MikeFlynn74 said:
Thanks paul- Thats what ive heard too- Use raw milk- Though it takes longer to cure its well worth it.
Yes, raw milk is far superior if you can get it. About the cure time though, I don't think there is any differece. There is, however, an FDA stipulation that cheese made from raw milk be aged over 60 (?) days before it is deemed 'safe' for sale and consumption (the theory here is that the infectious bacteria die off in this period of time, although to the best of my knowledge this is not necessarily as much proven fact as it is speculation on the part of the FDA).
A little note on Listeria, and such. In France, where cheese making has been from raw milk for ages, the process is what is predominantly different. Every day, from small scale farmers, who mainly milk by hand, the fresh (often still warm) milk is taken on a cart or wagon to the cheese maker. The big difference here is that there is a direct connection between the farmer and the milk vs. the large scale production here in the states where 1,000's of cows are connected to milk machines and every step is minimal in terms of human interaction.
Imho, there is much more room for infection in these cases and a bonefide need for pasteurization because a cow or goat is a number, not a well known animal of a small farmer's personal herd. He can tell when his flock is sick, etc. He alone bears the responsibility of wiping the teet, ensuring that contamination is minimized, etc. In the case of the latter, the tendency is to rely heavily on both Antibiotic treatment and post processing treatment rather than prevention.