DAIRY PRODUCTS

History and manufacture

While Marco Polo wrote of Mongolian Tatar troops in the time of Kublai Khan carrying sun-dried skimmed milk as "a kind of paste, the first usable commercial production of dried milk was invented by the Russian chemist M. Dirchoff in 1832. In 1855, T.S. Grimwade took a patent on a dried milk procedure, though a William Newton had patented a vacuum drying process as early as 1837. Today, powdered milk is usually made by spray drying

The drying method and the heat treatment of the milk as it is processed alters the properties of the milk powder (for example, solubility in cold water, flavor, bulk density).

Uses

Powdered milk is frequently used in the manufacture of infant formula, confectionery such as chocolate and caramel candy, and in recipes for baked goods where adding liquid milk would render the product too thin. Powdered milk is also widely used in various sweets such as the famous Indian milk balls known as Rasa-Gulla and popular Indian sweet delicacy (sprinkled with desiccated coconut) known as Chum chum (made with skim milk powder).

Nutritional value

Milk powders contain all twenty standard amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and are high in soluble vitamins and minerals. Milk powder is fortified with Vitamin A and D, 3000IU and 600IU respectively per 100g. Inappropriate storage conditions (high relative humidity and high ambient temperature) can significantly degrade the nutritive value of milk powder.

SHAKTI Skimmed Milk