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We are super excited to introduce our newest product!
While we are huge fans and proponents of raw milk, we understand there are customers who just do not prefer it or who have concerns about its safety. That's okay! We now have options!
What is Cream-Line milk you may ask? It's such a great product, and is an excellent alternative to raw milk if that is not your preference. It's milk that has been pasteurized at a low temperature and that is not homogenized.
So how do these two traditional dairy processes affect milk?
Let's talk about pasteurization first.
Pasteurization is when milk is cooked so that all of the bacteria is killed. This process began in the late-1800s as a way to kill potential pathogens in raw milk. The hard thing about pasteurization, though, is that it not only kills bad bacteria (if there is even any in the milk), but also the good bacteria, such as the probiotics (which are the life and most important part of raw milk).
There are three different levels of pasteurization that the FDA has approved for licensed processed milk. They are as follows:
Ultra Pasteurization (UP): This is the most common type of pasteurization that the milk you buy at the grocery store has undergone. It's the cheapest and quickest way for creameries to pasteurize. Here, the milk is cooked to 280 degrees for 2 seconds and then quickly cooled. This type of pasteurization literally kills EVERYTHING! Bacteria AND enzymes! However, the shelf life span is unnaturally enormous, which is why big chain stores love it!
High Temperature, Short Time (HTST): Not as commonly used today, but this type of pasteurization heats milk to 161 degrees for 16 seconds. Most living components in the milk are killed.
Low-Temp or Vat Pasteurized (VP): This is where our Cream-Line milk comes into play. This pasteurization methods heats the milk slowly to 145 degrees and holds it for 30 minutes. It is a slower, more expensive process, which is why only small dairies like us can effectively do it! With vat pasteurization, the bacteria is still killed, but many of the natural enzymes are still preserved! This aids greatly in the digestibility of milk!
Now, let's talk about the other common step in dairy processing: Homogenization.
Homogenization is the process by which the fat particles are broken up so that the cream does not separate. This process has nothing to do with food safety, but is rather strictly cosmetic. Back in the day of door-to-door dairies delivering milk in glass bottles, they found that customers were judging milk quality by how much cream they could get off the top (something that can vary based on season and a cow's diet). Well...homogenization fixed that! However, when the fat particles are broken up, it adds to the reasons of why so many people struggle to comfortably digest milk!
Hence, our Cream-Line milk is not homogenized, which means the cream still rises to the top, which results in a more digestive-friendly pasteurized milk.
So for customers who may not have an interest in raw milk, our Cream-Line product is the next best alternative that we can provide! Still a farm-fresh milk product from grass-fed cows!