What is milk?

milk, liquid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals to nourish their young
for a period beginning immediately after birth. The milk of domesticated animals is also
an important food source for humans, either as a fresh fluid or processed into a number
of dairy products such as butter and cheese.

Milk is essentially an emulsion of fat and protein in water, along with

dissolved sugar (carbohydrate), minerals, and vitamins. These constituents are present
in the milk of all mammals, though their proportions differ from one species to another
and within species.

1) Whole Milk

Whole milk refers to minimally adulterated milk that contains its original fat
content.

Since it has a higher fat content than most other milk products, whole milk
also contains more calories.

On the positive side, it has a fuller and creamier taste than reduced-fat
options.

Whole milk is typically 3.25% milkfat within the United States, but this may
change depending on the country.

For instance, whole milk in the United Kingdom has a milk fat content of
3.5% (1).
Here are the nutritional values for a regular 246-gram cup of whole milk (2):
 Calories: 149 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 11.7g
 Sugars: 11.7g
 Fat: 7.98g
 Saturated fat: 4.54g
 Monounsaturated fat: 1.98g
 Polyunsaturated fat: 0.47g
 Protein: 7.69g
 Protein per 100 calories: 5.16 grams
2) Reduced Fat Milk (2% Milk)

Reduced-fat milk has a 2% milkfat content.

Outside of the United States, in countries such as the United Kingdom and
Australia, similar milk products may also take the name of ‘semi-skimmed
milk.’

2% milk contains fewer calories than regular whole milk, and it tastes more
like whole milk than milk options with even lower fat levels.

Per 245-gram glass serving, reduced-fat milk provides the following

nutritional values (3):
 Calories: 125 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 12.2g
 Sugars: 12.2g
 Fat: 4.7g
 Saturated fat: 2.94g
 Monounsaturated fat: 1.36g
 Polyunsaturated fat: 0.17g
 Protein: 8.53g
 Protein per 100 calories: 6.82 grams
3) 1% Milk

As its name may suggest, 1% milk has a milkfat content of 1%.

As a result, the milk has a less creamy taste and contains significantly fewer
calories.

A regular 245-gram cup of 1% milk has the following nutritional properties

(4):
 Calories: 105 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 12.2g
 Sugars: 12.2g
 Fat: 2.38g
 Saturated fat: 1.48g
 Monounsaturated fat: 0.69g
 Polyunsaturated fat: 0.1g
 Protein: 8.53g
 Protein per 100 calories: 8.12 grams
4) Skim Milk
Skim milk is virtually fat-free and contains significantly fewer calories than
reduced-fat milk options.

As a result, it tends to be an excellent protein source as the protein to calorie

ratio is very high.

However, it has a much more watery consistency than whole milk, and it
does not have a creamy taste. For this reason, many people find it doesn’t
compare well in terms of taste.

The nutritional values per 245-gram cup of skim milk are as below (5):
 Calories: 83 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 12.2g
 Sugars: 12.2g
 Fat: 0.2g
 Saturated fat: 0.14g
 Monounsaturated fat: 0.05g
 Polyunsaturated fat: 0.01g
 Protein: 8.26g
 Protein per 100 calories: 9.95 grams

5) Channel Island Milk

Channel Island milk refers to the milk produced by Jersey and Guernsey
cattle breeds.

These breeds were originally from the Channel Islands, but they now produce
milk in countries around the world.

Compared to milk from cattle that most milk comes from (Holstein Friesians),
whole milk from Jersey and Guernsey cattle has a higher fat and protein
content.

For this reason, the milk has a slightly thicker consistency and a much
creamier taste.

One 245-ml cup of Channel Island milk will offer the following nutritional
values (6):
 Calories: 194 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 11.27g
 Sugars: 11.27g
 Fat: 12.25g
 Saturated fat: 7.84g
  Protein: 9.8g
 Protein per 100 calories: 5.05 grams
Types of Milk
6) Chocolate Milk

While there are many different flavored milk options, chocolate milk is
arguably the most common option.

Interestingly, chocolate milk provides a slightly higher amount of minerals

than regular milk due to its cocoa content (7).
Although the ingredients can vary, chocolate milk is usually a combination of
dairy milk, cocoa powder, sugar, and sometimes thickeners.

A 250-ml cup of chocolate milk offers these nutritional values (7):

 Calories: 208 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 25.8g
 Sugars: 23.8g
 Fat: 8.48g
 Saturated fat: 5.25g
 Monounsaturated fat: 2.48g
 Polyunsaturated fat: 0.31g
 Protein: 7.92g
 Protein per 100 calories: 3.81 grams
See this in-depth guide to chocolate milk for more information.
7) Half and Half

Half and half is a combination of whole milk and cream.

As the name implies, half and half contains 50% whole milk and 50% cream.

Half and half is often used in the kitchen for making soups and sauces rather
than being for drinking.

The product can be a good compromise when cream is too heavy, and milk is
too light for a particular dish or usage.

A regular 242-gram cup of half and half has the following nutritional profile
(8):
 Calories: 317 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 10.4g
 Sugars: 10g
 Fat: 27.8g
 Saturated fat: 17.0g
  Monounsaturated fat: 8.03g
 Polyunsaturated fat: 1.34g
 Protein: 7.58g
 Protein per 100 calories: 1.20 grams
8) Ultra-high Temperature Milk (UHT)

Ultra-high temperature milk is regular milk that has gone through a

pasteurization process at an ultra-high temperature.

According to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), this

temperature must be 138ºC (280ºF) or above for at least 2.0 seconds (9).
Notably, UHT-processed milk still has the same nutritional properties as
regular milk. However, it has a much longer shelf-life of approximately 30 to
90 days when refrigerated (10).
When tested by a trained sensory panel, the panel noted that UHT milk had
“distinct cooked and sulfur flavors” compared with regular milk (11).
The nutritional profile of UHT milk will depend on the type (whole/reduced
fat/fat-free) of milk.

9) Lactose-free Milk

The name of the primary sugar in milk is lactose.

However, much of the world’s population is lactose-intolerant. This means

that regular milk can cause digestive symptoms in many people (12).
For this reason, lactose-free varieties of milk are available.

Notably, “lactose-free milk” still contains lactose, but producers add an

enzyme called lactase to it. Lactase is the enzyme that helps break lactose
down, which people with lactose intolerance do not produce in sufficient
quantities (13).
Once again, the specific nutritional values of lactose-free milk can differ
depending on the type of milk (whole/skim).

That said, here are the nutritional values of lactose-free whole milk per 244-
gram cup (14):
 Calories: 146 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 11.7g
 Sugars: 11.7g
 Fat: 7.81g
 Saturated fat: 4.54g
 Monounsaturated fat: 1.68g
 Polyunsaturated fat: 0.26g
 Protein: 8g
 Protein per 100 calories: 5.48 grams
10) Buttermilk

Buttermilk is a drink made from the bacterial fermentation of milk using a

lactic acid-producing culture (15).
Compared to milk, buttermilk has a thicker consistency and a slightly sour
taste.

However, buttermilk is very close to regular milk in nutritional value.

Here are the nutritional properties for buttermilk made from whole milk, per
245-gram cup (16):
 Calories: 152 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 12g
 Sugars: 12g
 Fat: 8.11g
 Saturated fat: 4.66g
 Monounsaturated fat: 2.03g
 Polyunsaturated fat: 0.49g
 Protein: 7.86g
 Protein per 100 calories: 3.6 grams
See this guide for more information on buttermilk.
11) Evaporated Milk

Evaporated milk is a sweet milk-based drink, often used with cakes and other
desserts.

Despite being sweet, evaporated milk contains no added sugar or additional

ingredients.

Instead, the production process involves heating milk and letting some of the
water content evaporate from it.

The result is that evaporated milk has a thicker consistency and double the
sugar content of regular milk. Thus, it has a sweeter taste (17).
Since the water content of evaporated milk is much lower, it also has higher
protein, fat, and calorie levels.

A 252-gram of evaporated milk provides the following nutritional values (18).

 Calories: 338 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 25.2g
 Sugars: 25.2g
 Fat: 19.1g
 Saturated fat: 11.6g
  Monounsaturated fat: 5.9g
 Polyunsaturated fat: 0.62g
 Protein: 17.2g
 Protein per 100 calories: 5.09 grams
See this full guide to evaporated milk for more information
12) Goat Milk

While most commercial milk comes from cattle, goat milk is a relatively
common alternative.

Some people feel there is a difference in taste, with “grassy” being one
common descriptor, but others find it hard to notice any difference.

The nutritional differences are minimal, too; the values per 244-gram cup of
whole goat milk are below (19):
 Calories: 168 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 10.9g
 Sugars: 10.9g
 Fat: 10.1g
 Saturated fat: 6.52g
 Monounsaturated fat: 2.71g
 Polyunsaturated fat: 0.36g
 Protein: 8.69g
 Protein per 100 calories: 5.17 grams

13) Milk Powder (Whole Milk)

Milk powder (sometimes known as powdered milk) is produced from an

evaporation process that removes all the liquid from milk.

Since it has no water content, the remaining milk powder has a much higher
nutrient density.

Milk powder has multiple uses, and it is used in baby formulas, food
production (e.g. milk chocolate), and baking.

Per 100 grams, whole milk powder has the following nutritional profile (20):
 Calories: 387 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 49g
 Sugars: 49g
 Fat: 5.78g
 Saturated fat: 3.6g
 Monounsaturated fat: 1.67g
  Polyunsaturated fat: 0.22g
 Protein: 34.3g
 Protein per 100 calories: 8.86 grams
14) Milk Powder (Skim Milk)

Compared to whole milk powder, milk powder made from skim milk has less
fat and calories.

Gram-for-gram skim milk powder also contains more protein and

carbohydrates.

Here are the nutritional values per 100 grams of skim milk powder (21):
 Calories: 360 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 52g
 Sugars: 52g
 Fat: 0g
 Saturated fat: 0g
 Protein: 36g
 Protein per 100 calories: 10.0 grams
15) Condensed Milk

The process of making condensed milk is the same as evaporated milk.

When heating milk, some of the water evaporates, and the remaining milk
becomes more concentrated.

However, condensed milk usually contains large amounts of added sugar,

making it even sweeter.

A typical 304-gram cup of condensed milk has the following nutritional

values (22):
 Calories: 976 kcal
 Carbohydrate: 165g
 Sugars: 165g
 Fat: 26.4g
 Saturated fat: 16.7g
 Monounsaturated fat: 7.39g
 Polyunsaturated fat: 1.02g
 Protein: 24g
 Protein per 100 calories: 2.46 grams
Milk terms
1. Pasteurization – is a process of heating of foodstuff, usually a liquid, for a definite time at a
definite temperature and thereafter cooling it immediately.
Homogenization – fat globules are subjected to mechanical treatment which breaks them down
into smaller globules, uniformly dispersed in the milk.
3. Certified Milk – fresh milk of high purity to be delivered to the customer within 36 hours. The
number of bacteria is 10,000 or less per ml.
4. Pasteurized milk – milk heated to a temperature of not lower than 145°F for a period of not
less than 30 minutes.
5. Homogenized milk – milk that contains finer globules of butterfat than those present in fresh
milk. It is prepared by passing fresh milk through small openings by pressure.
6. Evaporated milk – fresh milk which has been evaporated to a concentration of 73.7% water.
It contains 7% protein, 7.9% fat, 9.9% lactose and 1.5% minerals.
7. Condensed milk – concentrated milk to which sugar has been added. It has 27% water, 8.1%
protein, 54.8% lactose and 1.7% minerals.
8. Dried or powder milk – dried milk obtained by evaporating the moisture from the milk solids.
Filled milk – milk where the butterfat is replaced with vegetable fat such as coconut fat.
9. Recombined milk – dry skim milk , dry buttermilk plus butter oil.
10. Reconstituted milk – milk powder plus water.

Milk Synthesis

Milk synthesis starts in the epithelial cells of the mammary gland at the end
of pregnancy to support the nutrition and promote the health of the off-
spring. Milk contain vital nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids,
minerals and vitamins, together with bioactive substances including
immunoglobulins, peptides, antimicrobial factors, hormones and growth
factors (Clare & Swaisgood, 2000; Grosvenor, Picciano, & Baumrucker,
1993).

Synthetic Processes
Detailed accounts of the synthesis of milk components are beyond the scope
of this article, and the reader is referred to reviews published in the
Proceedings of the 41st Symposium of the Zoological Society (fat, Dils et al.,
1977; proteins, Mepham, 1977b; lactose and other milk sugars, Jones,
1977). Some important points are deserving of emphasis. There is nothing
unusual about mammary protein synthesis: Amino acids are taken up by
specific transporters, protein is synthesized in the ribosomes of the rough
endoplasmic reticulum, and protein granules then accumulate in the Golgi
apparatus prior to secretion. The major synthesized proteins are the
caseins, α-lactalbumin (all species), and β-lactoglobulin (absent from some
species, including humans). Other proteins in milk are mainly derived from
plasma, although there is evidence that some (acute phase proteins, for
instance; Eckersall et al., 2006) may be synthesized locally within the
mammary gland by endothelial or other cell types. A cross-lactational study
of the bovine milk proteome (Zhang et al., 2015) revealed less than 10%
variation in the number of proteins expressed at different stages of
lactation, these changes being mainly in immune-related proteins; lower in
mid-lactation than either early lactation (important for protection in the
neonate) or late lactation (important for protection in the mammary gland).
Uniquely among animal cells, α-lactalbumin orchestrates the utilization of
glucose by the Golgi apparatus for the synthesis of lactose. The precursors
for lactose synthesis are glucose and galactose, irrespective of species,
but fat synthesis is very much species-dependent. In non-ruminants the
major precursor is once again glucose, whereas in ruminants (which have
relatively low glucose availability) the principal precursor is acetate. It is
apparent, therefore, that glucose supply to and uptake by the mammary
secretory cell is a major determinant of milk synthesis. The mammary gland
is insulin-independent, possessing glucose transporters (GLUTs) 1 and 8
primarily (Zhao, 2014). The expression of these GLUTs increases
dramatically during lactogenesis II, although this appears to be a
consequence of local hypoxia rather than endocrine stimulation. Exactly
how intracellular glucose is specifically trafficked to the Golgi for lactose
synthesis is unknown.

Milk let down

The milk letdown reflex in cows stimulates milk flow from the alveoli
in the udder into the teat canal. It has to occur before a cow will
milk out freely. The benefits of ensuring milk letdown has occurred
include improved milking efficiency and maximised milk production.
Here you will find information to help you understand more about
encouraging milk flow, identifying issues that may be causing
interrupted milk letdown, techniques to promote calmer cows and
creating ideal dairy environments

How milk let down occurs

How milk letdown occurs

An understanding of how milk letdown occurs will help milkers manage the milking process in a
way which encourages it. Cows that letdown just prior to cup attachment will milk out more
completely. Milk is initially secreted into small sacs within the mammary gland called alveoli, it
is from here that it is ejected for consumption or harvesting.

Mammary alveoli are surrounded by smooth muscle cells which are a prominent target cell for
oxytocin. Oxytocin stimulates contraction of these cells, causing milk to be ejected into the ducts
and cisterns above the teat

Oxytocin only lasts for 6-8 minutes therefore the goal is to attach the milking machine about 1
minute after beginning udder preparation. A cow might not be milked out rapidly or completely
if the stimulation or the follow through with the machine does not go smoothly. The following
may cause a cow not to let her milk down fully:  Inadequate udder preparation  Too much
time between stimulation and putting on the machine  Pain or fear caused by someone hitting
or yelling at the cow  A problem with the milking machine (not enough suction or improper
placement of the machine) Some milkers inject oxytocin into the teat to help the cow let her
milk down well. While this can help in some occasions, a cow can become dependent on the
injection and will no longer be able to produce oxytocin naturally

MILK PRODUCTS AND BY PRODUCTS

Dry milk products

Milk and by-products of milk production are often dried to reduce weight, to
aid in shipping, to extend shelf life, and to provide a more useful form as an
ingredient for other foods. In addition to skim and whole milk, a variety of
useful dairy products are dried, including buttermilk, malted milk, instant
breakfast, sweet cream, sour cream, butter powder, ice
cream mix, cheese whey, coffee creamer, dehydrated cheese products,
lactose, and caseinates. Many drying plants are built in conjunction with a
butter-churning plant. These plants utilize the skim milk generated from the
separated cream and the buttermilk produced from churning the butter.
Most products are dried to less than 4 percent moisture to prevent bacterial
growth and spoilage. However, products containing fat lose their freshness
rather quickly owing to the oxidation of fatty acids, leading to rancidity.