Food - Drink
Why Do Regular And Organic Milk Taste Different?
By KATIE HORST
Conventional dairy milk comes from cows that are often treated with growth hormones and antibiotics, while cows that produce organic milk are not given this treatment and have a more carefully-regulated diet. Organic milk and regular milk are also pasteurized differently, which is why you might notice that they taste a bit different from each other.
Pasteurization is when milk is heated to a temperature high enough to kill bacteria, making it safe to sell and consume for a longer time. Regular milk is heated to 165 degrees for 15 seconds, which extends the shelf life to two weeks, while organic milk is heated to 280 degrees for only two seconds, giving it a longer shelf life than regular.
This ultra-pasteurization causes organic milk’s sugars to crystallize, giving it a tanner color and sweeter flavor. The Huffington Post did a blind taste test in which 53% of testers could tell the difference between regular and organic milk, so when choosing between the two, consider flavor in addition to shelf life and use of hormones.
