Skip to main content
Chemistry LibreTexts

6.1: Introduction to Dairy Products

  1. Last updated
  2. Save as PDF
  • Page ID
    93600

    • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    Milk and milk products are some of our oldest and best-known natural foods. In baking, milk is used fresh, condensed, powdered, skimmed, or whole. The great bulk, weight, and perishability of fresh milk plus the expense of refrigeration makes it a relatively high-cost ingredient, and for this reason, most modern bakeries use non-fat powdered milk or buttermilk powder.

    Over the past 20 years, there has been a trend to lower fat content in dairy products. This reflects the high caloric value of milk fat, and also is compatible with the trend to leaner, healthier nutrition. These “low-fat” products often have the fat replaced with sugars, so care must be taking in substituting these ingredients
    in a recipe. For bakers, this trend has not meant any great changes in formulas: a 35% milk fat or a 15% cream cheese product usually works equally well in a cheesecake. Some pastry chefs find lowering the richness in pastries and plated desserts can make them more enjoyable, especially after a large meal.

    Table 1 provides the nutritional properties of milk products.

    Table 1 Nutritional properties of milk products (per 100 g)
      Whole Milk (3.5% milk fat) Skim Milk (0.1% milk fat) Coffee Cream (18% milk fat) Heavy or Whipping Cream (36% milk fat)
    Protein 3.22 g 3.37 g 3g 2g
    Fat 3.25 g 0.08 g 19 g 37 g
    Cholesterol 10 mg 2 mg 66 mg 137 mg
    Potassium 143 mg 156 mg 122 mg 75 mg
    Calcium 113 mg 125 mg 96 mg 65 mg
    Magnesium 10 mg 11 mg 9 mg 7 mg
    Sodium 40 mg 42 mg 40 mg 40 mg
    Vitamin A (IU) 102 IU 204 IU 656 IU 1470 IU

    Note: Besides the elements shown in Table 1, all dairy products contain vitamin B-complex. IU = International Units, a term used in nutritional measurement

    This page titled 6.1: Introduction to Dairy Products is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Sorangel Rodriguez-Velazquez via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.