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Also Known As
Dry Whole Milk, Powdered Milk, Spray dried Milk.
Introduction
Marco Polo in the 13th century reported that soldiers of Kublai Khan carried sun-dried milk on their expeditions.
In more recent times, milk has been dried in thin films on heated rollers. The earliest patents for this process date from the turn of the century.
Such roller drying was the main means of producing milk powders until the 1960s when spray drying took over.
Description
Milk
powder is a manufactured dairy product, prepared by the process
evaporation of whole milk. The resulting powder form of milk is then
fortified with Vitamins A and D. It is then packaged. It is a white
colored powder, soft to feel. The main purpose of evaporating milk is to
increase its shelf life due to removal of water content from the
original liquid form milk, thus preserving the milk. Also transportation
becomes easier due to decrease in bulk size.
How to Select
The prominent one available in grocery store or food
malls is the Everyday milk creamer. Also Reliance Fresh offers loosely
sold milk powder. The packaging is varied as small sachets, or standard
sized packets or in tins. Also many countries export milk powder and you
can check and buy it online through internet. While buying from the
store, just see to it that there is no lump formation of the powder, may
be due to moisture, especially in rainy season. There are some, which
have more fat % as compared to others, so choice the 1 you need.
Culinary Uses
· Powdered milk has been a staple in many countries. It can be stored and reconstituted into milk by just adding water.
·
You can make home made Yogurt by reconstituting the whole milk powder
with warm water and mixing 1 tbsp of yogurt. Let it set untouched for
around 6-7 hours and can then refrigerate it for further use.
· Recipes like Sour cream or yogurt cream cheese, shrikhand, cottage cheese can also be made using the milk powder.
· Tasty White and cheese sauces can also be prepared using milk powder instead of whole milk.
· You can also make Sweetened Condensed milk using the whole milk powder. For making it :
· Blend ½ cup hot water, using a blender.
· Slowly add ¾ th cup sugar.
· Now add ¾ th cup milk powder
· Blend until smooth
· You can try adding butter or margarine if you want to use it for making shortenings.
How to Store
Dry
milk is easier to store due to its small size as compared to whole
milk, but its only disadvantage is that it does not taste the same as
the liquid form. Due to presence of milk fat, always store it in
refrigerator once you open the pack. Otherwise, a sealed pack can be
stored in a cool but dry place. You can remove it in a glass or vacuumed
plastic bottle. Use a dry spoon or scoop to remove it from the
container and lid it tightly after every use to avoid lumping of milk
powder, due to moisture. Once reconstituted, refrigerate it like other
milk beverages.
Health Benefits
Milk is a wholesome and complete food, that is widely considered as a balanced diet.
·
Milk powder contains almost the same amount of proteins (26%) and
carbohydrates (37%) as in the liquid form, though water content is
decreased to just 3%. However the fat % varies from 25- 28 % depending
on the company.
· The milk protein Casein is said to stimulate the whole body and helps in muscle- protein synthesis.
·
Milk powder is also fortified with vitamins A and D. Vitamin A helps to
improve vision whereas Vitamin D helps in the formation on Bones. Both
the vitamins play an important role in maintenance and repair of Skin.
· The calcium present in it promotes growth and maintenance of teeth and bones throughout the life.
Delphi.2000