Pasteurization with low heat

[johnr]

Hi

I am going to be making cheese this weekend with raw milk.  I grew up eating cheese with raw milk and never had a problem however, as much as I trust my milk source I still become a little concerned.

What are your thoughts on using raw milk that has been heat treated to 140 for 30 minutes.  Based on my research, one would argue that since we are adding bacteria, once the milk cools, any other bacteria is damaged (perhaps not killed completely) but damaged enough that it is not able to reproduce with the good bacteria dominating the milk. 

If you use raw milk, do you treat it in any way?

Thanks

[Kern]

I use raw milk as is.  My source is certified by the State of Washington to sell raw milk so I don't worry about it.  I mostly use it for cheeses aged over 60 days anyway so according to the United States Department of Agriculture it is perfectly safe.  These fellows are part of the same organization who brought us the swine flu vaccine a number of years ago (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_swine_flu_outbreak) so I trust what they tell us.
 
While there is nothing wrong with vat pasteurization (140F @ 30minutes) you end up killing good bacterial as well as pathogens, if any.  This will have an effect on the taste of the cheese after aging according to Max McCalman  (http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Cheese-Lessons-Connoisseurship-Fromager/dp/0307406482/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1430254129&sr=1-2&keywords=cheese)   

[awakephd]

John,

In my one and only experience with raw milk, I decided to LT pasteurize, exactly as you have outlined -- 30 minutes at 140°F -- because I knew it had travelled some distance to get to me, and wasn't altogether sure how well it was transported. I'm happy to say that the LTP milk still produced fantastic curds, so far better than P&H milk. As to taste, I don't have a way to compare to what it might have tasted like without the LTP, but it was a very, very good cheese. Very. Extremely. Did I mention it was good?

Bottom line: if, like Kern, I knew and trusted the source, I would happily use the milk raw for cheeses aged 60+ days, but otherwise I wouldn't hesitate to LTP it.

[Gregore]

If your raw milk is legally sold to you and the farmer is government regulated to sell it  go for it.  Raw

I would trust it more than I trust cured meats , they have a 10 times greater risk of listeria  than raw milk and yet every one is smiling when the chow down on their hot dogs., me included as I love hot dogs.

  we drink raw milk all the time also my wife leaves it on the counter over night to make kefir

Actually you probably put yourself at greater risk driving to go get it than drinking it.