Forum:Questions concerning Raw milk

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Hello,
I'm a bit new here, so I apologize in advance for editing errors.
I wanted to ask about Raw milk. The story in short is that after about a decade of buying milk from the store a few years ago my parents decided to start buying local raw milk, because for it's low price we got it in much higher quantity to around 6 litres every week. (Mind you, we live in Central-Europe). I only recently (about a year or half) heard about the controversy regarding raw milk and now I don't know what to think. Of course we DON'T drink the milk raw, and I generally refuse to drink it that way. What happens is we heat it up in an old milk boiler (the one with the water in between that heats up) or pot, until the small layer of fat forms on top, keep it that way for a short time then take it off to let it cool before putting in the refrigerator/using it. After reading about it I think this is a form of sterilization and not pasteurisation and now I'm not sure how safe this is, we wouldn't even have a fast way to cool it down after heating it so pasteurisation isn't really an option for us. I really got used to the taste of it over the years and now find it a bit better than general store milk especially with the cream we get after the cooling which can be used as a general whipping cream, I wouldn't like to give it up. I can't really find good info about on the web so my questions are:

• Is this a safe way to prepare (as in cook/heat up, etc.) and drink raw milk? We haven't got sick from it, but if it might carry concern what is the safe way to "prepare" raw milk at home?
• How healthy is the cream/fat in milk? (it's butterfat I think)
• If this method is safe, is it actually better than store milk? (Regarding nutritional benefits and not regarding price and quantity)

Thanks for the answers in advance. --Hunbody (talk) 16:19, 14 May 2013 (UTC)

The safest way to "prepare" raw milk (apart from pasteurization) is to make aged cheese out of it (fresh cheeses like quark and mozzarella are best left to pasteurized milk). The fat is about the same as any other saturated fat, that is to say, ideally taken in moderation rather than binged on or cut out completely. As for is it better than store milk... well, you probably don't want to grate parmigiano reggiano over your cornflakes, but it's probably pretty damn good on oatmeal or grits, if you swing that way. EVDebs (talk) 01:15, 14 May 2013 (UTC)

... Okay, I might not have been clear on the questions (since my first language isn't English), but I find it rather impolite to answer it with sarcasm. I'm willing to take changes, but I need scientific reasoning that one way is (as) safe than the other. And I'm sure don't wish to go back to the more store trash producing route if a better and cheaper method is available at home. So let me rephrase some:

• What is the safety difference of proper pasteurizing (at home) and just doing the heating up part of pasteurizing and letting the milk cool down slowly?
• Does it make a difference if I don't put the pasteurised milk in a separate container just use the one we heated it in?
• There is a large debate over health benefits & risks of drinking cow milk (regardless of pasteurized or raw). Where can I found proper information on which one of them are true and which one are just food woo? --Hunbody (talk) 16:19, 14 May 2013 (UTC)

[1] gives you the time/temp to pasteurize raw milk. After you have reached that time/temp, the milk is pasteurized. Food woo is that which describes benefits or risks that have no explainable causality. You discuss a "large debate over health benefits & risks of drinking cow milk." I don't see such. There is a clear reason to limit, but not eliminate, saturated fats. Hipocrite (talk) 16:22, 14 May 2013 (UTC)

Thanks, a useful link :) --Hunbody (talk) 13:51, 15 May 2013 (UTC)