I have heard that pasteurizing is one of the things that makes store bought goat milk taste so gross. Is this true? Is there any way to pasteurize without affecting the milk's taste? I'm planning on getting goats for milk, but one or two members of my family are really scared of raw milk. Is there a way to compromise this, or will I need to keep getting milk from the store for those particular family members? Also, is it possible to pasteurize milk on a stove, or do you need a pasteurizer?
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Just germs and stuff. 9 out of the 11 family members are either interested or indifferent, it's just the last two that are scared.
Rachel Whetzel said:
Can I ask what your family is scared of in Raw milk?
Some people say they find a difference in the taste of pasteurized vs. raw milk, whether it's goat or cow. I don't taste much of a difference when the milk is fresh. After the milk starts to get older, however, pasteurized milk starts to nasty because it is starting to sour. After having my own fresh goat milk for a few years, I could no longer stand the taste of store-bought cows milk if it was getting old -- not even in my coffee. So, if you're drinking goat milk that's older, that could be part of the reason it doesn't taste great, but there are other reasons.
The big thing about commercial milk is that many commercial dairies are not particularly concerned with hygiene because they assume pasteurization will kill all the bugs. However, poor hygiene also affects milk taste. It makes cows milk taste like a cow too, but everyone is used to it because that's what they've been drinking their whole life. If they'd been drinking goat milk since childhood, they'd love that goaty taste.
Pasteurization is a big word for a very simple process -- heating milk. Obviously, you can do it on your stove with a pot. The best pasteurization method that preserves the best taste is to heat the milk to 145 and hold it for 30 minutes. You can also heat it to 160 and hold for 15 minutes. Once it is heated to 170, it is pasteurized instantly. However, the higher the temp, the more the flavor is affected. The milk starts to taste cooked. Also, you need to pasteurize at the lower temp if you want to make cheese with your milk. Store-bought goat milk is usually ultra-pasteurized, which means it was heated under pressure to 280 degrees! That kills everything, making it a dead, dead, dead product incapable of making cheese. Organic cow milk in the store is usually also ultra-pasteurized. This is a hold-over habit from the days when few people bought organic milk, so they wanted that six-week shelf life of an unopened bottle of organic milk so that they didn't throw out as much. Today, organic milk sells quickly, so they could and should stop UP practices, but they don't.
If you are going to cook with your milk, there is no need to pasteurize ahead of time because it is automatically pasteurized when your gravy or pudding or soup boils -- actually as soon as it hits 170 degrees F.
All of this info plus six or seven cheese recipes is in my book, Homegrown & Handmade. :)