Originally Posted by
ajGoes
Isn't it rather the opposite? I think nearly all milk sold in Japan is UHT (ultra-high temperature) sterilized, like much of the milk in Europe and most organic milk and half-and-half in the US. This gives it a "cooked" flavor which is undetectable to people who are used to it but does not taste good to those accustomed to milk pasteurized at a lower temperature.
Yes, correct. Japanese milk is flash pasteurized at 130C for 2 seconds and it has longevity quite far beyond the sell-by-date. I looked up UHT and this is indeed UHT pasteurization but the milk tastes better than the stuff like Paramalat found in continental Europe. The sell-by-date is similar to what you find in the US, which is odd if it is UHT. Maybe they are promoting an image that it is fresh milk when it is not. I have gone away for 2 weeks and returned and found the milk to be quite drinkable. But not 6 months at room temp like Parmalat.
There is one brand of Takanashi full fat milk that specifically uses pasteurization at 66C for 30 min. It is quite expensive around 250 yen per liter. Probably higher now due to Abenomics.
http://www.takanashi-milk.co.jp/products/ltlt/01.html
When I first moved there I found the flash pasteurized stuff to taste bad, sort of like a slight UHT flavor and I primarily bought the 66C/30 min milk. But this milk is from Iwate and it disappeared for a while after the earthquake. Then I became concerned about the radiation and would only buy Hokkaido milk for a while. Over time I became used to the taste. I wonder if you can become unaccustomed to it if you stay away for a while?