Grazing Damascus goats consume tannin-rich Mediterranean browse. Pistacia lentiscus is one of the major dietary components of grazing Damascus goats in Israel. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the pasture effect on productivity and milk quality in Damascus goats. Further, we isolated the Pistacia lentiscus effect on lactation performances by replacing the hay in goats ration in confinement with Pistacia lentiscus. The study consisted of 2 experiments: the first was designed to compare the effect of grazing vs confinement dietary regimen on milk quality, and the second was designed to elucidate the effect of the major dietary constituent of grazing Damascus goats on productivity and quality of milk. The first experiment compared milk produced by Damascus goats grazed on Mediterranean brushland (Pasture –P) with Damascus goats fed clover (Trifolium alexandrium) hay indoors (Hay –H, n = 6). Milk composition and fatty acid profile were measured, and individual DM intake and nutritional composition was estimated by fecal NIRS using a published equation calibrated for dietary percentage of concentrate, and knowing the concentrate allowance. Treatments did not affect milk yield but the P group yielded milk richer in protein (3.55 vs 3.28%, P < 0.01) and fat (6.02 vs 4.07%, P < 0.0001) and lower in urea concentration (0.048 vs 0.029 mg/dL ,P < 0.001). The concentration of omega 3 fatty acids was 25 percentage points higher in milk from the P group compared with H group (P < 0.0001). In the second part of the study, 3 groups of Damascus goats (n = 10) were either fed on pasture (P_i), fed on clover hay indoors (H_i) or fed Pistacia lentiscus indoor (PIS_i). Dry matter intake (gr/day) and milk yield (Kg/day) did not differ between groups. Milk produced by the PIS_i group had higher protein content (3.77 vs 3.41%, P < 0.001) and 40% higher curd strength (P > 0.01) compared with P_i group. PIS_i group produced milk richer in fat compared with H_i group (5.89 vs 5.51%, P = 0.001). The results show that compared with hay, pasture increased productivity and milk quality without affecting milk yield. Moreover, the results suggest that Pistacia lentiscus can serve as proxy for Mediterranean browse in the investigation of pasture effects on milk composition.