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Why do some countries prefer UHT milk and cream?

Why do some countries prefer UHT milk and cream?

  • My wife and I recently moved to Belgium. We were absolutely shocked by the fact that UHT (long life) milk and cream dominate supermarket shelves compared to pasteurized - by a factor of at least 10 to 1. The UHT products are sold in cardboard containers and taste poor compared to the refrigerated fresh stuff. Considering Belgium is well known for it's rich tradition of dairy products, this struck us as rather odd. I asked around and was told that France was also going UHT. Anyone know how this came about? I can see how UHT makes sense when there is a poor distribution network, but surely it isn't by choice???

  • Answer:

    My guess is that the Belgians (like the French) rarely eat milk cold and uncooked in the way that the British do. The Belgians will have their milk in hot chocolate, or cakes etc, whereas the Brits will have it cold in cereal (again, in France at least, cereal is eaten with warm milk). I have found that the UHT milk in French supermarkets tastes a lot better than the UHT milk in British supermarkets.

octonion at Seasoned Advice Visit the source

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My guess would be the convenience of storage for markets. Less refrigerated space is going to cost less in electrical expense. Consumers can also stock up without having as much dedicated space in refrigerators. European refrigerators in particular tend to be on the small side.

Darin Sehnert

I think it's convenience topping taste. To be honest, I've got used to UHT now, and the convenience of never having to worry about milk going off (and not having to return to the shop every other day to buy more) is undeniable. (I'm actually surprised by the percentage for Switzerland on that Wikipedia page, I don't think I've ever been offered pasteurised milk by anyone here - maybe it's all the milk going into cheese-making?)

Benjol

I do not know about other European countries but in my country the shelf life for pasteurized milk is a mere 4 days. It was even less when I was a kid (like 2 days). So, it is very costly for producers and retailers to sell pasteurized milk as opposed to UHT. I think this stems from the fact that milk consumption is not widespread and the industry does not invest in techniques and other means of improving shelf life (hygiene, cold-chain) when they can sell UHT instead.

Recep

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