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Farm Cheese Vs Pasteurized

There’s a little conflict in the US regarding the farm cheese and the pasteurized cheese. Before we discuss their difference, I will first give you a definition of both farm cheese and cheese which is pasteurized.

Farm cheeses are also called raw cheese. This type of cheese is called raw because the main ingredient, cheese, came directly from the source. Cows and goats milk is sent directly to cheese manufacturers where they are immediately made into cheeses. After the required number of days of ageing, they are immediately sent to the market for consumption.

On the other hand, pasteurized cheese uses pasteurized milk. There are different types of cheese that are available in both forms while there are also cheese that are only available in one form because of the required laws in the US.

In US the difference between farm and pasteurized cheese can also be found in their age. In the United States, it’s a law that cheese less than 60 days should be pasteurized. Raw or Farm cheese on the other hand should be more than that. Health reasons were behind this decision. The government of the USA believes that farm cheese that is less than 60 days has a large amount of bacteria called Listeria. This bacterium is very dangerous to pregnant women since the bacteria attacks the fetus and kills the baby in the process. Placing it in heat for more than 60 days will naturally kill all the listeria in farm milk.

On the other hand, the pasteurized milk is completely safe as they go through the process of cleansing. Naturally the milk is made with pasteurized milk as it goes through the process of being cleaned. Some refute this, as some of the cheese requires only three weeks to ripe and anything beyond should be destroyed since they are unfit to be consumed. If you’re not pregnant, you really don’t have to worry about this bacterium. France doesn’t even ban this type of cheese in pregnant women.

The other known difference between farm and pasteurized cheese is the taste, even though there are artisan cheeses made in both types of cheese. Most of the consumers will prefer the farm cheese. The farm cheese tastes better than its pasteurized counterpart. Because of the processes milk has to go through, certain flavors are lost and the result is a lesser flavored product.

In the US there was supposed to be a law passed requiring all cheese manufactured in this country to be made only with pasteurized milk. This received anger from manufacturers, distributors and even some of the consumers because pasteurized milk is harder to create. After extracting milk from cows and goats, the milk goes through a multi-million dollar facility before it can be called pasteurized. If everyone should have this required facility, the small cheese manufacturers will be forced to close down. Lots of businesses will have to import the cheese, and this will require them to pay higher prices. Because of the active response, the law was scrapped and was changed to a 60 day requirement for aging the raw cheese.

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