{"id":71102,"date":"2014-05-07T12:18:16","date_gmt":"2014-05-07T02:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/?p=71102"},"modified":"2021-07-21T18:00:42","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21T08:00:42","slug":"unpasteurised-vs-pasteurised-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/2014\/05\/07\/unpasteurised-vs-pasteurised-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"Unpasteurised vs pasteurised Cheese: the ultimate French debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"pasteurised<\/a>French cheese has to be one of my favourite things in the world. Whether it\u2019s an oozy Camembert or a crumbly Ch\u00e8vre, I cannot resist.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

From my time in France, I remember the great uproar of French cheese-makers everywhere when the EU tried to enforce the use of pasteurised milk in all dairy products.<\/p>\n

Madeleine Vedel from\u00a0Real Milk<\/a>\u00a0explains: \u201cOver the last 20 years, the French cheese-makers have gone to battle to defend their right to produce raw milk cheese, facing the opposition which has spread fear of this traditional product through advertisements, televised reports and newspaper articles\u2014often inspired by the anti-raw milk stance of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

While I was in France there were countless strikes protesting these changes \u2013 of course, it\u2019s France after all. But I was just a 16-year old\u00a0australienne\u00a0<\/i>with limited knowledge on the whole\u00a0fromage<\/i>\u00a0topic. All I knew was I liked cheese but hated Roquefort.<\/p>\n

Funnily enough the same debate still exists. Can you believe in the United States it is illegal to sell raw milk cheese if it is less than 60 days old? So what\u2019s the big deal? Are the French being snobby or is the rest of the world being too cautious? I decided to get to the bottom of this cheesy debate once and for all\u2026<\/p>\n

What is pasteurisation?<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"466703351_9cb6c80d7c_b\"<\/a>Ironically, it was French scientist Louis Pasteur who invented pasteurisation in 1864.\u00a0There are two types of pasteurisation; HTST (high temperature, short time) and UHT (ultra high temperature).\u00a0In HTST, the milk is heated to 71.7 \u00b0C\/161 \u00b0F for 15-20 seconds. UHT involves heating the milk to 138 \u00b0C\/250 \u00b0F for a split second.<\/p>\n

Jamie Forrest from CurdNerd<\/a>\u00a0says the UHT process actually cooks the milk, \u201crendering it unsuitable for cheese-making. It is a widely used technique, however, since it drastically extends the shelf [life] of the milk.”<\/p>\n

Unpasteurised or raw milk is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria that cause Listeria, E. coli and Salmonella. Because of this, \u201cpasteurisation has historically made milk (and dairy in general) much safer,\u201d says Jamie Forrest.<\/p>\n

According to Forrest there is, however, a flipside to this process. \u201cThere are also micro-organisms living in milk that are beneficial to human health and also to the process of cheese-making, and these are also decimated by pasteurisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do the experts say?<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"pasteurised<\/a><\/p>\n

There are various opinions on the matter, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration believe raw-milk and most of its by-products are unsafe for human consumption.\u00a0The FDA published a report on their website entitled \u2018The Dangers of Raw Milk\u2019, exposing the health risks of unpasteurised milk. \u201cAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 800 people in the United States have gotten sick from drinking raw milk or eating cheese made from raw milk since 1998,\u201d the article states.<\/p>\n

In an article for\u00a0Serious Eats<\/a>\u00a0Jamie Forrest explains the dangers. \u201cMilk can contain some seriously dangerous bacteria, including Listeria, E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella. Before pasteurisation became the norm, raw milk consumption was linked with even more serious diseases like typhoid, scarlet fever, and tuberculosis.\u201d The FDA also says that, \u201cresearch shows no meaningful difference in the nutritional values of pasteurised and unpasteurised milk.\u201d<\/p>\n

While pasteurisation kills harmful organisms and bacteria that are responsible for diseases such as listeriosis (Listeria), typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria, and brucellosis, many would suggest it is not as suitable for cheese making.<\/p>\n

Cultures for Health<\/a>\u00a0say choosing the right milk for your\u00a0fromage<\/i>\u00a0is essential. They explain that pasteurised milk can be prepared a number of ways, and this can affect its cheese making potential. \u201cYour milk may or may not have been pasteurised at a high temperature. If it was heated past 165\u00b0F (73.8\u00b0C), the proteins are denatured (cooked) and won’t make good cheese. Your curds will be very soft and may not hold together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"pasteurised<\/a><\/p>\n

Jamie Forrest also says the process poses other issues.\u00a0\u201c<\/b>Proponents of raw milk cheese argue that the beneficial micro-organisms in the milk contribute unique flavours to the cheese, while the cheese-making process itself serves to limit the number of harmful micro-organisms if done under sanitary conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jennifer Meier of\u00a0About.com<\/a>\u00a0agrees. \u201cPasteurisation can also kill good bacteria, the type that creates the nuances of flavour in cheese,\u201d she says. The difference in the flavour of raw milk cheese is significant, and while it may carry risks, if the milk is sourced from clean and healthy animals that risk is minimal. Pasteurisation can sometimes lead milk producers to relax their standards \u2013 using milk from unsanitary animals and farms.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

“The French love their cheese almost more than life itself. It begs the question: How have they survived this long if raw milk cheese is so dangerous?”<\/span><\/h3>\n

<\/h2>\n

Interestingly, Partick from\u00a0The Kitchn<\/a>\u00a0points out that pasteurisation doesn\u2019t always stop the spread of disease and bacteria. \u201cListeria can not only survive in temperatures up to 150 degrees (and the minimum temperature for pasteurisation is 145), but milk can be contaminated after the pasteurisation process.\u201d \u201cIn addition, Listeria is not limited to cheese. In fact, raw vegetables, fish and even cooked poultry have been known to possess this bacteria,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, the FDA enforce a 60-day waiting period. As Jennifer Meier explains, \u201cafter 60 days, the acids and salts in raw milk cheese naturally protect against listeria, salmonella, and E. coli.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haven\u2019t people been eating raw milk cheese forever?<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Cheese_in_market_-_Paris,_France\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Cheese is no new thing. Arguably, the French love their cheese almost more than life itself. It begs the question: How have they survived this long if raw milk cheese is so dangerous?<\/p>\n

\u201cCertain cheeses are less risky than others: semi-firm and firm, aged cheeses like the blues, Swiss, cheddars, and most Italian cheeses are considered safer than soft cheeses like ricotta, Brie, Camembert,\u201d explains Jamie Forrest.<\/p>\n

Yet Brie, Camembert and Reblochon have been eaten to excess in France for centuries.<\/p>\n

As Patrick of The Kitchn explains, outbreaks of bacterial diseases are rare. \u201cIn a country like France, where raw milk cheeses are the norm, the last serious outbreak [of Listeriosis] reported by the World Health Organization was in 2000, when seven people died (and that outbreak wasn’t even caused by raw milk cheese),\u201d he says.\u00a0\u201cConsidering how much raw milk Brie and Camembert the country consumes, these are pretty slim odds,\u201d he continues.<\/p>\n

Raw-milk or pasteurised cheese?<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Delicious_Cheese\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When it comes down to deciding whether or not it\u2019s safe to eat raw milk cheese, you can only decide for yourself. The FDA and other food authorities around the world suggest avoiding raw milk products all together during pregnancy. This is because listeria is known to cause stillbirth or miscarriage.<\/p>\n

While raw milk cheese has a richer flavour and can contain beneficial bacteria, there are risks if the cheese is not prepared in a clean environment using fresh milk. All this aside, I survived a year eating raw milk cheese, and I\u2019d do it again in a heartbeat.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

What\u2019s your opinion on pasteurised cheese?\u00a0<\/b>The conversation is missing your voice! Jump in the comments box below.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n
Image credits<\/span>
\n1.\u00a0Benton Bros. cheese<\/a>, by Jules Morgan on Flickr\u00a0<\/span>
\n2.\u00a0French cheese<\/a>, by Zeetz Jones on Flickr<\/span>
\n3.\u00a0Raclette in the cheese cave<\/a>, by Andrew McFarlane on Flickr
\n<\/span>4.\u00a0Stichelton<\/a>, by Jeremy Keith<\/span>
\n5.\u00a0Paris market<\/a>, by Daderot via Wikimedia
\n6.\u00a0Delicious cheese<\/a>, by pixeltoo via Wikimedia<\/span><\/address>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to unpasteurised cheese what\u2019s the big deal? Are the French being snobby or is the rest of the world being too cautious? It’s time to get to the bottom of this cheesy debate…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2553,"featured_media":74038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[1104,1084],"tags":[210,213,220,234,240,281,569,1091],"class_list":["post-71102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gastronomie-learn","category-gastronomie","tag-food","tag-france","tag-french","tag-french-food","tag-french-life","tag-in-english","tag-advice","tag-cultural-differences"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2553"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}