🥛 Sterilized milk

Sterilised milk is drinking milk heated above 100 °C for long enough to become commercially sterile, so it can be kept for months without refrigeration. In Ukraine it is one of four types of drinking milk under DSTU 2661:2010, alongside pasteurised, baked and ultra-pasteurised (UHT) milk.

The classic method is in-container sterilisation: the milk is filled into bottles or cans, hermetically sealed and heated in an autoclave. According to the FAO, unsweetened condensed milk is sterilised the same way, at about 120 °C for 13 minutes. For sterilised milk, DSTU requires raw milk of at least first grade with heat stability of at least group three.

Prolonged heating changes the flavour and colour. Under the standard, sterilised milk has a “pronounced pasteurised flavour” and a light cream tint, and the enzyme peroxidase is absent — a sign of intense heat treatment. The cream colour comes from the Maillard reaction, in which lactose reacts with proteins. Losses of heat-sensitive vitamins are greater than with pasteurisation or UHT treatment.

Sterilised milk is filled into aseptic packaging from 20 to 2000 g. Unopened, it keeps at 1–25 °C away from sunlight for up to 90 days — twice as long as ultra-pasteurised milk under the same standard (up to 45 days). Sterilised milk is also used to make varenets.

Sterilised or pasteurised milk? Both are heat-treated, but to a different degree. Pasteurised milk is one type of drinking milk under the Ukrainian standard DSTU 2661, sterilised milk another. Sterilised milk is heated above 100 °C long enough to become commercially sterile, often in the bottle in an autoclave, so it keeps for months without refrigeration. The price is a stronger, “boiled” flavour, a cream tint from the reaction of lactose with proteins, and greater loss of heat-sensitive vitamins than with pasteurisation. Ultra-pasteurised (UHT) milk is a separate type with a shorter shelf life.

Look for the words “sterilised milk” on the pack together with the fat content; the Ukrainian standard DSTU 2661 requires both. Do not confuse it with “pasteurised” or “ultra-pasteurised (UHT)”, which are other types. The pack is sealed and aseptic, from 20 to 2000 g, and the date is printed for up to 90 days. You will find it on the ordinary unchilled shelf of supermarkets and shops, since unopened it needs no fridge. A cream tint is normal.

Why it matters to you. On the label, look for the word “sterilised” and the fat content — both are required by DSTU 2661. Unopened milk can sit in a cupboard, but once opened it belongs in the fridge: USDA advises drinking shelf-stable milk within 5–7 days. A cream tint and a “boiled” taste are normal, not a sign of spoilage.