Q&A for How to Pasteurize Milk

Pasteurised and raw milk are very similar nutritionally, including as sources of calcium and protein. The main difference is that raw milk contains slightly more vitamins, and significantly more vitamin B2 (riboflavin). It's up to you whether this benefit is worth the increased risk of an infection from dangerous bacteria in raw milk.

Milk products labeled "UHT" have gone through "ultra high temperature" processing, which uses much higher heat than normal pasteurization. As long as the package remains closed, UHT milk can last for months on the shelf without refrigeration.

As with cream, pasteurization is used to get rid of any bacteria that may be present. It also destroys lipases (enzymes that break down fat), which can affect how the cream tastes.

You can make cheese with pasteurized milk, but if you accidentally overheat it above 165ºF, may of the proteins will break down and the cheese curd may be softer and looser than you want. Raw milk contains more bacteria than pasteurized milk, which is good and bad: raw milk cheese tends to have more flavor, but not necessarily the one you were going for — and just like raw milk, it comes with a higher risk of dangerous bacteria.

You can extract cream from good raw milk without pasteurizing it. If you want to make butter or yogurt, pasteurization is strongly recommended.

This will work, but it probably won't save you any time unless you also stir or shake the milk regularly. Without agitation, a large container of milk will take a long time to cool all the way through.

Pasteurization is a process that kills harmful bacteria by heating milk to a specific temperature for a set period of time. Pasteurized milk contains low levels of the type of non-pathogenic bacteria that can cause food spoilage, so storing your pasteurized milk in the fridge is still important.

No, this is just the bubbles from the heat.

Yes, you can freeze milk. It will change the flavor and texture of it, but frozen and then thawed milk is equally safe to drink as never-frozen milk. Keep in mind that it expands in the freezer, so leave room for that expansion.

You don't "make" cream with raw milk. The cream will come to the top of the container of raw milk, and you simply scoop it off.

Because it prevents bacterial growth in the milk, which occurs when the milk is left out for a considerable amount of time.

You will still have bacteria in the milk, so even if it's frozen, you will still need to pasteurize it.

Yup, that's the reason you heat the milk that high. You kill most bacteria then introduce your yogurt enzymes so they can flourish.