# Yields different with raw milk?



## mulish (Apr 26, 2009)

Hey cheese experts!

I was reading descriptions of cultures for sale on cheesemaking.com and noticed that the description for "Mesophilic w/ Thermophilic (this is what is commonly refered to as the 'Farmstead culture.') 
included this disclaimer: "Using raw milk will reduce yield by 25-50%."
I understand that some cultures work best with pasteurized milk, but yield decreased by half? What causes this?

Thanks so much for your cheese wisdom!

jc


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## linuxboy (Oct 26, 2009)

cheesemaking.com and her book are full of errors. Yield fluctuations are commonly caused by the following factors:

In the animal (affects milk):
- period in lactation cycle
- animal stress/health/illness
- rumen health

In the feed (affects milk):
- Protein, fat, and mineral content
- Digestibility
- mineral and complex compounds in specialty browse, like herbs.

In the cheesemake (affects curd):
- rennet selection
- heat schedule
- cut schedule/size
- stirring schedule (a large biggie, overstirring shatters curd)

Cultures work the same in terms of multiplication and acidification. Pasteurization has nothing to do with it. Pasteurization does affect rennet-affected coagulation because it denatures proteins and changes the amount of unbound calcium.


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## mulish (Apr 26, 2009)

Thanks, Pav.

I appreciate your help as it is hard to find valid information on so many of my "why's" - lots of conflicting info.

So recipes that insist on pasteurization may be aiming more for the physical traits of milk that has been heated to a certain temp, rather than getting rid of the "home team" strains in the milk? Or am I oversimplifying the last bit of what you said?

jc


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## linuxboy (Oct 26, 2009)

mm, not exactly. Pasteurized milk doesn't set as well as raw milk. The curd is a little weaker because it's "damaged" during heating. 

The only purpose of pasteurization of milk for cheese is safety. Say you want to sell a cheese that's aged fewer than 60 days- in the US it must be pasteurized. It produces more consistent results if you can inoculate with specific bacteria strains every time instead of relying on natural ones. This is not to say that artisan cheeses are not consistent... I'm talking about the factory-made cheeses.


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## mulish (Apr 26, 2009)

ok, that makes sense. 
I did several pasteurized vs. raw using same culture/conditions at the beginning of last milk season and raw won flavor-wise every time.


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