Why we don’t homogenize our milk, and how you’ve been missing out on maximum flavor

And how looking pretty has made our milk flat

Before we get started, homogenization and pasteurization are two different processes. Like every other milk company, we pasteurize to kill potential bacteria. But here is why we don’t homogenize:

Homogenization is the worst, at least according to the pros in flavortown. But maybe you’ve only bought homogenized milk, so here’s how you’re missing out on the most flavor, and how the milk industry is throwing the flavor out the window to make milk more marketable.

Separation time. Homogenization is the process of separating the fat by blasting the living daylights out of it through a nozzle at a high pressure and temperature, turning the fat into tiny imperceptible particles which pass right through your taste buds without being noticed. Most milk you see in stores today are homogenized.

The purpose

Why the blasting? A short jaunt through the WABAC machine will show us in 1899, homogenization was invented to make milk appear more uniform. The blasting process makes the milk all one liquid, without the fatty cream on top. The people didn’t buy it though, homogenized milk doesn’t look natural. It took about 20 years for it to catch on, after the paper milk carton came out, which also hid the consistency of the milk. People were used to seeing milk in all it’s fatty glory, to see the milk without the fat on top tripped them out. What’s with all this white water?

We love the thick! When all those globules get blasted you don’t get that layer of fat, which is not only more natural, it’s also way tastier. People will say homogenized milk is better, more even, but there is one thing they are all missing, the fat makes it so much tastier. When I drink milk, I want it to be creamy, not watery.

Healthier??

Fat particles attach to nutrients, ariving in the digestive tract, where your body obsorbs them. Homogenized milk particles are so small they pass through without being digested and go through the blood stream.

What about the arteries? Typical homogenized milk goes through the blood stream where the fat can collect. According to hartzlerdairy.com, “One particular enzyme, xanthine oxidase (XO), reaches the blood stream where it replaces a substance called plasmalogen in the arteries, and directly promotes hardening of the artery walls.”

Lactose Intolerance

Do you have trouble digesting milk? It may not be the milk itself, but the way the milk is processed. Since the fat is broken up, the nutrients travel straight to the bloodstream, instead of the digestive tract. For those who are lactose intolerant, that means your immune system goes into attack mode, fighting off two forms of undigested proteins, such as casein and whey.

To attack, antibodies are released, causing certain chemicals like histamine to be released into the bloodstream. This causes many problems, just as shortness of breath, stomache aches, bloating, headaches, and more.

For some people, non-homogenized milk is the answer, since the fat globules are not broken down. We can’t say for everyone with lactose intolerance but if you’re willing to give it a shot, look for non pasteurized/non-homogenized milk.

Trip to nostalgia Blvd

Picture a cold glass of milk in front of you, the condensation beading on the outside of the cup. You take a sip and it’s milk, but better, it’s creamier and so savory it’s almost buttery. That sip tastes like a home cooked meal at an old Bavarian town, where food is locally grown, and you’re in an old cabin on a farm. That’s the feeling non homogenized whole fat milk gives me.

At Grace Harbor Farms we don’t homogenize, we keep the fat in all it’s glory, and we’ve been doing so since 1999! We try to recreate that little abode where things are the way nature intended it. Open pasture access to cows, grass-fed, but most important to this article, non-homogenized.

Where can you find it?

You don’t have to sneak into a cattle ranch and milk a cow in the dead of night to find some good milk. You can find our full fat, non homogenized dairy in many chain stores: Haagens, Safeway, Grocery Outlet, and stores all over Washington State carry our milk. If you’re in Port Angeles Washington and looking for milk, try Country Aire, we’re there!

Grace Harbor Farms is located a few minutes north of Bellingham Washington. To visit our goats, or to try out some of our amazing goat milk soap, lotion, or essential oils, call us to make an appointment!