UHT pasteurization uses a much higher temperature and for an even shorter time — about three seconds. The milk tastes differently than American milk because most of the sugar burns off in the process. It also becomes more stable, so it can be left on the shelf rather than refrigerated.
The reason for this is due to milk pasteurization methods. “Milk is pasteurized through a process called ultra high temperature (UHT) in Europe, which kills the bacteria and can lead to a longer shelf life product without refrigeration,” explains Natalie Alibrandi, a UK-based food scientist and CEO of Nali Consulting.
Milk in America and Canada underwent a major deterioration in taste in the early 1970's. In the UK and Europe it happened in about 1980. Milk undergoes significant and irreversible biochemical changes once it is heated above 64.5˚C. And these changes are readily detected as a deterioration in the taste.
New Zealand's grass-fed cows produce some of the world's best quality milk. The quality of the milk cows produce is directly related to their diet and environment. So it's no wonder that New Zealand's pasture-fed cows, feasting on our lush green grass, produce some of the best milk in the world.
UHT milk in France is marked as keeping for three months unopened, although it is actually usable for six to nine months. The process kills all the micro-organisms in the milk and deactivates most of the enzymes present, which slightly changes the taste.
Flavor-wise, Italian milk can taste quite different from the North American one. Flavor largely depends on how the cows are fed. For instance, a prevalently dry hay diet produces a mildly cheesy aroma, while lush pasturage produces sweeter flavors, but also barnyard indoles(3).
The higher quality of the milk itself is believed to be from the ideal farming conditions of Hokkaido. The cool climate of the region, plenty of wide open pastures, and fresh air provide a stress free living environment for the cows. Hokkaido milk is said to have a mild vanilla flavour.
Finnish milk is among the cleanest milk in the world thanks to healthy cows. The superior quality of Valio milk is ensured by expert milk producers supported by first-class advisory services.
Europe's rich pastures provide healthy feed for cows, goats, sheep and buffalo because healthy and well-fed herds produce better quality milk. The variety of landscapes and climates, the diverse traditions and know-how produce a wide variety of products and tastes.
India ranks first in milk production in the world contributing 24% of global milk production.
You may not have realized that Europeans actually buy and store their milk outside of the fridge. The reason is a simple one: Europeans rely on a completely different pasteurization method. Canadian and American milk manufacturers utilize high-temperature, short-time pasteurization.
Just 5,000 years ago, even though it was a part of their diet, virtually no adult humans could properly digest milk. But in the blink of an evolutionary eye northern Europeans began inheriting a genetic mutation that enabled them to do so.
Raw drinking milk and cream has historically been recognised as a high risk to public health as it was linked to a high number of food poisoning outbreaks, mainly Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. Coli O157 infection, and 12 potentially associated deaths in Scotland.
However, a genetic trait called lactase persistence has evolved multiple times over the last 10,000 years and spread in various milk-drinking populations in Europe, central and southern Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Today, around one third of adults in the world are lactase persistent.”
It is thought that Asian populations have decreased amounts of lactase in adulthood compared to Caucasian populations, especially those of northern European descent.
Turns out, the major difference lies in the method by which milk is processed. Almost all milk is pasteurized, meaning it undergoes extreme heat in order to kill illness-causing bacteria. The U.S. and Canada use a pasteurizing technique called high-temperature short-time pasteurization, or HTST.
Milk is a natural food that comes straight from cows. Australian milk is sourced and produced locally. It travels from the farm to the factory where it is pasteurised (heated to destroy any harmful bacteria) and homogenised (mixed for a consistent texture and taste).
Different countries have different food standards and requirements. In Australia, the standards are high, and the milk is safe. Milk and other dairy products are nutritious food sources. Australian milk does not contain artificial hormones, antibiotics, blood and pus.
While 65% or more of the total human population are lactose intolerant, in some human populations lactase activity commonly persists into adulthood. Lactose tolerance is exceptionally widespread in Northern European countries such as Sweden and Finland, with tolerance levels of 74% and 82%, respectively.
In the United States, milk consumption is 67th in the world, at less than 6 ounces per day. China, despite a growing interest in milk, is again near the very bottom, just above North Korea and Indonesia, where people basically don't drink milk.
The country with the highest per capita consumption of fluid milk in 2022 was Belarus. The average person in Belarus consumed about 114.9 kilograms of milk in that year. Ukraine came in second with approximately 113.27 kilograms of fluid milk per person.
They still eat and drink much less dairy food than Americans and Europeans, because dairy products were not part of the traditional Japanese diet. Japanese children drink milk, and both children and adults like ice cream.
It's believed that Japanese people have only been consuming milk for about 150 years. It all began after the country opened its ports to the world and came into contact with Western culture. This is why about 90 percent of Japanese people are lactose intolerant now.
Good health, sufficient exercise and rich feed as well as clean water and fresh air enable Swiss dairy cows to produce high-quality milk. Strict conditions and controls support animal welfare and ensure that only the best quality milk is processed and ends up on our tables.