How to Buy Milk: Cutting Through the Confusion

Visiting Redmonds in Utah and loving the milk aisle!

Let’s start with the truth: the best milk to drink is high-quality raw milk from healthy, grass-fed cows (or other dairy-producing animals), raised on small farms by farmers who care deeply about both their animals and their customers. And the best way to consume dairy is as fermented raw dairy—clabber, kefir, yogurt, traditional cheese—foods that are safer, more nourishing, and often more digestible than milk on its own.

But the reality is that for many people, raw milk simply isn’t an option. Laws vary by state and country, access is inconsistent, and cost can be prohibitive. If that’s you, don’t worry—this post is for you. Let’s look at what you should consider when buying milk that isn’t raw.

First, Remember: All Commercial Milk Is Processed

It doesn’t matter if there’s a cute cow on the label or the bottle is made of thick glass with a picture of a red barn surrounded by green grass. Any milk that isn’t raw has been processed, stripped apart, and put back together.

Commercial milk undergoes drastic temperature shifts, is altered physically and chemically, stripped of nutrients—especially fat—down to the minimum legal standards, and often fortified with synthetic vitamins to replace what was lost. That pure white liquid in the store barely resembles the nutrient-rich milk it started as.

The key to navigating this landscape is learning what the labels really mean.

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Pasteurization: What It Is and Why It Matters

Pasteurization doesn’t make bad milk good—it just makes bad milk less dangerous in the short term. The base quality of the milk is still what matters most. But there are very different levels of pasteurization, and they matter for both health and flavor:

• Vat Pasteurization: 145°F (63°C) for 30 minutes. The gentlest legal method in the U.S., preserving more enzymes, flavor, and beneficial properties.

• HTST (High-Temp, Short-Time): 161°F (72°C) for 15 seconds. The most common supermarket method and is harsher on the milk.

• Ultra-Pasteurization: 280°F (138°C) for 2 seconds. Extends shelf life but destroys nearly everything beneficial, leaving milk that tastes flat and won’t culture into yogurt or cheese.

• UHT (Ultra-High-Temperature): Heated even hotter for aseptic packaging. Shelf-stable, but completely lifeless from a nutrient perspective.

Best choice: Vat pasteurized.
Second best: Simply pasteurized (HTST).
Avoid: Ultra-pasteurized and UHT whenever possible.

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Homogenization: Why It’s Worse Than Pasteurization

Unlike pasteurization, homogenization serves no safety purpose whatsoever. It exists only for industrial convenience.

In natural milk, cream rises to the top. Homogenization forces milk through high-pressure screens that literally explode the fat globules into tiny fragments, keeping them suspended in the liquid.

This process fundamentally changes the structure of the fat. There are serious concerns about how these tiny fat globules affect digestion, circulation, and inflammation in the body.

When you see “creamline” or “non-homogenized” on a label, that’s what you want—it means the cream still rises, just as nature intended.

The milk aisle has become void of real milk.

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A1 vs. A2 Proteins: The Genetics of Milk

Most industrial dairy cows today (especially Holsteins) produce A1 beta-casein, a mutated form of milk protein associated with digestive distress, inflammation, and intolerance symptoms in many people.

Older, heritage breeds—and many non-cow dairy animals like goats and sheep—produce A2 beta-casein, which is also the protein found in human breast milk. For those sensitive to milk, A2 can make a huge difference.

The mutation for A1 is thought to have arisen in European dairy cattle thousands of years ago. Because those breeds also happen to be high-volume milk producers, they dominate the industrial dairy industry today.

If you struggle with milk, try A2 from Jersey, Guernsey, or heritage breeds—or goat and sheep milk.

We partnered with the Village Dairy when we were living abroad in Ireland (2017 - 2018)

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Fat Percentage: Don’t Fear the Cream

Here’s a dirty secret: “whole milk” isn’t really whole.

Natural milk from healthy, grass-fed cows in peak season can have 4–5% fat (or more). Yet in the U.S., “whole milk” is legally defined as just 3.25% fat—because the cream has already been skimmed off.

For decades, the dairy industry has demonized fat while making fortunes selling cream, butter, and ice cream back to us at premium prices.

So-called low-fat options—2%, 1%, skim—aren’t healthier. Dairy fat is rich in fat-soluble vitamins, deeply nourishing, and naturally satiating. If you’re drinking milk, choose whole milk at the very least—and remember even “whole” milk has already had some cream removed.

Organic: Nice, But Not the First Priority

While organic standards limit pesticide and hormone use, they don’t guarantee nutrient density, grass-fed diets, or ethical practices. Organic doesn’t necessarily mean high quality.

Here’s the hierarchy worth following:

1. Raw, grass-fed milk from a local farmer

2. Non-homogenized, vat-pasteurized whole milk (organic if possible)

3. Simply pasteurized whole milk (non-homogenized, if available)

4. Ultra-pasteurized/UHT milk: avoid if possible

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A Note on Expiration Dates

Don’t be fooled: expiration dates reflect more about the level of pasteurization than true freshness. High-temp processed milk lasts longer on a shelf not because it’s fresher, but because it’s sterile.

So don’t rely on expiration dates alone when judging milk quality.

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Key Takeaways for Buying Milk

• Best: Raw, grass-fed, small farm.

• If not raw: Whole milk, non-homogenized, lowest-temp pasteurization possible.

• Even better: From heritage or A2-producing animals.

• Bonuses: Glass bottle, organic, local.

Milk is one of the most manipulated foods in the grocery store. But by learning how to decode labels and prioritize what matters most, you can bring home milk that’s healthier, tastier, and closer to its natural state.

Just a glimpse into the Nice Farms milk we buy weekly for all our cheese, yogurt and coffee drinks!