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Most people do not drink milk directly from the cow's udder prior to it being pasteurized. If one did, should he make a before and after bracha?

Is raw milk considered "food" halachically, since most people don't consume it? One would not make a bracha on non-"food" items (e.g. eating raw rhubarb).

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    Most people dont live on farms. If they did, they would drink unpasterised milk. It is pasturised so it will be still eddible by the time it reaches us in stores. Feb 18, 2016 at 21:49
  • this isn't a bad question per se - if something is no longer eaten, is it considered food? Kutach might be a good example of this - I've never heard of anyone making (deliberately) spoiled milk and bread dip, but they used to eat it... Also, even if you lived on a farm pasteurizing is a good idea - there are lots of contaminants in a farm environment... Feb 21, 2016 at 6:23
  • Are you referring to sucking it out of the udder, or squeezing it into a vessel first then drinking it but without pasteurisation?
    – CashCow
    Feb 22, 2016 at 12:24
  • @CashCow Squeezing the milk into a vessel. Though, I haven't thought of the first idea. I'm not sure of someone is allowed to do that, but I have to say that I never tried it myself. And I don't know any farmers, offhand, to whom I can ask this question. BTW, you're not asking me this question just because of your ID, are you?
    – DanF
    Feb 22, 2016 at 15:46

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They did not possess pasturization during the times of the Talmud. They did, however, have milk and would have made a bracha on it.

While one might question whether a "modern" individual might consider raw milk food (since it isn't drunk by the average individual) it unquestionably counts as such from a halchic perspective, since the reason for pasteurization is NOT to make the food edible, but to make it safer to consume.

Thus, one may make a shehakol on raw milk.

Addendum:

Chazal discuss the proper blessing for olive oil (which should be ha'etz), since one doesn't drink it by itself, but mixed with other liquids and spices. Of concern here is consuming something that is seen directly harmful (pure olive oil), while your question talks about drinking something that carries an external risk for harm (raw milk might be contaminated).

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