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Milk
*** Shopping-Tip: Milk
:''For other senses of this word, see
milk (disambiguation).''
Image:Milk_l_de.jpg cow.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|200px|A glass of [[cow milk.html" title="Meaning of 200px|A glass of [[cow">thumb|200px|A glass of [[cow milk">200px|A glass of [[cow">thumb|200px|A glass of [[cow milk
'''Milk''' most often means the nutrient fluid produced by the
mammary glands of female
mammals. The female ability to produce milk is one of the defining characteristics of mammals and provides the primary source of nutrition for
newborns before they are able to digest more diverse foods. It is also processed into
dairy products such as
cream (food) cream,
butter,
yogurt,
ice-cream,
gelato,
cheese,
casein,
whey protein,
lactose,
condensed milk,
powdered milk, and many other food-additive and industrial products.
It can also be used to mean:
* The white juice and the processed meat of the
coconut in more-or-less liquid form, used especially in
Cuisine of Thailand Thai,
Indian cuisine Indian (
Kerala), and
Polynesian cuisine.
* A non-animal substitute such as
soy milk,
rice milk, and
almond milk.
*
Crop milk, the regurgitated substance
pigeons feed their young.
breast milk Human milk is fed to
infants through
breastfeeding, either directly or by the female expressing her milk to be saved and fed later. The early lactation milk is known as
colostrum, and carries the mother's
antibody antibodies to the baby. It can reduce the risk of many diseases in both mother and baby.
Composition and nutrition
The composition of milk differs widely between species. Factors such as the type of protein; the proportion of protein, fat, and sugar; the levels of various vitamins and minerals; and the size of the
butterfat globules and the strength of the
curd are among those than can vary.[http://www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/dairyedu/intro.html] For example:
* Human milk contains, on average, 1.1% protein, 4.2% fat, 7.0% lactose (a sugar), and supplies 72 kcal of energy per 100
grams.
*
Cow's milk contains, on average, 3.4% protein, 3.6% fat, and 4.6% lactose, and supplies 66 kcal of energy per 100 grams.
Lactose in milk is
digestion digested with the help of the
enzyme lactase. In humans, production of
lactase can decline in
adulthood, leading to an inability to digest milk; this is known as
lactose intolerance. Most human populations (most notably Europeans) retain the ability to digest lactose into adulthood.
Cow's milk
In the Western world, cow's milk is extracted on an industrial scale for human consumption and industrial uses. It is the most commonly consumed form of milk.
Dairy farming has become such a large business that in many countries the process is highly automated, with farmers using machines that attach directly to the
teats of the cow's
udder to speed milking, and breeds of
cattle, such as
Holstein (cattle) Holstein, specially bred for increased milk production.
Commercial processing of milk
Image:Cow milking machine in action DSC04132.jpg thumb|a cow-milking machine in action
In North America a
dairy facility processes milk and products obtained from milk (dairy products), such as
cream (food) cream,
butter, and
cheese. Most dairies are local companies, as opposed to large or nationwide companies found in the southern hemisphere.
Upon standing, fresh milk has a tendency to separate into a high-fat
cream (food) cream layer on top of a larger, low-fat milk layer. The cream is often sold as a separate product with its own uses. In the
United States, a blended mixture of half cream and half milk is often sold in smaller quantities and is called
half and half half-and-half. Half-and-half is used for creaming coffee and similar uses.
Milk produced for commercial consumption usually undergoes several processes.
Pasteurization kills many harmful microorganisms by heating the milk for a short time and then cooling it for storage and transportation. Pasteurized milk is still perishable and must be stored cold by both suppliers and consumers. Dairies print
expiration dates on each container, after which stores will remove any unsold milk from their shelves. In many countries it is illegal to sell milk that is not pasteurized.
A complementary process for commercial milk is
homogenization. This mechanically reduces the size of the fat globules, so that they will not separate out into a cream layer.
Milk, sold commercially in countries where the cattle (and often the people) live indoors, commonly has
vitamin D added to it to make up for lack of exposure to
Ultraviolet light UVB radiation. Milk often has
flavoring added to it for better taste or as a means of improving sales.
Chocolate-flavored milk has been sold for many years and has been followed recently by such other flavors as strawberry and banana.
South Australia has the highest consumption of flavoured milk per person, where
Farmers Union Iced Coffee outsells
Coca-Cola, a success shared only by
Inca Kola in
Peru and
Irn-Bru in
Scotland.
Those preferring
raw milk argue that the
pasteurization process also kills beneficial microorganisms and important nutritional constituents. The resulting pasteurized product is said to contribute to its own indigestability, be less nutritious, and turn
Rancidification rancid (as opposed to
Sour milk sour) with age. [http://www.realmilk.com/rawvpasteur.html Raw Milk Versus Pasteurized Milk]
=Nutritional benefits
=
Milk began contianing differing amounts of fat during the 1950's. A serving (1 cup or 250 ml) of 2%-fat milk contains 285 mg of
calcium, which represents 22% to 29% of the
daily recommended intake (DRI) of calcium for an adult, depending on the age, 8
grams of
protein, and a number of other nutrients (either naturally or through fortification):
*
Vitamin D Vitamins D and
vitamin K K - essential for bone health
*
Iodine - a mineral essential for thyroid function
*
Vitamin B12 and
Riboflavin - necessary for cardiovascular health and energy production
*
Biotin and
Pantothenic Acid - B vitamins important for energy production
*
Vitamin A - critical for immune function
*
Potassium and
Magnesium - for cardiovascular health
*
Selenium - cancer-preventive trace mineral
*
Thiamine - B-vitamin important for cognitive function, especially memory
* Conjugated
linoleic acid - beneficial fatty acid that inhibits several types of cancer in mice, has been shown to kill human skin cancer, colorectal cancer and breast cancer cells in in vitro studies, and may help lower cholesterol and prevent atherosclerosis; only available in milk from grass-fed cows
Studies show possible links between low-fat milk consumption and reduced risk of
arterial hypertension,
coronary heart disease, and
obesity. Overweight individuals who drink milk may benefit from decreased risk of
insulin resistance and type 2
Diabetes mellitus diabetes. [http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/NationalDairyCouncil/Nutrition/Reducing/DairysRoleManagingBP.htm]
=Nutritional side-effects
=
{{weasel words}}
Overconsumption of Cow's milk is argued to be unhealthy primarily due to its
fat and
cholesterol content. The following studies are used to support this position:
* Some milk is rich in
saturated fat, which studies have linked to increased risk of
atherosclerosis and
coronary heart disease. Low-fat and non-fat forms of milk may mitigate any such risk.
* Up to 70% of humans have an incomplete ability to digest milk,
lactose intolerance. For those individuals, milk may induce symptoms such as
cramping,
bloating,
flatulence gas, and
diarrhea. Certain ethnic groups may be more susceptible to these effects.
* Critics dispute the claim that drinking large amounts of milk can reduce the risk of bone fractures, especially in the elderly. Studies have failed to associate high calcium intakes with lower risk of hip and forearm fractures in men[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9278560] or women[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9224182].
* Critics of milk claim that plant-based sources of calcium are preferable, on the grounds that animal proteins in milk causes leaching or excretion of calcium from bones.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=8198060] Such critics refute the claim that milk prevents osteoporosis and make the counterclaim that milk, in fact, contributes to that disease.
* A study published in
June 2005 of 9- to 14-year-old children found that children who reported drinking the most glasses of milk per day gained the most weight. However overall calorie intake was a better predictor of weight gain. Researchers were surprised by their conclusion that weight gain was associated with dietary calcium and low-fat or skim milk, but not dairy fat. A limitation of this study was that it was based on self-reported dietary intake, a method of known to be fraught with large biases even when used by adults.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15939853][http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/76/4/766]
* A February 2005 an epidemiological study found a positive correlation between
acne and the consumption of milk, and other dairy products in high-school-age women.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15692464]. It has been suggested that this is linked to iodine and not restricted to milk. [http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=34698]
* Two studies show a correlation between high
galactose consumption, and high rates of
ovarian cancer. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=2510499][http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=2567871]
* A study suggests a correlation between high calcium intake and
prostate cancer.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9458087]. There is no evidence that any such problem is specific to milk. A review published by the
World Cancer Research Fund and the
American Institute for Cancer Research states that at least 11 human population studies have linked dairy product consumption and prostate cancer.
* Another source [http://www.thechinastudy.com/PDFs/ChinaStudy_Excerpt.pdf] claims, based on animal studies, that "casein, which makes up 87% of cow’s milk protein, promoted all stages of the cancer process."
Also there has been some controversy over whether or not humans, or any other mammals, are designed to consume milk after infancy. This article, published by
PETA, highlights some of the debate. http://www.notmilk.com/kradjian.html
Distribution
Image:Glass_milk_bottles.jpg thumb|150px|Glass milk bottles used for home delivery service
Image:Brique lait dsc04430.jpg France thumb|right|A brick of [[France|French UHT milk.html" title="Meaning of French.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|A brick of [[France|French">thumb|right|A brick of [[France|French
UHT milk">French.html" title="Meaning of thumb|right|A brick of [[France|French">thumb|right|A brick of [[France|French
UHT milk
Because of the perishable nature of milk, expeditious distribution is desirable. In many countries milk used to be delivered to households daily, but economic pressure has made milk delivery much less popular, and in many areas daily delivery is no longer available. People buy it chilled at grocery or convenience stores or similar retail outlets.
Prior to the widespread use of
plastics, milk was often distributed to consumers in
glass bottles, and before that in bulk that was ladled into the customer's container. In the
United Kingdom UK, milk can be delivered daily by a
milkman who travels his local
milk round (route) using a battery-powered
milk float, although this is becoming less popular as a result of supermarkets selling milk at cheaper prices. In
New Zealand, milk is no longer distributed in glass bottles.
In the United States bottles were replaced with
milk cartons, tall boxes with a square cross-section and a peaked top that can folded outward upon opening to form a spout. Now milk is increasingly sold in plastic bottles. First the gallon and half-gallon sizes were sold in plastic jugs while the smaller sizes were sold in
milk cartons. Recently milk has been sold in smaller resealable bottles made to fit in
automobile cup holders.
The half-pint milk carton is the traditional unit as a component of school lunches. In the US, pictures of missing children were printed on the larger milk cartons as a public service until it was determined that this was disturbing to children.
Milk preserved by the
UHT process is sold in boxes often called a "brick" that lack the peak of the traditional milk carton. Milk preserved in this fashion does not need to be refrigerated before opening and has a longer shelf life than milk in ordinary packaging.
Glass milk containers are rare these days. Most people purchase milk in plastic jugs or bags or in waxed-paper cartons.
Ultraviolet light from
fluorescent lamp fluorescent lighting can destroy some of the proteins in milk so many companies that once distributed milk in
Transparency (optics) transparent or highly
translucent containers are now using thicker materials that block the harmful rays. Many people feel that such "UV protected" milk tastes better.
Milk comes in a variety of containers with local variants:
*
United States: Commonly sold in
gallon, half-gallon and
quart containers (
U.S. customary units#Liquid volume U.S. customary units) of rigid plastic or, occasionally for sizes less than a gallon, waxed cardboard. The US single-serving size is usually the half-pint (about 240 ml).
*
Canada: A 1 1/3 litre plastic bag (sold as 4 litres in 3 bags) is the most common as bags are most economical[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1490691.stm]. Cartons of 2 litres, 1 litre, 500
millilitre, and 250 millilitre are also available. Typically, only corner stores carry 4 litre plastic jugs however in Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba they are commonplace in grocery stores.
* Parts of
Europe: Sizes of 500 millilitres, 1 litre (the most common), 2 litres and 3 litres are commonplace.
*
United Kingdom: Most stores stock the equivalents of old
Imperial unit Imperial sizes: 568 ml (1 pint), 1.136 l (2 pints), 2.273 l (4 pints), 3.408 l (6 pints) or, rarely, a combination including both metric and imperial sizes).
*
Australia and
New Zealand: Distributed in a variety of sizes, most commonly in
Tetra Paks for up to 1 litres, and plastic screw-top bottles beyond that. Most UHT-milk is packed in 1 litre paper containers with a sealed plastic spout.
*
South Africa: Commonly sold in 1 litre bags. The bag is then placed in a plastic jug and the corner cut off before the milk is poured.
Condensed milk is distributed in metal cans, 250 and 125 ml paper containers and 100 and 200 ml squeeze tubes, and
powdered milk (skim and whole) is distributed in boxes or bags.
Varieties and brands
Cow's milk is generally available in several varieties. In some countries these are:
* ''Full cream'' (or "''whole''" in North America, about 3.25% fat)
* ''Semi-skimmed'' ("''reduced fat''" or "''low fat''", about 1.5-1.8% fat)
* ''Skimmed'' (about 0.1% fat)
Milk in the U.S. and Canada is sold as:
* ''Whole'' varieties
* ''2 %'' (reduced fat)
* ''1 %'' (low fat)
* ''1/2 %'' (very low fat)
* ''Skim'' (no fat)
'''Note:''' In Canada "whole" milk refers to unhomogenized milk. "Homogenized" milk (or "Homo milk" in short) refers to milk which is 3.25% butterfat. Generally all store-bought milk in Canada has been homogenized, yet the term is also used as a name to describe butterfat content for a specific variety of milk. Modern commercial dairy processing techniques involve first removing all of the butterfat, and then adding back the appropriate amount depending on which product is being produced on that particular line.
In Britain, it is possible to get
Channel Island milk, which is 5.5% fat.
In the
United States of America United States, skim milk is also known as "''fat free''" milk, due to
United States Department of Agriculture USDA regulations stating that any food with less than 1/2 gram of fat per serving can be labeled "fat free".
Full cream, or whole milk, has the full milk fat content (about 3-4% if
Friesian- or
Holstein (cattle) Holstein-breed are the source). For skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, all of the fat content is removed and then some (in the case of semi-skimmed milk) is returned. The best-selling variety of milk is semi-skimmed; in some countries full-cream (whole) milk is generally seen as less healthy and skimmed milk is often thought to lack taste. Whole milk is recommended to provide sufficient fat for developing toddlers who have graduated from
breast milk or
infant formula.
Other milk animals
In addition to
cows, the following animals provide milk for dairy products:
*
Sheep
*
Goats
*
Horses
*
Donkeys
*
Camels (including the South American
camelids)
*
Yaks
*
Water buffalo
*
Reindeer
In
Russia and
Sweden, small
moose dairies also exist. Donkey and horse milk have the lowest fat content, while the milk of
pinniped seals contains more than 50% fat. [http://www.havemilk.com/article.asp?id=1485#contentbyspecies]
Whale's milk — not generally used for human consumption — is one of the highest-fat milks. It contains, on average, 10.9% protein, 42.3% fat, and 2.0% lactose, and supplies 443 kcal of energy per 100 grams.
Curdling
When
raw milk is left standing for a while, it turns sour. This is the result of
fermentation:
lactic acid bacteria turning the milk sugar into
lactic acid. This fermentation process is exploited in the production of various dairy products such as
cheese and
yogurt. There are four noted periods of milk decay:
* Rancid (also called "on the turn". Milk is still consumable at this stage)
* Curdling (separation of curd and whey will occur but may still be consumable)
* Coagulation (beyond use. A period of aromatic decay sets in accompanied by mould)
* Dry (beyond use. The milk has dehydrated and become hard and chalky)
Pasteurized cow's milk, on the other hand, spoils in a way that makes it unsuitable for consumption, causing it to assume an unpleasant odor and pose a high danger of
food poisoning if ingested. The naturally-occurring
lactic acid bacteria in raw milk, under suitable conditions, quickly produce large amounts of lactic acid. The ensuing
acidity in turn prevents other
germs from growing, or slows their growth significantly. Through pasteurization, however, these lactic acid bacteria are mostly destroyed, which means that other germs can grow unfettered and thus cause decomposition.
In order to prevent spoilage, milk can be kept
refrigerator refrigerated and stored between 1 and 4
Celsius degrees Celsius. Most milk is
pasteurized by heating briefly and then
refrigerator refrigerated to allow transport from
factory farming factory farms to local markets. The spoilage of milk can be forestalled by using ultra-high temperature (
UHT) treatment; milk so treated can be stored unrefrigerated for several months until opened. Sterilized milk, which is heated for a much longer period of time, will last even longer, but also lose more nutrients and assume a still different taste.
Condensed milk, made by removing most of the water, can be stored for many months, unrefrigerated. The most durable form of milk is
milk powder which is produced from milk by removing almost all
water.
Why milk expands on heating
Contrary to popular belief, milk does not actually reach boiling point faster than water. The reason behind the quick expansion of milk on heating is due to its chemical composition. Proteins have the ability of coating bubbles and stabilizing foams; milk is an
emulsion of very small fat droplets coated by casein.
At and below room temperature, droplets are arranged in a way that protects them from coalescing. On heating, this subtle architecture is destroyed: milk reaches a temperature (below boiling point of water) in which protein molecules are irreversibly changed in their spatial arrangement (
Denaturation (biochemistry) denatured). Casein, together with other components, thereby forms a tough film which surrounds the water vapour bubbles of boiling milk, preventing them from breaking. This has the effect that the milk is transformed into a relatively stable
foam, which occupies a much larger volume than the original liquid.
References
[http://www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/dairyedu/intro.html] Introduction to Dairy Science,Guelph
See also
*
Almond milk
*
Bovine somatotropin
*
Babcock test - determines the butterfat content of milk.
*
Dairy
*
Grain milk
*
Rice milk
*
Soy milk
*
Milk bottle
*
Raw milk
{{cookbook}}
External links
-
Milking in the early days
-
Advances in processing milk
-
Year-round grazing of dairy cows in the United States
-
''Milk is Milk Web site and blog''
-
''Boning Up on Osteoporosis''
-
Horse milk
-
Harvard School of Public Health: Calcium and Milk: describes claims of milk supporters and critics
-
USDA National Nutrient Database, Calcium contents of selected foods
-
USDA Dietary Reference Intakes: Elements
-
''Is cow's milk "the worst beverage on earth?"'' - straightdope.com response to anti-milk websites.
-
Bath Milk (
About.com), milk used for bathing
-
MilkSucks.Com - a site run by
PETA extolling the alleged benefits of going Dairy-free
-
http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/NationalDairyCouncil/ National Dairy Council
Category:Dairy products
Category:Milk *
Category:Non-alcoholic beverages
Category:Materials involved in Hinduism
af:Melk
ar:Øليب
bm:Nɔnɔ
br:Laezh
bs:Mlijeko
ca:Llet
cs:Mléko
cy:Llaeth
da:Mælk
de:Milch
et:Piim
es:Leche
eo:Lakto
fr:Lait
hr:Mlijeko
ko:ìš°ìœ
ia:Lacte
id:Susu
io:Lakto
is:Mjólk
it:Latte
he:חלב
la:Lac
li:Mèlk
lt:Pienas
mk:Млеко
nl:Melk
nds:Melk
ja:ä¹³
no:Melk
nn:Mjølk
pl:Mleko
pt:Leite
ro:Lapte
ru:Молоко
simple:Milk
sl:Mleko
sr:Млеко
fi:Maito
sk:Mlieko
sv:Mjölk
ta:பால�
th:นม
tt:Söt
tr:Süt
zh:奶
Category:Dairy products
Category:Beverages
cs:Kategorie:Mléko
de:Kategorie:Milch
fr:Catégorie:Lait
is:Flokkur:Mjólk
sr:Категорија:Млеко
sv:Kategori:Mjölk
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*** Shopping-Tip: Milk
