RE: Why is goat-butter white?

[Guest guest]

>>>>>I have been told and have read that goat butter is white. Is it true?

How could this be? Isn't the yellow in cow butter preformed vitamin

A? Is goat butter significantly lower in preformed vitamin A? Or is

it that cow butter is yellow because of carotenes, and that goat

butter would be higher in preformed and lower in " unformed " vitamin

A, thus the color? That's all I can hypothesize. Does anybody know

for sure? Or have a guess?

---------->cow's are carotenoid 'accumulators' - they don't convert

beta-carotene to vit. a as efficiently or as much, as some other species.

that's why it ends up in their milk. goats either a) don't absorb carotenoid

precursors to vit. a as much as cows or convert all or most of it to vit.

A, leaving little or no carotenoids in their milk, and thus, butter. but

their milk should have a decent vit. a content. so..cow butter is yellow due

to carotenes (primarily or completely beta-carotene, i think), while goat

butter would be whiter due to lack of carotene.

most goat farmers i've spoken with say their goats don't like grass, so

they're often fed hay or grain or both, whereas cows prefer grass. grass is

higher in carotenoids than hay or grain. so a pastured cow (especially those

eating young grasses) should have the yellowest butter.

Suze Fisher

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