Just read this article about raw milk in Switzerland:
The framing of the article is curious. First, the journalist calls it a “loophole” without any attempt of historical context or legal review to justify calling it a loophole. It seems some people can’t see liberty in front of their eyes.
Anyway, this made me feel so naughty I do ride my bike to the milchautomat and sometimes drink the milk there. However, it’s paper cups.
Plastic cups placed next to a raw milk vending machine near the capital Bern visited by SWI swissinfo.ch indicate that some consumers drink the milk raw on the spot without bringing it home to heat it as required.
Like most adults I am mildly lactose- intolerant. Consuming milk leaves me with a mild discomfort. Obviously I don’t normally drink it or put it in my coffee. As a T1 I don’t eat many deserts either.
I know for decades the N. American dairy industry has been trying to increase daily consumption and has been remarkably successful.
But not for me.
I do love cheese though and don’t have the same intolerance issues.
The local farmer will sell you raw milk but you have to bring the small stainless steel container and he steam cleans it before filling it.
The taste is awesome. About as much better (in flavor, IMO) than pasteurized milk over UHT milk, but YMMV, of course. Also feels good – for virtue signaling – to drink milk from cows that were grazing just about a kilometer or two from where I consume the milk.
Also explains (IMO) why most US made cheeses are … well, let’s just say: not even in competition. AFAIK there’s regulations that make it challenging to produce cheese from raw milk and so most producers just resort to using pasteurized milk. I learned this from a distant relative (his ancestors emigrated from CH in the 1870s to the US) in Wisconsin who ran a cheese making business – under his and my surname, no less! – when I visited maybe about 25 years ago.
There might be artisan US creameries navigating those regulations to produce nice cheese. The mass market ones don’t bother, naturally.
Using non-pasteurised milk is a practical nightmare with very few upsides other than tradition. Keeping milk pathogen free is difficult and requires very careful handling- hence pasteurisation which has small effects on milk flavour; I can remember how we got a milk from a local “brucellosis free” farm. Cheese flavours are more dependent on the maturation process and if unwanted bacteria get in here, then there can be major problems.
I raise my bet by saying that France, Greece, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and actually most European states that use raw milk for producing cheese produce it tasting so much better than the rest (of using pasteurized milk), and I challenge you with stating any cheeses – from countries mostly mandating to use pasteurized milk – that taste* great. I’ll wait.
* I’m afraid we can’t judge by volume here. Wagyu beef isn’t the most purchased category of meat, either.
It is said that raw milk makes tastier cheese because it contains a diverse native community of bacteria and enzymes that pasteurization destroys.
The flavour changes throughout the year depending on the cow’s diet.
Of course, there is a risk that some of those bacteria could cause illness.
No, no troll. You are mixing arguments. There is no mandate to use pasteurised milk in Switzerland. Many producers choose to pasteurise because it makes sense, especially if the cheese does not have a long maturation process. For aged cheese, any harmful bacteria present often die during the ripening process. Their dead bodies probably add to the flavour. If they do not die, you may get problems. Generally quality control is good here. Now and again there are issues. Some cheeses are more problematic than others.
I really like the Vacherin that still is produced with raw milk, even I am not sure it is still legal after the 33 dead from 1987 in Switzerland. Officially Switzerland does not produce Vacherin from raw milk any longer but France does.
I like raw milk, get it fresh from the Automat; any fresher and it would still be warm.
I let it sit in the fridge overnight and skim the cream off the top on the morning for my tea.
Its lovely but I am still testing the limits of my newly recognized adult lactose intolerance though.
Well.. if you can’t dazzle with science you can always try to baffle with bullshit…
If raw milk is the decisive factor, how do you explain English Stilton? It is a globally respected, PDO-protected, world-class cheese made from pasteurised milk. The quality comes from the cheesemaker’s control of cultures, maturation and Raw milk is a tool, not a guarantee of quality. The greatest cheeses are not great because they are raw — they are great because exceptional cheesemakers know how to transform excellent milk into something remarkable. Pasteurised milk has produced world-class cheeses for generations, so the argument is not raw versus pasteurised; it is craftsmanship versus mediocrity. technique — not simply whether the milk was raw.”
I do not understand the current criticism of pasteurisation. It is one of the great human success stories. Of course pasteurisation affects flavour, UHT in particular.
Raw milk requires meticulous handling and does not keep well. The moves to stipulate the use of pasteurised is an attempt to achieve quality goals. We all benefit as there are fewer cases of food poisoning. Not sure what this has to do with biodiversity.
Anyway, if I remember Gorgonzola is made from pasteurized milk while Parmigiano Reggiano from raw milk. So, no country-wide mandate exists, only doing what’s tasty and safe.
Mind the US, and India (the start of the thread).
PS most Mozzarella is also made with low temp pasteurized milk. Heated up a bit to kill some bacteria, but not too much otherwise no Mozzarella texture. No complains about flavor
Just another aspect of the growing anti-science movement, abolish what we don’t understand.
It targets core fields like public health, medicine, and climate science.
Like vaccinations and many other success stories of science and western culture, pasteurisation and other food safety measures are the victims of their own effectiness and successes:
People don’t know what life would be like without them, what life was before them.
But it won’t be long until we’re forced to re-learn. See antibiotics vs increasingly multi-resistant bacteria.
Little footnote, I forgot to mention that l bring 2 francs of raw milk home and boil it. A thick layer of cream forms in top which is perfect to spread on top of bread slices. A few drops of honey and it’s heaven.
Bonus points, while boiling the fresh milk…mmmm, the aroma the apartment stops being an apartment and becomes a home.
All this is freedom, aromas and strong flavors, viva la Suiza.
Anyway, sometimes it’s appealing to drink a bit at the farm. But this is a hazardousnes VS exposure game. If daily I win the bacteria lottery rather frequently, sporadically is just like carpaccio, tartare, oysters, tuna or shrimp. A bit dumb but that’s life.
I do ride my bike to the milchautomat and sometimes drink the milk there. However, it’s paper cups.
the apartment stops being an apartment and becomes a home.