Dairy Products
Learning Objectives
- Identify and describe milk and dairy products used in the food service industry
- Describe the production of milk and dairy products
- Describe the function of milk and dairy products in baking
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 15 provides the nutritional properties of milk products.
| Nutrient | 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 | 3 g | 2 g |
| 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 15, all dairy products contain vitamin B-complex.
“IU” stands for International Units, a term used in nutritional measurement.
