SC - Raw Milk

[donna_m_smith at icpphil.navy.mil]

    I agree with Lord Ras.  Homogenization is a process of keeping whole 
milk from separating into cream and skim milk by breaking up the fat 
globules into smaller globules, and distributing it throughout the milk, 
which happens by a mechanical process of *shaking*.  According to my 
reference, cheese curds will still form if you're making cheese, they will 
just be softer, and not quite as easy to make into a cheese.  Some cheeses 
are made from skim milk, cream, or whey as well.  (Cheesemaking Made Easy, 
Ricki Carroll & Robert Carroll).  
    Pasteurization will kill off the bacteria found in raw milk.  Some of 
these are human pathogens (ex. tuberculosis and brucellosis) and some are 
not harmful to humans and can add some useful flavors to cheese if you make 
it.  Some people swear by raw milk cheeses for this reason.  You must be 
very careful about where the milk comes from if you plan to use raw milk, 
unless the cheese is to be aged more than 60 days.  (In PA, I can definitely 
buy unpasteurized, unhomogenized milk.) There are two ways to pasteurize, 
one of which has the least effect on the flavor of the milk or the cheese 
made from it.  Of course that one is the least economical.  
a.  The better one:  Heat milk to 144 or 145 degrees F (62 C) for 30 
minutes.  Cool immediately to 40 degrees (F).
b.  Flash pasteurization (most economical):  Heat milk to 160 deg. F (71 C) 
for 15 sec.  This results in a cooked taste to the milk.
    Another thing that could hinder cheesemaking is the presence of 
antibiotics in the milk.  When adding cultures to the milk, the antibiotic 
could kill it off even at that point.  This happens occasionally, and the 
culture simply won't grow (the one(s) you *want* in the milk.)
    I thought that "rotted" milk was due to the presence of bacteria (which 
would enter from the air after the milk was pasteurized) that happens to 
produce that kind of result, while cheese (and buttermilk) was due to the 
presence of wanted bacteria that happens to produce that particular type of 
output.
                                    
Meadhbh ni hAilin
East


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: SC - Raw Milk
Date:    2/26/98 9:08 PM


>In a message dated 2/25/98 10:13:12 PM Eastern Standard Time, tinyzoo at vr-
>net.com writes:

><< The formaldehyde kills just about EVERYTHING beneficial in the
> milk - this is why they have to add chemical versions of vitamins A & D back
> to the milk,  >>

<snip.  According to the milk producer
>here in PA, he never heard of such a thing as putting formaldehyde in milk.
>The temperature is raised in our milk plant to kill microorganisms.  Vitamin D
>is added by exposing it to tubes of light as it flows past..... <snip>

>Ras
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