Cultured or fermented milk products have been used for centuries. Some cultured milk products commonly consumed in North America are buttermilk, yogurt, acidophilus milk, kefir, and sour cream. The one factor that all cultured milk products have in common is that they have had bacterial cultures added to them in order to ferment their lactose to lactic acid. Read more »

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. Read more »

Sweetened condensed milk contains a high quantity of added sugar, which makes it ideal for preparation of desserts, especially pies and cheesecake. After whole milk has been evaporated by 50 percent by weight, 15 percent sugar in the form of dextrose or corn syrup is added. Sweetened condensed milk is defined as containing at least 28 percent total milk solids and about 8 percent milk fat. Read more »

Evaporated milk is produced by evaporating at least 60 percent of the water found in whole milk. By definition, evaporated milk contains at least 7.5 percent milk fat, 25.5 percent milk solids-not-fat by weight, and is fortified with vitamin D. Evaporated milk provides 338 calories (kcal) and 19 grams of fat per cup. Read more »

A milk-like product that is not from any mammal is soy milk, which is made from soybeans that have been soaked, ground, and strained. Soy milk has been known for centuries in China and Japan. Now it is consumed as a milk-like liquid, is used to make tofu (the cheese of soy milk) Read more »

Filled milk is a skim milk made by replacing all or part of the milk fat with a vegetable fat other than from dairy cows. Cholesterol levels drop to zero in filled milk, but if the fat substitute is a saturated vegetable oil such as coconut or palm oil, there is a higher ratio of saturated to polyunsaturated fats. Both imitation and filled milks are regulated at the state rather than the federal level. Filled milk is currently available widely in the Asian supermarkets throughout United States.

Carbonated Milk

Carbonated milk is a new product that has been called the “soft drink that is not junk food”. It is simply milk that has had carbonated bubbles added to make it fizz like a soda. Regardless of whether milk is carbonated or not, it has a higher nutrient density than any soft drink. Read more »

Eggnog

Packaged, commercially produced eggnog is manufactured to replicate a traditional rich holiday beverage made with eggs, cream or milk, nutmeg, and often added spirits. It is sold predominantly during Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and is defined as a pasteurized and homogenized mixture of milk, cream, milk solids, eggs, stabilizers, and spice. Read more »

Chocolate Milk
Pasteurized milk containing 1.5 percent liquid chocolate or 1 percent cocoa and 5 percent sugar, can be called chocolate milk. Chocolate milk is actually a suspension in which the continuous phase consists of milk fat and cocoa butter, while the dispersed phase includes the cocoa particles, fat-free (nonfat) milk solids, and sugar. Read more »

Unopened, aseptically sealed packages of UHT milk can be stored on shelves without refrigeration for up to three months. UHT milk has a “cooked” flavor at first, which tends to disappears with storage time. After one year, UHT milk develops off-flavors described as sweet, flat, musty, rancid and chalky. Chilling UHT milk before serving improves its taste. Once opened, UHT milk must be refrigerated and handled with the same care used for fresh milk. Although it is slightly more expensive than fresh milk and not widely distributed, UHT milk is ideal for boating, camping, hiking, and other situations where refrigeration is not always available.