The Difference Between Pasteurized and Raw Milk Cheese

If you’re a regular consumer of different kinds of milk cheeses, you may have come across the terms “Raw Milk cheese” and “Pasteurized Milk Cheese”. Knowing the real difference between the two can actually help you to know the pros and cons involved in taking them. Let’s begin by knowing what each of them stands for.
Raw Milk Cheese

This is a kind of cheese made with unpasteurized milk. When milk is said to be unpasteurized, it’s actually coming directly from a Cow or goat. Such milk is directly collected from the animal without any further interference done on it. It’s simply milk at its raw state. Many Cheese makers prefer to use raw milk in the production process.

Actually, since 1969, the US government forbade the production and sale of raw milk cheese made with unpasteurized milk unless the cheese is aged up to 60 days. This ban is meant to protect cheese consumers from harmful pathogens that may be in the raw milk. In most cases, the salts and acid in the raw milk cheese usually prevent E.coli and other bacteria from growing after 60 days.

However, many cheese makers believe that raw milk when used in making cheese produce more flavor and hence make the cheese healthy. They also believe that such cheese can be taken without waiting for the 60 days to elapse.
Pasteurized Milk Cheese

Pasteurization is the process of heating liquid or food to a specific temperature within a definite length of time with immediate cooling off. The process normally slows down the microbial growth in liquids and foods. In most cases, pasteurization is used in the production of milk. The process usually kills the bacteria found in raw milk. Thus cheese that is pasteurized is simply made from pasteurized milk. Some cheese markers prefer to pasteurize in order to make their products consistent since some of them get the raw milk from various sources. In most cases, pasteurization eliminates the variations usually noticed in cheeses. It also makes cheese production automated.

The Difference

The difference between Pasteurized and Raw Milk Cheese is very obvious. A Pasteurized milk cheese is simply made with pasteurized milk. It has to undergo the unique process of pasteurization in order to eliminate all the bacteria. On the other hand, Raw Milk cheese is made with raw milk gotten directly from an animal source. The Raw Milk Cheese contains all bacteria except if it’s allowed to stay for 60 days before being used.

The bottom line is that Raw Milk Cheese tastes much better than pasteurized Milk Cheese since it’s still very raw but when it comes to cleanness, the pasteurized milk cheese has the upper hand. On the other hand, some of the bacteria contained in Raw Milk Cheese are vital for health but none of such bacteria is found in Pasteurized milk cheese. In any case, it’s always better to go for Pasteurized Milk chooses if you’re interested in eating clean and healthy cheese products. If you must take Raw Milk cheese, make sure it has stayed up to 60 days from the day of its production.