Milk in General
Milk is the first food of young mammal produced by the mammary glands of female mammals.
It is the mixture of fat and high quality protein in water and contains some carbohydrate (lactose), vitamins, and minerals.
Milk and milk products may be obtained from different species such as goats and sheep.
While fluid milk contains a very large percentage of water, it may concentrated to form evaporated milk and cheese, yogurt or in soups and sauces.
By law, milk and milk product must contain a designated percent of total milk solids (all of the component of milk except water) and also the milk solids, not fat (all of the components of milk solids not include fat).
The butterfat component of milk is the most expensive component of milk and its level determines if milk offered for retail sale as whole milk or at some lesser percentage of fat such as 2% milk, ½% or fat free.
Milk may be cultured, dried, fortified, homogenized or pasteurized and used to create products with different taste texture nutritive, value, and shelf life.
It may be processed into products such as buttermilk, cheese, cream, ice milk, ice cream, sour cream and yogurt with different levels of fat content.
Dried milk is added to a multitude of foods. It may be added to foods to increase the protein or calcium value.
High temperatures may curdle milk: therefore care must be taken in the preparations of foods with milk. Milk requires safe handling and old storage.
Milk is not well tolerated by a large portion of the population. The milk sugar, lactose, is not digested by persons lacking the enzyme lactase.
Milk in General
