Pasteurization

Today is December 27.  On this date in 1822, Louis Pasteur was born.  He was a chemist, a biologist and a microbiologist.  He had many extremely important accomplishments including the creation of the first vaccines for cholera, anthrax, and rabies.  And he also developed the technique we now call pasteurization.

By heating a liquid such as milk to a sufficiently high temperature and holding it at that temperature for a short span of time, but not too much, pathogenic micro-organisms are destroyed.  Then the milk is cooled very quickly to just a few degrees above 0 Celsius.  This gives the milk a longer shelf-life and makes it safer to drink.  The same thing is done to fruit juices.  Read up on the process and you will find it to be a fascinating subject.  

There are actually a few different types of pasteurization that utilize different levels of heat and time.  There is even ultra-pasteurization.  Cream is often found in cartons labeled "ulta-pasteurized" in the dairy section of your favorite grocery store.

Some people prefer to drink raw milk that hasn't been pasteurized.  I, myself, have had raw milk many many times in my life and loved it.  No matter whether raw or pasteurized, I will drink milk anytime night or day.  It is by far my favorite beverage -- however, that's a subject for another post.

But thanks go out to Monsieur Pasteur for his discovery of the process which makes it much more likely to find milk and juices at the grocery store whenever we are looking for them.