So when we first arrived here in Ireland, one of the first things to notice was during every meal and in every room we've stayed in, tea has been readily available. This has been fantastic because tea is a beautiful thing. However something has struck me as odd. Whenever we have tea there is milk and sugar left out (not weird) and the milk is left out for several hours without anyone batting an eye (weird). Everything that Biology has taught says that any manner of food left out at room temp. for an extended period of time makes it a breeding ground for bacteria. Now a bacteria is everywhere and in small enough concentrations are harmless, but left to colonize long enough they begin to pose a threat. So you can see why this struck me as weird, especially since in America everything that even looks like dairy is refrigerated the second it isn't in use.
After looking at the labels of some of the single serving creamer things left in our rooms, I noticed that they all said "UHT Milk", which later searching would tell me meant Ultra-High Temperature. This is similar, but not exactly the same as pasteurizing that we commonly use in the US. Pasteurizing is a method of disinfecting raw milk by heating a large volume of it to a temperature of 161 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds and then cooled. Ultra-high temperature heats the milk to a temperature of >275 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 seconds. Both essentially accomplish the same feat in removing the bulk of microorganisms present in the milk. However after pasteurized milk is done being processed it is placed in traditional milk cartons and then must be refrigerated, ultimately having a shelf life of ~15 days. UHT milk on the other hand has obliterated any trace of life in the milk, and thus can be left by itself for a longer period of time (granted it isn't exposed to open air). The UHT milk is placed aseptically into a Tetrapak milk container which is basically the ultimate 4-layer milk container. This means that the milk can be left in its unopened container for up to 6 months without threat of spoilage, allowing for smaller amounts of milk to be packaged so little things of cream can be left out in the open for often. Though once it is opened it will have relatively the same shelf life as traditional pasteurized milk.
After looking at the labels of some of the single serving creamer things left in our rooms, I noticed that they all said "UHT Milk", which later searching would tell me meant Ultra-High Temperature. This is similar, but not exactly the same as pasteurizing that we commonly use in the US. Pasteurizing is a method of disinfecting raw milk by heating a large volume of it to a temperature of 161 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds and then cooled. Ultra-high temperature heats the milk to a temperature of >275 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 seconds. Both essentially accomplish the same feat in removing the bulk of microorganisms present in the milk. However after pasteurized milk is done being processed it is placed in traditional milk cartons and then must be refrigerated, ultimately having a shelf life of ~15 days. UHT milk on the other hand has obliterated any trace of life in the milk, and thus can be left by itself for a longer period of time (granted it isn't exposed to open air). The UHT milk is placed aseptically into a Tetrapak milk container which is basically the ultimate 4-layer milk container. This means that the milk can be left in its unopened container for up to 6 months without threat of spoilage, allowing for smaller amounts of milk to be packaged so little things of cream can be left out in the open for often. Though once it is opened it will have relatively the same shelf life as traditional pasteurized milk.
Now this fantastic when it comes to food preservation and energy conservation. Being able to preserve food for up to six months means that there would be considerably less waste of milk. Also eliminating the need for mass refrigeration would save a massive amount of energy. This made me wonder why pasteurizing milk is still such a big deal in the States. Turns out back in the sixties we tried to incorporate it into mainstream consumption... and failed. Basically people were so against the idea of milk that didn't require refrigeration that they stuck with pasteurizing. We're too stubborn to incorporate new techniques that we label non-refrigerated milk as voodoo and stick with our easy-spoil milk. Some UHT milk has snuck its way in in the form of organic milk. If you look at most organic milk cartons you'll see something along the lines of "ultra-pasteurized" milk (a.k.a. UHT). But unfortunately short of the high point of our energy/resource crisis, America will likely not make the switch any time soon.
So yea, fun little milk trivia for the trip. Stay tuned for more useless facts.
So yea, fun little milk trivia for the trip. Stay tuned for more useless facts.