its shelf life. There are three basic methods used to
do this:
- Regular pasteurized milk has been heated to
161°F for around 20 seconds. This is the
standard for most supermarket milks, which
have a shelf life of a few weeks. - Ultra High Temperature pasteurized milk has
been heated much hotter—all the way up to
275°F—for 1 second. It is labeled UHT or
“Ultra-Pasteurized” and has a shelf life of
several months. Many organic milk producers
use this method of pasteurization, as it allows
their milks to sit in supermarket dairy cases for
longer (organic milk often doesn’t sell as quickly
as regular milk). When packed into specially
designed containers, UHT milk can actually
keep, unrefrigerated, for months or even years. - Low-Temperature pasteurized milk has been
held at 145°F for 30 minutes. Many small farms
pasteurize their milk with this method, as it
doesn’t produce the “cooked” flavor that UHT
or regular pasteurized milk can have. The label
generally doesn’t indicate whether the milk is
just pasteurized or if it’s been low-temperature
pasteurized, so unless you know the producer,
chances are it’s the former.
As far as their cooking qualities go, in most
application, all of these types of milk will behave just