Goats have been used for milk, meat, wool, and skins across much of the world. Milk from goats is often turned into cheese. In 2022, there were more than 1.1 billion goats living in the world, of which 150 million were in India.

Goats are among the earliest animals to have been domesticated by humans. A genetic analysis confirms the archaeological evidence that the wild bezoar ibex, found today in the Zagros Mountains, but formerly widespread in Anatolia, is the likely original ancestor of all or most domestic goats today.

Neolithic farmers began to herd wild goats primarily for easy access to milk and meat, as well as to their dung, which was used as fuel; and their bones, hair, and sinew were used for clothing, building, and tools. The earliest remnants of domesticated goats dating 10,000 years Before Present are found in Ganj Dareh in Iran. Goat remains have been found at archaeological sites in Jericho, Choga Mami, Djeitun, and Çayönü, dating the domestication of goats in Western Asia at between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago. DNA evidence suggests that goats were domesticated around 10,000 years ago. Historically, goat hide has been used for water and wine bottles in both traveling and transporting wine for sale, and to produce parchment.

Goats are ruminants. They have a four-chambered stomach consisting of the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum, and the abomasum. As with other mammal ruminants, they are even-toed ungulates. The females have an udder consisting of two teats, in contrast to cattle, which have four teats. An exception to this is the Boer goat, which sometimes may have up to eight teats. Goats are diploid with two sets of 30 chromosomes.

The Modern English word goat comes from Old English gāt "goat, she-goat", which in turn derives from Proto-Germanic *gaitaz (cf. Dutch/Frisian/Icelandic/Norwegian geit, German Geiß, and Gothic gaits), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰaidos meaning "young goat" (cf. Latin haedus "kid"). To refer to the male goat, Old English used bucca (cf. Dutch/Frisian bok, modern English buck) until ousted by hegote, hegoote ('he-goat') in the late 12th century. Nanny goat (adult female) originated in the 18th century, and billy goat (adult male) in the 19th century. Female goats, like other various animals, are also called does. Castrated males are called wethers. While the words hircine and caprine both refer to anything having a goat-like quality, hircine is used most often to emphasize the distinct smell of domestic goats.

Juvenile goats are called kids, a term derived from Old Norse kið, with the same meaning. It has been a slang term for human children since the 1590s, and established as an informal term since the 1840s.



Goat meat is the meat of the domestic goat (Capra hircus). The term 'goat meat' denotes meat of older animals, while meat from young goats is called 'kid meat'. In South Asian cuisine, goat meat is called mutton, along with sheep meat.

Goat meat is both a staple and a delicacy in the world's cuisines. The cuisines best known for their use of goat include African cuisine, Middle Eastern, Indian, Indonesian, Nepali, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Abruzzese, Mexican, Caribbean (Jamaica), Haitian cuisine, Dominican cuisine and Ecuadorian. Cabrito, which is baby goat, is a typical food of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico; in Italy it is called "capretto". Goat meat can be prepared in a variety of ways, such as being stewed, curried, baked, grilled, barbecued, minced, canned, fried, or made into sausage. Goat jerky is another popular variety.

Goat has a reputation for having a strong, gamey flavour, but the taste can also be mild, depending on how it is raised and prepared. Caribbean cultures often prefer meat from mature goats, which tends to be more pungent (which is why the meat is first cleaned in a blend of lime juice and water there and it's pre-boiled with the initial boiling liquid discarded), while some other cultures prefer meat that comes from younger goats that are six to nine months old. Ribs, loins, and tenderloin goat meat are suitable for quick cooking, while other cuts are best for long braising. Despite being classified as red meat, goat is leaner and contains less cholesterol and fat than both lamb and beef, and less energy than beef and lamb; therefore, it requires low-heat, slow cooking to preserve tenderness and moisture.

Goat meat cuts tend to be very similar to lamb/sheep cuts (see image) and the cuts are often cooked in similar ways. Though there are some differences in the cuts between kid goats and older goats due to the respective sizes of the animals.

The alphabetical list of all the goat-based recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 273 recipes in total:

Page 3 of 3

Peruvian Goat Stew      Origin: Peru	Sala Cattabia Apiciana (Apician Potted Salads)      Origin: Roman	Suani Tadjine (Kitchen Garden Tagine)      Origin: Algeria
Pintade Farcie au Patates Douces (Stuffed Guineafowl with Sweet Potatoes)      Origin: Burkina Faso	Salade Greque (Greek Salad, French Style)      Origin: France	Swazi Babotie      Origin: eSwatini
Potage Bananier (Congolese Banana Soup)      Origin: DR-Congo	Saltah      Origin: Yemen	Tacos de Cabra (Goat Tacos)      Origin: Mexico
Potato and Broccoli Gratin with Goat's Cheese      Origin: Ireland	Sancocho de siete carnes (Seven meat stew)      Origin: Dominican Republic	Tagine Almaaz bil Beleh (Goat Tagine with Dates)      Origin: Morocco
Pottage with Whole Herbs      Origin: British	Sancocho Dominicano (Dominican Stew)      Origin: Dominican Republic	Tanzanian Meat Stew      Origin: Tanzania
Pourcelet farci (Stuffed Suckling Pig)      Origin: France	Sanger Yena (Offal Sausages)      Origin: Aruba	Tchevapchitchi (Bulgarian Minced Meat Croquettes)      Origin: Bulgaria
Pre-cooked Goat      Origin: Britain	Sauce Koumrangan (Hibiscus Leaf Sauce)      Origin: Chad	Thiebou Yapp Vermicelles      Origin: Senegal
Pultes (Meat Pottage)      Origin: Roman	Sauce Oseille (Sorrel Sauce)      Origin: Burkina Faso	Thorion ex Oryza (Goats' Cheese with Rice in Vine Leaves)      Origin: Roman
Pumpkin, Goat's Cheese and Kale Tart with Three-cornered Leeks      Origin: Britain	Savoury Party Bites      Origin: Britain	Tiguadege Na      Origin: Mali
Pumpkin, Goat's Cheese and Kale Tart      Origin: Britain	Sawge y farcet (Pork Meatballs with Sage Coating)      Origin: England	Tomato-less Jollof Rice      Origin: Nigeria
Punjabi Mutton Curry      Origin: India	Seco de Chivo (Dry-fried Goat Meat)      Origin: Ecuador	Traditional Mattar Keema Curry      Origin: India
Ragoût de Chévre au Riz (Goat Stew with Rice)      Origin: DR-Congo	Serabe (Boiled Offal)      Origin: Botswana	Trini Meat Patties      Origin: Trinidad
Ragoût de cabri créole (Creole Goat Stew)      Origin: Guadeloupe	Shaiyah (Pan-fried Meat)      Origin: South Sudan	Trinidadian Curried Goat      Origin: Trinidad
Red Oil Greens      Origin: Liberia	Shakshouka 2 (Chilli, Egg and Tomato Breakfast)      Origin: Yemen	Trinidadian Curry Duck      Origin: Trinidad
Red Oil Sweet Potato Greens      Origin: Liberia	Sint Eustatian Goat Water      Origin: Sint Eustatius	Vegetarian Quiche      Origin: Britain
Riz Gras du Burkinabé (Burkina Faso Fat Rice)      Origin: Burkina Faso	Sint Eustatius Stewed Goat Meat      Origin: Sint Eustatius	Vermicelles (Vermicelli)      Origin: Mauritania
Roast Leg of Goat      Origin: Britain	Sopa de Boldroegas (Portuguese Common Purslane Soup)      Origin: Portugal	Viande Nyembwe (Meat Nyembwe)      Origin: Gabon
Roast Shoulder of Goat      Origin: Britain	Sorrel Sarma      Origin: North Macedonia	West African Meat Kebabs      Origin: West Africa
Roast Vegetable and Goat's Cheese Pizza      Origin: Italy	Soupe Kandja      Origin: Mali	Wonchoi      Origin: Ghana
Rosemary Goat Curry      Origin: Zimbabwe	Soupoukanja (Goat Stew with Okra)      Origin: Senegal	Yétissé de Chèvre (Yétissé of Goat)      Origin: Guinea
Rwanda Goat Pelau      Origin: Rwanda	Souroundou (Nigerienne Fat Rice)      Origin: Niger	Zafrani Mutton Korma      Origin: Pakistan
Saba Curry Goat      Origin: Saba	St Helena Curry and Rice      Origin: St Helena	Zahtar-spiced Barbecued Goat      Origin: Jordan
Saint Lucia Curried Goat      Origin: Saint Lucia	St Lucian Pepper Pot      Origin: Saint Lucia	Zigni (Eritrean Spiced Meat Stew)      Origin: Eritrea
Saint Lucian Bouillon      Origin: Saint Lucia	Stecen Gafr Gyda Rhosmari a Cwrens Cochion (Goat Steak with Rosemary and Red Currants)      Origin: Welsh
Saint Vincent Curry Goat      Origin: Saint Vincent	Streptikos Artos (Plaited Bread)      Origin: Roman

Page 3 of 3