Pasteurization, which takes its name from Pasteur, the French
bacteriologist, is merely a process of heating milk to about 170 degrees
Fahrenheit for the purpose of destroying possible dis-ease germs, and
the bacteria that produce fermentation. In this process the milk is
not allowed to come to a boil for the reason that boiled milk is rather
"dead" or distasteful, and would readily be detected by the public. It
is quite evident that any method of Pasteurization, which would kill
bacteria, would also cause coagulation of the protoplasm and the albumin
of the milk, and render it much less nutritious, and much more difficult
to digest.
[Sidenote: Virtue of naturally soured milk]
If milk producers and dairymen understood the superior food and remedial
value of naturally soured milk, and would exert some effort to educate
the public in its use, they would soon establish a new and profitable
industry, and would give the dairy business of the whole country a new
commercial impetus. The souring of milk can be prevented by cleanliness,
which renders Pasteurizing unnecessary. At the time of the Paris
Exposition, a dairy farm in Illinois sent pure unpasteurized milk to
Paris, which arrived in an unsoured condition. This was achieved by
absolute cleanliness, with the cows, dairy utensils, etc.