There are lots of reasons why you might want to pasteurize raw milk. For example, when I make homemade yogurt, I like to do the minimum pasteurization, simply so that my yogurt cultures will be able to thrive and outcompete any native bacteria. Cheesemakers aiming for a very specific flavor profile might do the same.

We simply want to provide you with information on how easy it is to do at home, should you want to. For cheese and yogurt making, I personally prefer home-pasteurized, unhomogenized, fresh milk to almost any pasteurized milk you can buy at the store. For fresh drinking, I prefer delicious, fresh raw milk from a clean, reliable source.

If you have a trustworthy source of delicious, fresh raw milk, bon appetit! If not, you may be able to find one here: http://www.realmilk.com/where1.html

For more on raw milk:

Raw Milk Renegade: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2008-08-01/Selling-Raw-Milk-Can-Lead-To-Jail.aspx

A Campaign for Real Milk:
http://www.realmilk.com/

-Tabitha Alterman, Mother Earth News

i just got into the whole unpasteurized milk thing and i buy goat's milk from a nearby farm. i want my kids to have the benefits of good wholesome milk without all the trash in it but at the same time i can't help feeling a little concerned about the fact that it's more risky to the young and old....can anybody convince me to stick with it?? :)or give me reasons why I shouldn't worry about it! thanks:)

It is also prudent to realized that ANY cow can get mastitis in their udders which can become infected with ecoli...happy, grass fed, hippie cows get it just a often as commercial cows. Ecoli isn't something you want to mess with (I know I live on a dairy farm - we milk almost 150 cows twice a day - all organic, and even I wouldn't drink the milk without pasteurizing it). There is a huge difference between milking one cow or one goat and watching to make sure they don't get infected udders, being organic doesn't have anything to do with it.

I am thankful to have found this information so easily. It is much appreciated to have basic instructions for something important like this that needs to be done correctly. I like raw milk, but it doesn't last long enough. I like pastuerized milk without homogenization because it will stay fresh a lot longer. If I could afford to only purchase raw milk straight from the farm that was guarteend to last long enough to get through it before it tastes sour....I certainly wouldbecause I do believe it has superior benefits! Anyway I went to the store for milk and all they had was raw milk that had just expired. I brought it home and followed these instructions with a thankful heart, so that delicious food does not have to go wasted. Thank you for making this info available.
dm

Why would you want to pasteurize raw milk? It is much healthier to drink raw. Pasteurizing kills all of the beneficial bacteria present in raw milk. I was very surprised to your question. If you would like to know more about Raw Milk I would suggest visiting the Weston A. Price Foundation website and click on the Raw Milk link and get educated about Raw Milk.

My uncles own a dairy farm they bought/inherited from my
grandparents. I also have cousins and an aunt and uncle who own and
operate a dairy farm. They are very very careful to keep all of the
important equipment and parts germ free. Cows are relatively messy
creatures some of whom are too lazy to get up to poo. Dairy farmers
are required to keep up to health standards. It is illegal where my
relatives' farms are for them to mix milk from a cow on antibiotics
with the rest of the milk. Dairy farmers must keep all the milkers
and the udders the milkers attached to spic and span (they use
colored iodine so they can keep track on the cows). A sick cow or
"new" mother gets milked but the milk is put into a relatively
small milk canister separate from the large tank and either fed to
the new calf or dumped into the manure trough. Farmers are required
to keep with health standards and a small sample is taken by the
milk man collecting milk every visit. If the milk is not safe, the
farmer has to buy the whole truck's load. The dairy farmers I know
will take a pitcher out to the big tank, open a spigot, fill the
pitcher directly from the tank of unpasteurized milk, bring it back
to the house, and pour it directly on their cereal (or in a glass
to drink). The Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland used to have
their own dairy because of the milk scares that used to sweep the
East coast before pasteurization became commonplace. They closed
their dairy to save $0.25 a gallon in August 1998. I suppose the
school administration rues that decision since milk prices went up,
huh? ;)

Are these cows happily munching on grass out in a sunlit field?
Is the farmer one who maintains high standards of cleanliness and
pride? Well then by all means, leave it be. Pasteurization is
unncessary. If you don't buy into the whole enzyme thing, just do
it for the taste- it's delicious. There's a lot of hoopla about raw
versus pasteurized and what did people "traditionally" drink. In
all honestly, up until the advent of refrigeration technology
people didn't consistently drink any kind of sweet milk, and
globally-speaking, Americans are somewhat exceptional in our
consumption of milk as a standalone beverage well into adulthood.
Additionally, many historical recipes call for boiled milk, and
milk was frequently adulterated and watered down by unsavory
venders. So a traditional basis for raw milk is difficult to
establish. All that being said, I believe raw milk is healthier and
wonderfully tasty and would choose a quality raw product over a
quality pasteurized product any day. I've consumed who knows how
many gallons of the stuff and it has the advantage of keeping fresh
longer than heat treated milk.

I need to pasteurize milk for a school presentation. Is there
any way I can make the milk edible in 5-6 minutes or
less?

Really if you get your raw milk from a reputible farm you
shouldn't need to pasturize it. Raw milk is a wonderful natural
food that is beneficial to your immune system and your digestive
system. Besides it tastes wonderful. I have been drinking raw milk
for years. I also like to make my own kefir and butter, along with
the buttermilk.