tomstrocity » Personal

Why does organic milk last so much longer than regular milk?

tomboessel — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:45:27 +0000

If you’ve ever shopped for milk, you’ve no doubt noticed what our questioner has: While regular milk expires within about a week or sooner, organic milk lasts much longer—as long as a month.  So what is it about organic milk that makes it stay fresh so long?  Actually, it turns out that it has nothing to do with the milk being organic. All “organic” means is that the farm the milk comes from does not use antibiotics to fight infections in cows or hormones to stimulate more milk production.  Organic milk lasts longer because producers use a different process to preserve it. According to the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, the milk needs to stay fresh longer because organic products often have to travel farther to reach store shelves since it is not produced throughout the country.  The process that gives the milk a longer shelf life is called ultrahigh temperature (UHT) processing or treatment, in which milk is heated to 280 degrees Fahrenheit (138 degrees Celsius) for two to four seconds, killing any bacteria in it.   Compare that to pasteurization, the standard preservation process. There are two types of pasteurization: “low temperature, long time,” in which milk is heated to 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) for at least 30 minutes*, or the more common “high temperature, short time,” in which milk is heated to roughly 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for at least 15 seconds.   The different temperatures hint at why UHT-treated milk lasts longer: Pasteurization doesn’t kill all bacteria in the milk, just enough so that you don’t get a disease with your milk mustache. UHT, on the other hand, kills everything.   Retailers typically give pasteurized milk an expiration date of four to six days. Ahead of that, however, was up to six days of processing and shipping, so total shelf life after pasteurization is probably up to two weeks. Milk that undergoes UHT doesn’t need to be refrigerated and can sit on the shelf for up to six months.  Regular milk can undergo UHT, too. The process is used for the room-temperature Parmalat milk found outside the refrigerator case and for most milk sold in Europe.   So why isn’t all milk produced using UHT?  One reason is that UHT-treated milk tastes different. UHT sweetens the flavor of milk by burning some of its sugars (caramelization). A lot of Americans find this offensive—just as they are leery of buying nonrefrigerated milk. Europeans, however, don’t seem to mind.   UHT also destroys some of the milk’s vitamin content—not a significant amount—and affects some proteins, making it unusable for cheese.  There are, of course, lots of reasons people buy organic milk. But if it’s the long shelf life you’re after, I would recommend you buy nonorganic UHT milk and avoid being charged double.

Originally posted on Scientific American

Christmas Tree is up

tomboessel — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 01:12:21 +0000

Lunch

tomboessel — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:59:52 +0000

We are at the winghouse now grabbing some lunch before we head over to the studio to talk about a new job we are proposing.

Thanksgiving

tomboessel — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:35:41 +0000

Can’t wait for thanksgiving! (btw, that is caramel not gravy)

Jon Kim (IllaStrayte) New Song

tomboessel — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 07:17:19 +0000

Noam Chomsky @ #occupyboston

tomboessel — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 21:04:26 +0000

Video streaming by Ustream

Back to the Via’s in Winter Park

tomboessel — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:28:29 +0000

Lisa and myself are back in Winter Park, FL for a couple days before heading back to Boston next week for class. I think we will just take it easy this weekend. The photo above is a tree in front of our house.

Siam Sushi – Tallahassee, FL

tomboessel — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 16:51:42 +0000

We are driving back to Winter Park, FL. We just stopped in to have some sushi, and pleasantly surprised.

Congratulations Mike and Courtney Foust

tomboessel — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 16:51:29 +0000

Tallahassee, FL

tomboessel — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 19:48:04 +0000

Getting ready for a night out. This will be our first night in this city. Usually when we are here it is for a football game or college parties. I guess we will see what this city offers other than good football.

IDentity Tour in Tampa

tomboessel — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:05:50 +0000

Lisa and Myself were invited to go to the IDentity festival last night, and well this is what we saw. The grounds were way too large for the amount of people that showed. I also feel bad for those who purchased tickets, because they were handing them out at the front for free.

Sleep Analysis

tomboessel — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 23:32:46 +0000

I have been tracking my sleep, and here are the results. I am doing a breakdown now, which will show amount of time in REM, Light, and Deep sleep. Stay Tuned.

A Night in NY

tomboessel — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 00:07:14 +0000

Yotel Hotel, Tom Middleton

Colored Zip Tie arrayed on street light pole.

The Cooper Union – Thom Mayne, Morphosis

The Cooper Square Hotel – Carlos Zapata Studios

Missing Boston

tomboessel — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:30:51 +0000

Red Chair Project (Final) – Orlando, FL

tomboessel — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:05:08 +0000

Red Chair Project (Production) – Orlando, FL

tomboessel — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 13:52:15 +0000

Red Chair Project (Concept Sketch) – Orlando, FL

tomboessel — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 13:45:56 +0000

Red Chair Project – Orlando, FL

tomboessel — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:46:50 +0000

A collaboration with the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Red Chair Project.

Newcastle United Vs. Orlando City

tomboessel — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:38:43 +0000

Orlando City pulled through 1-0!

Dolphin Sculpture

tomboessel — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 21:33:48 +0000