S/O Milk freshness

I would guess that it has to do with the different types of pasteurization. But thats just a guess.

Saw this article from 2016 about a process that allows milk to last up to nine weeks. Process is called low temperature, short time (Ltst). Maybe the process has now gone commercial

gizmodo.com/this-milk-lasts-up-to-nine-weeks-without-spoiling-1784123328#:~:text=Here%E2%80%99s%20how%20the%20low-temperature%2C%20short-time%20%28LTST%29%20method%20works%3A,below%20the%2070-degree%20Celsius%20threshold%20required%20for%20pasteurization.

Is it Ultra Pasteurized?
It is pasteurized at a much higher temp (but for just a couple seconds, then rapidly cooled). It has a super long shelf life, and can even be stored unrefrigerated.
To me, it has a different taste, and I don't like it. OK in a pinch, but otherwise not for me.
There is Fairlife milk - it is ultra pasteurized and ultra filtered. It's owned by Coke. I'd rather go to a more local dairy than a big corporation.

What bread doesn't mold? I store mine in the fridge so it can't mold, but I've certainly found buns and bread someone left out that have gone moldy.

I buy a honey wheat loaf from ALDI that never seems to change - stays soft and 'fresh' no matter how long it stays in the pantry.

Isn't that a protein drink, not milk?



There is yet another type of milk, the "shelf stable" ones... is that what you're talking about that you notice a different taste? It's sold in boxes in the regular aisle along with canned evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, etc. Not in the refrigerator section, although you do have to put it in the fridge after you open it. To me that one does have a slightly different taste. But regular ultrapasteurized tastes the same as pasteurized, to me anyway. Although, I don't actually drink a lot of milk straight from a glass so probably my opinion doesn't count for much. lol

I knew immediately when reading your OP that the milk must have been ultra pasteurized.

I like Fairlife. Tastes good, has a long shelf life and higher protein/lower sugar than regular milk.

I can taste the difference. But I can taste things that other people in my house can't. I can also smell things they can't! When we are traveling through an area that has oil wells, I will say 'oh I can smell the wells" and my DH thinks I am nuts! Then pretty soon we see an oil well.

I usually only buy AE milk (Anderson Erickson Dairy). AE is a regional dairy out of Des Moines. When I drink a different dairy's milk - I taste the difference, especially if it is a different region of the country. Most of the big Dairy's get their milk from a milk co-op or the same group of diary farmers. So the milk generally always tastes the same within that Dairy's group/region.

My Mom always said she couldn't drink the milk when they pastured their milk cows on the wheat (winter wheat can be grazed in the fall). She said it tasted terrible.

I can also taste beef that has been fed distillers, especially wet distillers. We don't feed any distillers.

Yeah, I started noticing in the last few years that milk dates are much farther out than they used to be, and the milk lasts longer even after opening. I didn’t know about the ultra-pasteurization, but I knew something was different about the processing.

Commercial bread does seem to last forever now, too. My Oroweat (is that just a California brand?) rye bread never seems to mold anymore. Bakery breads are still much more fragile.

I have to say, I don’t entirely trust milk and bread that never go bad  but I don’t have the energy to worry much about it, either.

Yes, my first thought was that it has to be that ultra pasteurized milk.  I no longer buy cow’s milk, but when I did buy it for my mom, I would buy the ultra pasteurized type because it lasted longer.  I tried to get her to drink my rice milk, but she said she was 98 years old and didn’t see the need to change her diet at that point.  If I can live as long as she did, and remain at the level of health that she was, I would be very happy.