Benefits of Boiling Milk: Should you boil milk before drinking it? Know it from a dairy expert (2024)

When it comes to drinking milk, Indian households have a habit of always boiling it first. It is true that milk needs boiling in order to get rid of harmful bacteria, but it is valid only for raw milk. Pasteurized milk which is available in polybag packing in the market has already been gone through the process of destroying bacteria and is fit for drinking right from the packet.

Let's see what Sanjeev Tomer, a Dairy Technologist with over 30 years of experience has to say regarding this.

Raw milk is the one which we buy from milk vendors and it directly comes from milking the cows. This type of milk definitely needs boiling in order to eliminate the bacteria which might weaken the immune system and affect the health of pregnant women and children.

Pasteurized milk on the other hand is packaged milk which we get from the market.

“This milk goes through different levels of processing as well as pasteurization which removes impurities, bacteria and other organisms, making it fit for drinking” says Tomer.

According to Tomer, boiling already pasteurized milk repeatedly leads to denaturation of essential nutrients. In simpler words, when pasteurized milk is boiled at temperatures above 100 degrees Celsius for more than 10 minutes, it leads to depletion of the essential nutrients. Milk is known to be rich in vitamin D which helps in calcium absorption. Repeated boiling of milk can also reduce the amount of this vitamin in it which can lead to less calcium absorption, which can further lead to weaker bones.

It is safe to warm up the packaged milk a bit before drinking it but avoid boiling it for more than 10 minutes. Ideally a glass of milk gets warm enough within 4-5 minutes on medium flame and becomes fit for drinking. This will ensure that the essential nutrients in milk remain intact.

You can boil the raw milk in one go and then store it in the refrigerator to preserve it. Similarly, in case of pasteurized milk, take only the amount of milk you need and just warm it up instead of boiling it.

So, it all boils down to the type of milk you are using. Make sure you keep the above given tips in mind and boil or warm up your milk depending on the type of milk you are using and enjoy it without compromising on nutrition.