Scalding Milk: Is It Really Necessary? (2024)

FAQs

Scalding Milk: Is It Really Necessary? ›

Back in the day before pasteurization, recipes used to call for you to heat up milk — or to scald it — in order to kill bacteria. Nowadays with pasteurization, scalding milk whenever you bake with it obviously isn't necessary.

These days, milk is pasteurized and safe to consume without scalding.

Heat slow.

Ignore the temptation to raise the heat to cook it faster. Stir it continuously to avoid solids sticking to the bottom and burning.

Try not to allow the milk to come to a boil as that will change the flavor of the milk. If you blow it and it does boil, take it off right away and allow it to cool down. I would use it anyway, it's not optimum, but it also won't hurt anything.

It is true that milk needs boiling in order to get rid of harmful bacteria, but it is valid only for raw milk. Pasteurized milk which is available in polybag packing in the market has already been gone through the process of destroying bacteria and is fit for drinking right from the packet.

If there is a rancid smell from high lipase when the milk has been chilled or frozen, the milk can be heated to scalding (bubbles around the edges, not boiling) after expression, then quickly cooled and frozen. This deactivates the lipase enzyme. Scalded milk is still a healthier choice than commercial infant formula.

You can use powdered milk for scalded milk. It is just a dehydrated version of liquid milk, so it has the same proteins and chemical makeup. Is there a scalded milk substitute? Not really, but you can use un-scalded milk.

Microwave: Pour milk into a microwave-safe container and microwave on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power, stirring every 15 seconds, just until steam begins to rise from the milk. To scald milk for custards or yogurt, heat 1 cup on HIGH (100%) power for 2 to 2 ½ minutes.

Note: The process of scalding milk does break down active enzymes, so although the nutritional content won't change, your baby won't be getting the same antibodies as he would from freshly expressed breastmilk or direct latch feeding.

Studies have found that while boiling milk eliminated bacteria from raw milk, it also greatly reduced its whey protein levels. Other tests have shown lower levels of vitamins and minerals in boiled milk, including vitamin B2, B3, B6, and folic acid -- in some cases by as much as 36%.

What milk does not need to be boiled? ›

Pasteurized milk does not need to be boiled.

Stop microwaving the milk once it reaches 180 °F (82 °C). Don't let it exceed 212 °F (100 °C). If it does exceed 212 °F (100 °C), you will need to start over again with fresh milk. The proteins and chemistry of the milk changes when it boils and won't react the same way in your recipe as scalded milk would.

Back in the day before pasteurization, recipes used to call for you to heat up milk — or to scald it — in order to kill bacteria. Nowadays with pasteurization, scalding milk whenever you bake with it obviously isn't necessary.

Milk that's too hot can taste bad because it can change the chemical composition of the milk, altering its flavor and texture. When milk is heated to a high temperature, the proteins in the milk start to break down and denature, causing the milk to become thicker and more viscous.

Milk is an excellent carrier of flavors, and in many recipes, the real purpose of the milk-scalding step is to infuse it with flavor – and therefore bring the flavor into the final dish.

Thus, you don't have to boil milk for safety reasons unless it's raw, unpasteurized milk. In that case, bringing it to a boil or near a boil will significantly reduce most bacteria levels sufficiently ( 1 ). People often boil milk when they use it in cooking. You can boil raw milk to kill any harmful bacteria.

Storing Raw Milk

(Or you'll have a full-time job processing that fresh milk each and every day!) Milk should stay nice and sweet, when properly handled and refrigerated, for up to two weeks. Once it's past this point, it's still good to use for baking or culturing, but won't taste sweet when poured into a glass.