Ultra Pasturized Milk - What Is IT & Using In Making Cheese?

[Tobiasrer]

Hi.
First this is an amazing forum... its only problem is way too much great information! LOL
I have read alot that you shouldnt/cant use ultra pasturized milk, What does that mean what is Ultra pasturized? And whats wrong with using it?
As well I have read that you need to add something if the milk is pasturized at all, what and how much would I need to make i want to try some Mozzarella and Cheddar but I dont have my own dairy animal so I am stuck buying at the store my raw ingredients.

[MrsKK]

Ultra pasturized milk is heated to very high temps and won't produce cheese.  Not all milk that is UHT is marked that way, so sometimes you get stuck with it anyway.

Calcium chloride helps to set better curd and more yield from pasturized/homogenized milk, but I have never used it (have my own cow thus raw milk) so hopefully someone with knowledge will see this and give you some answers.

[Cheese Head]

Hi Tobiasrer, welcome!

On UP milk, our Wiki: Milk Processing gives some info. As Mrs KK says not all milk or cream is labelled UP, and definitions of UP are different depending where you are in the world. Here where I am in Houston USA, most retail Organic Milk, Half & Half, Cream, and Goats Milk is UP. Basically it is almost biologically dead and hard to get a good rennet curd set with. Here's a good thread on UP. The highest pasteurization is UHT, here's a good thread where linuxboy says that UHT and thus UP is good for making Lactic coagulated type cheeses.

Pasteurization hurts rennet coagulation of milk, to compensate your add CaCl2, see our Wiki: Calcium Chloride.

I've only ever used store bought pasteurized milk, as do many others here, no problem (although some have reported problems with US Wal-Mart milk.

Moz and Cheddar are not easy starter cheeses, theres a Wiki article for New Cheese Makers that has some good ideas.

Have fun!