Pure milk is the original source of a variety of succulent milk products, such as butter, yogurt or cheese, produced since immemorial era to satisfy human needs, thus making most of these products nearly as old as milk itself. , As the time passed by, many more dairy products were produced and ice cream is the latest among them. Although milk and milk products were basic requirements of human life over centuries of years, it is amazing to note that the details of dairy products started appearing in historical records only in the 17th century.
It is true that some people still drink raw or untreated milk. However, most of the milk consumed by people at present is homogenized and pasteurized, which creates some curiosity to understand what happens to milk before it reaches your table from the farm. Keep reading to know more about it.
Milk contains fat bubbles and the sizes of bubbles are reduced and scattered evenly, instead of having a layer of cream on top, when milk is passed through a process called homogenization. When it comes to skim or fat-free milk, either a part or the entire cream layer is removed before homogenization.
The process of pasteurization is a method invented by the renowned French scientist Louis Pasteur that was extensively used during early part of the last century to substantially reduce potentially harmful bacteria that may sometimes be present in milk. With pasteurization, milk is made safe for human consumption, while improving its shelf life, although some vitamins and nutrients are lost due to pasteurization. Among these are the enzymes lipase and lactase that supports the digestion of fats and milk sugar (lactose), and vitamins C and B6. There are two basic methods of pasteurization. The most common method is HTST (high temperature/short time), which raises the temperature of raw milk to 161°F for at least 15 seconds. The second of method of UHT (ultra-high temperature) heats raw milk to 280°F for at least 2 seconds. However, it is important to note that pasteurization affects the flavor of milk to some extent.
It should be emphasized that raw milk unpasteurized and thereby it could be unsafe or risky for consumption as it may be polluted with harmful bacteria, which could cause serious illness or even death, particularly among children or individuals with unsound immune systems.
Antibiotics or hormones for added growth are not given to cows that produce certified organic milk. Certified organic farms provide cows with 100% organic feed, which results in cows not being exposed to persistent pesticides, herbicides or fungicides, which in turn eliminates the possibility of these chemicals appearing as deposits in milk. (Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs, including the use of cloned animals, are also prohibited by the Organic Standards).
People like butter so much because it is from rich, tasty concentrated cream. The law specifies the fat content to be at least 80%. Spread on toast or tossed with hot pasta, a little bit of butter adds the right touch.