What happens to milk during processing?

Once the Milk is delivered to Marybelle it is stored in a refrigerated tank ready for processing. By processing we mean that the milk is pasteurized and then either homogenized or separated depending on the sort of Milk we are preparing. 

Confusing words? OK, Lets start with:

Pasteurisation: When we pasteurize the Milk at Marybelle we heat it between a series of metal plates using steam as a heat source. The Milk reaches a temperature of 72 degrees centigrade and is maintained at that temperature for 15 seconds. The Milk is then rapidly cooled to 2 degrees centigrade, and sent on its way to a sterile refrigerated storage tank. All the Milk provided by Marybelle to their customers goes through this process of pasteurization in order to remove any possibility of unwanted bacteria in the Milk.

Homogenisation: This process prevents the Milk from separating while it stands in your fridge. Homogenisation emulsifies the fat particles of Milk into the fluid Milk, which prevents it from separating. Remember even ‘whole fat’ Milk is more than 96% fat FREE.

Separation: When you order you Milk or pick it up at the shop, it is available in three main types – Whole (3.5% fat), Semi-skimmed (2.0% fat) and Skimmed (0.1% fat).  When the milk arrives at Marybelle from the farm it already contains the Whole Milk fat content of approximately 3.5%. In order to produce Semi-skimmed and Skimmed that whole Milk must be separated to remove the relative amount of milk solids.