Re:For decades, government steered millions away from whole ...
by tomkinstinch on Friday October 09, 2015 @01:23PM
(#10361718)
From a quick reading it looks like homogenization may make fatty acids more accessible to lipase (greater accessible surface area, maybe also charge interactions?). Of course enzyme activity is also a function of pH and temperature. If it was a chilled storage tank, perhaps the taste was different because lipase had not yet had a chance to work--if homogenization happens before pastuerization, it could cause some breakdown after storage but before heat-moderated lipase inactivation.
I have some formal training in biology, but I'm certainly no expert and may be incorrect. What I do know is that dairy systems are complicated.
I learned about lipase when I was a kid and followed my dad around at the farm. According to him it was the lipase in the homogenized whole milk that made the difference in taste that I recognized between milk from the storage tank on the farm and bought milk.
Reading up on it now it seems to be a bit more complicated but still.