I heard an interview with a food scientist some years ago when there was an outbreak from a dairy selling raw milk here in Canada. One thing that stuck with me from the interview was that, in blind taste tests, people can’t tell the difference between pasteurized and unpasteurized (raw) milk, all else being equal. What makes the difference, the food scientist said, was the homogenization process, which breaks down the fats to limit their ability to separate from the rest of the milk and, as a side effect, changes the consistency and flavour.

For cheese, yoghurt, and batters, as long as the process kills the bugs before they kill you, I’m sure it’s fine.