wrong)