389194 Fri Apr 06 17:37:57 -0700 2007 10 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 2458240 Now and then you are startled by how good milk tastes. Nothing beats fresh milk from happy dairy cows. There are so many varieties - Holstein, Jersey, Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Milking Shorthorn... not to mention other dairy animals. Realistically, which brands taste the best? If you were to do a milk tasting, would you do it at room temperature or cold? (I prefer the taste of milk at room temperature.) Fri Apr 06 17:37:57 -0700 2007 61426 grocerytrekker 1 2459090 Hartzlers dairy http://www.hartzlerfamilydairy.com/product.html in Wooster sells pasteurized but not homogenized milk that is almost as good as the udder fresh milk I get from friends on the farm. The best pasteurized and homogenized milk is Smith dairy 2%. BTW, what is the opinion of others of milk that is ultra-pasteurized? I cant drink it, as it tastes cooked to me. I have noticed that ultra-pasteurized cream will not whip as well. Sat Apr 07 10:19:36 -0700 2007 2458240 22220 Kelli2006 2 2460326 Methods for pasteurization: 1) 145 degrees F /62 degrees C for 30 to 35 minutes 2) high temperature short time method (HTST): 162 degrees F/72 degrees C for 15 seconds (in the U.S. 171 degrees F/ 77 degrees C) 3) Ultra high temperature method (UHT): 265 -300 degrees F / 130 - 150 degrees C, 1-3 seconds 4) Sterilization: 230 - 250 degrees F / 110 - 121 degrees C for 8 - 30 minutes (All of these are no longer "alive", raw.) Sat Apr 07 21:10:49 -0700 2007 2459090 61426 grocerytrekker 1 2459395 Around TX my favorite is Braum's. I prefer cold, but if I were trying to distinguish flavors I'd certainly go closer to room temp. A milk tasting sounds king of interesting. I've never had UHT milk, so I have no opinion. Based on what others say, i'm kind of afraid to try it. Sat Apr 07 13:17:33 -0700 2007 2458240 84570 kindofabigdeal 1 2459525 I think if you're going to be doing a tasting of any kind it's best to have things as close to body temp as you can without heating them (in other words, hot foods should be allowed to cool, cold foods should be allowed to warm to room temp). Since smell is an element of taste, to get the maximum nuances from the flavor, the more various components of the food are volatilized through warmth the better. On the other hand, putting really hot food in your mouth deadens (or overwhelms) your senses. Think, for example, about chocolate. A chocolate bar smells good, but nowhere near as intensely as when you melt it. Put it in the freezer and it has almost no aroma. Not that that's the temp you'll actually enjoy consuming the food at, but the best for really analyzing flavor components. On the subject of milk, flavor varies not only from cow to cow but over the course of the year as the cow's diet changes. Sat Apr 07 14:35:28 -0700 2007 2458240 10159 Ruth Lafler 2 2459529 We get a non-homog. milk from grass-fed cows. I find a huge difference in the taste of grass-fed milk. I'm not much of a milk drinker, but the idea of room temp milk gives me the heebie jeebies! Sat Apr 07 14:38:02 -0700 2007 2459525 46897 gridder 2 2459596 I think jersey cow is the best because of the butter fat content. And I like it ice cold so when you drink it you can tell when it hits bottom. I like to get a big glass from the holding tank at the farm, before the truck comes to pick up. Sat Apr 07 15:08:01 -0700 2007 2459525 50491 bigjimbray 1 2475422 Hawthorn Valley Raw Milk, Ghent NY. Pateurized - Ronnybrook Farm Creamline in glass bottles Evans Farmhouse Creamery Milk, Norwich NY. Hudson Valley Fresh Cold milk for me. It has a barnyardy taste at room temp. Thu Apr 12 14:24:36 -0700 2007 2458240 79926 serveitforth 1 2476371 Pittsford Dairy outside Rochester NY. Sells creamline (non-homogenized) milk. Which is not only tastier but also easier for many lactose-intolerant people to digest. I remember when Bread & Circus used to carry creamline milk, but the Whole Foods takeover eventually put an end to that. Would love to have easier access to raw milk, too. Thu Apr 12 19:23:50 -0700 2007 2458240 13819 Karl S 1 2478265 I'm a member of my local Weston Price Foundation chapter, so I have access to unpasteurized grass-fed organic milk fresh from a farm - nothing beats it taste-wise except for freshly milked still warm milk (almost directly from the cow). Fri Apr 13 12:06:01 -0700 2007 2458240 12766 welle 1 2479525 Nonpasteurized Claravale is quite nice. Anything but ultrapasteurized. I just tried some Trader Joe's skim that's a pleasant surprise and recently had fixed on Alta Dena as not too bad, after some 'why did I buy that?' issues with other basic supermarket brands. I haven't been too happy with Horizon organic lately but recently saw that they have pasteurized and ultrapasteurized versions... mighta been that lately I'd accidentally gotten the latter. Fri Apr 13 18:43:56 -0700 2007 2458240 40486 Cinnamon