Pasteurized Milk

Milk is considered as one of the most nutritionally complete, natural liquid food. It is rich in high quality protein, essential minerals, and vitamins that are beneficial for human health. Along with all these essential nutrients,milk also contains a number of micro-organisms. Most of these bacteria, present in milk are generally harmless. In fact, some of them are beneficial for us in some way or the other. But several factors such as the health of the animal, improper handling, pollutants from air and water etc. can contaminate raw milk and make it potentially dangerous. Several pathogens find their way into milk and can multiply there as the nutritional components of milk support their growth well. This brings us to the technique of pasteurization which is used to kill all these pathogens.

As I said earlier, raw milk can be contaminated by a number of pathogens. Pasteurization is a technique of heat-treating milk to destroy all the pathogens present in it. This process was named after its creator, Louis Pasteur, a French chemist and microbiologist. He was the first one to perform pasteurization on milk to eliminate most of the disease causing bacteria.

Pasteurized milk is the milk that has been heated to high temperatures to kill all the harmful bacteria and virus. This process of boiling milk at high temperatures limits fermentation and increases the milk shelf life. But, not all pathogens are destroyed by this process and this milk cannot be said to be 100% sterile. Raw milk can be contaminated by pathogens such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Campylobacter jejuni, Staphylococcus aureus and many more. All these micro-organisms can be harmful to us in some way or the other. Pasteurization of milk destroys all these micro-organisms and reduces the risk of a number of diseases. Pasteurization does not alter the taste of milk and retains all the milk health benefits.

How to Pasteurize Milk

Milk is generally heated to 161 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds to kill the rapidly growing micro-organisms. There are several methods of pasteurization of milk including high temperature-short time pasteurization, low temperature-long time pasteurization, flash pasteurization, steam pasteurization, irradiation pasteurization and ultra-high temperature pasteurization. Milk available in grocery stores is mostly pasteurized. However, you can pasteurize milk at home to avoid several health problems. Take a look...

Place raw milk in a double boiler. You can use a stainless steel pot if you do not have a double boiler. Place this pot containing raw milk into a larger pot with a few inches of water. Heat the milk slowly to 145 degrees. Stir constantly to avoid scalding the milk. Maintain this temperature for exactly 30 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and cool by placing it in a large bowl filled with ice water. Stir frequently, until the temperature drops to 40 degrees. The milk is pasteurized and free from many disease causing microorganisms. Store it in a refrigerator. It is important to note that improper handling after pasteurization can recontaminate the milk. You need to refrigerate the milk to prevent it from spoiling.

Pasteurized Milk Nutrition

A lot has been said about pasteurized milk nutrition. Some people believe that the process of pasteurization reduces the nutritional value of milk. In reality, the nutrients are almost similar to those present in raw milk. Heating at high temperatures does break down some of its components but the effect on nutrition is only marginal. It is also said that this milk causes lactose intolerance. Now, lactose is a substance that occurs naturally in milk and pasteurization does not have any effect on the levels of lactose in milk. Both the types of milk can cause allergic reactions in those who are sensitive to milk proteins. This is because they have the same lactose content.

Consider all these nutrition facts while choosing the best for your family. Hope you found this article useful!