Dry Milk
Comments(0)About Dry Milk
Many milk products can be dried, but by far the most common product is nonfat dried milk. Nonfat dried milk can be made from whole, reduced fat (2 percent), low fat (1 percent), or fat-free (nonfat) milks, as well as buttermilk, but nonfat is usually selected because it contains the least fat. Regardless of the milk chosen, the milk is dried by either spray, foam-spray, or roller drying processes. In spray drying, concentrated milk is sprayed into hot air, while foam-spray drying sends a jet of hot air into the concentrated milk. Roller drying consists of moving pasteurized fluid or condensed milk through two steam-heated rollers.
After the fat-free (nonfat) milk is dried, vitamins A and D may be added, although they are not required. Dried milks that originally contained some fat are required to be fortified with vitamin A and identified as “fortified with vitamins A and D”. Overall, nonfat dried milk is nutritionally similar to fat-free (nonfat) milk, except that the levels of vitamins may be reduced by 20 percent. The absence of fat also gives it a long shelf life; nonfat dried milk can keep for about 1 year in a cool, dry storage area. The calcium and protein content of meals or beverages can be increased easily by adding nonfat dried milk to puddings, shakes, soups, casseroles, milk, and many other food combinations. Although it is inferior in taste to fluid milks, reconstituted nonfat dried milk is ideal for making batters and doughs for baked goods.
“Instant Milk” is different from regular nonfat dried milk. It is manufactured by exposing nonfat dried milk to steam, after which it is redried. The double drying helps instant milk achieve the ability to agglomerate and instantly dissolve in cold water. Generally, about 1/3 cup of instant nonfat dried milk will reconstitute into 1 cup of fluid milk, but manufacturers’ instructions will vary. Allowing the reconstituted milk to refrigerate for several hours, and adding a teaspoon of vanilla to a half gallon of reconstituted chilled nonfat dried milk, make it taste more like regular milk. Also, more milk solids can be added by commercial food manufacturers to make it more flavorful and nutritious.
