ABSTRACT
This chapter presents methods of milk cooling. Milk leaves the udder at body temperature containing only a few microorganisms. Normally milk contains bacteria coming from the animal's udder, milk vessels and operators. Crystal structure and size vary as a function of both cooling rate and cooling temperature and regulate the hardness of the milk fat. More fat passes into the solid state by direct cooling than in stepwise cooling. Cooling is the predominant method of maintaining milk quality during collection. The most important factor next to hygienic production of milk is the time between completion of milking and reducing the temperature low enough to restrict bacterial growth. The process of cooling milk by the method continues even during transportation from collection centers to processing unit. The bacterial load is a reflection of the hygienic quality of milk. This aspect has certainly been ignored due to lack of facility for proper on-farm cooling of milk immediately after milking.
