About Cream

Cream is a collection of fat droplets that float to the top of nonhomogenized whole milk. The heavier and thicker the cram, the higher the fat content. Cooling the cream firms its fat globules and makes it even thicker. Read more »

Sour Cream

Cream can be soured by Streptococcus lactis bacteria or some other acidifying agent. Light cream or half-and-half is fermented at 72^oF (22^oC) until the acidity from lactic acid reaches 0.5 percent. A thicker sour cream is produced if milk solids-not-fat (MSNF), vegetable gums (carrageenan), or certain enzymes are added. To be labeled sour cream, a minimum of 18 percent milk fat is required, although when sweeteners are added, the minimum milk fat content can be lowered to 14.4 percent. Lower-fat sour creams with half the fat content of standard sour cream, and sour cream substitutes, are also available.

Acidophilus Milk

Acidophilus milk is a cultured milk created with the assistance of Lactobacillus acidophilus. These bacteria break down lactose to glucose and galactose, resulting in twice as many sugar molecules. The resultingly somewhat sweeter milk, usually packaged in cartons, is made by inoculating pasteurized milk with L. acidophilus culture and letting it incubate at 99^oF (37^oC) until a slight curd forms. Read more »

About Buttermilk

Buttermilk contains little or no butterfat. Sweet natural buttermilk originally was the liquid left over after fresh cream had been chilled and churned to produce butter. Natural buttermilk is often dried and used in baked products and ice cream, because the phospholipids obtained from the fat-droplet membranes, which are broken down during churning, makes it an excellent emulsifier. Read more »

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.