Milk derivatives, What are dairy products and what are their benefits? Milk is a raw food material that is used in the production of a number of dairy products of different textures, taste, color and ingredients. Such as yogurt, curd, ayran, yellow and white cheeses, labneh, cream, butter, animal ghee, powdered milk, concentrated evaporated milk, whey, and others.
Milk is originally a water emulsion that contains fat globules, soluble sugars and proteins, within a specific pH.
Production treatments generally deal with the main components of milk, which are five components: water, pH, fats, proteins and sugars. The other ingredients in milk remain bound to the main ingredients, such as vitamins, minerals, salts, enzymes and antibodies.
Eating dairy products that are produced through milk fermentation is an advantage over consuming milk itself or non-fermented dairy products, in terms of reducing the incidence of cardiovascular diseases.
The quality of saturated fats found in dairy products is less harmful to heart health compared to the quality of saturated fats found in animal fats and meat.
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The main types of dairy products
Products made from milk are known as dairy or milk derivatives, and they are distinguished as a rich source of energy, and today they are many and varied, but we mention the most important of them:
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Cheeses
Cheese making began more than 4000 years ago in Asia, then moved to Europe and America, and introduced salt, resonance enzyme, and fermentation initiators in addition to milk in the manufacture of natural types of them, In general, there are eight main types of cheese: hard cheeses such as Parmesan, blue cheeses such as Gorgonzola, processed cheeses such as American cheese, semi-hard cheeses such as cheddar, soft and fresh cheeses such as ricotta, mozzarella cheese, aged soft cheeses such as Brie, and semi-soft cheeses such as havarti.
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Yogurt
Yogurt is known as a type of milk derivatives that is usually made from pasteurized milk by fermenting it by live bacteria and then placing it at a specific temperature to stimulate the growth of bacteria.
Thus, the lactose sugar in milk is fermented, resulting in the acid that gives milk its distinctive taste, which is known as lactic acid.
The most important types of yogurt: Greek yogurt, low-fat or fat-free yogurt, kefir containing a high percentage of probiotics important for digestion in the body, in addition to frozen yogurt.
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Butter
Butter contains a large amount of fat, and it is one of the types of milk products that are made by whipping milk cream to obtain a semi-solid consistency, and it is worth noting that the percentage of butter resulting from this process varies according to the quality of the milk and its fat content. Butter consists of 80-82% of milk fat, 16-17% of water, and the remaining percentage, which constitutes 1-2%, is milk, and added salt can also enter its production, and it contains a number of vitamins minerals, as well as flavoring compounds.
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Evaporated milk
Which is characterized by having a long shelf life, and is sterilized by heat, and is made by removing approximately 60% of the water in milk, and this type contains more than 16.5% of solids without fat, and 6.5% of milk fat, and 23% by weight of total milk solids.
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Sour cream
Which results from the addition of lactic acid-producing bacteria to pasteurized cream, and contains at least 18% of milk fat.
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Dried milk
Which is made by removing water from pasteurized skimmed milk, and contains 5% or less of water, and less than 1.5% of the weight of milk fat. It is considered one of the most preferred and consumed types of milk, whether by children or adults, because it is lighter on the stomach and tastes more delicious than regular milk.
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Benefits of dairy products
- Promote dental and bone health
- Maintain heart health
- Providing the body with the necessary amounts of proteins
- Promote digestive health
- Protection from the risk of osteoporosis in old age
- Helps in losing weight and protects against the possibility of gaining it
- Provides the body with an abundance of the essential nutrients it needs to promote health
- Contains important vitamins such as: Vitamin D, Vitamin A, and Vitamin B12
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