History and manufacture
While Marco Polo wrote of Mongolian Tatar troops in the time of Kublai Khan carrying sun-dried skimmed milk as "a kind of paste", the first usable commercial production of dried milk was invented by the Russian chemist M. Dirchoff in 1832. In 1855, T.S. Grimwade took a patent on a dried milk procedure, though a William Newton had patented a vacuum drying process as early as 1837. Today, powdered milk is usually made by spray drying nonfat skim milk, whole milk, buttermilk or whey.
Pasteurized milk is first concentrated in an evaporator to about 50% milk solids. The resulting concentrated milk is sprayed into a heated chamber where the water almost instantly evaporates, leaving fine particles of powdered milk solids.
Alternatively, the milk can be dried by drum drying. Milk is applied as a thin film to the surface of a heated drum, and the dried milk solids are then scraped off. Powdered milk made this way tends to have a cooked flavor, due to caramelization caused by greater heat exposure.
Another process is freeze drying, which preserves many nutrients in milk, compared to drum drying. The drying method and the heat treatment of the milk as it is processed alters the properties of the milk powder (for example, solubility in cold water, flavor, bulk density).
Uses
Powdered milk is frequently used in the manufacture of infant formula, confectionery such as chocolate and caramel candy, and in recipes for baked goods where adding liquid milk would render the product too thin.
Powdered milk is also a common item in UN food aid supplies, fallout shelters, warehouses, and wherever fresh milk is not a viable option. It is widely used in many developing countries because of reduced transport and storage costs (reduced bulk and weight, no refrigerated vehicles). As with other dry foods, it is considered nonperishable, and is favored by survivalists, hikers, and others requiring nonperishable, easy-to-prepare food.
Reconstituting one cup of milk from powdered milk requires one cup of potable water and one-third cup of powdered milk. Powdered milk is also used in western blots as a blocking buffer to prevent nonspecific protein interactions, and is referred to as Blotto.
While Marco Polo wrote of Mongolian Tatar troops in the time of Kublai Khan carrying sun-dried skimmed milk as "a kind of paste", the first usable commercial production of dried milk was invented by the Russian chemist M. Dirchoff in 1832. In 1855, T.S. Grimwade took a patent on a dried milk procedure, though a William Newton had patented a vacuum drying process as early as 1837. Today, powdered milk is usually made by spray drying nonfat skim milk, whole milk, buttermilk or whey.
Pasteurized milk is first concentrated in an evaporator to about 50% milk solids. The resulting concentrated milk is sprayed into a heated chamber where the water almost instantly evaporates, leaving fine particles of powdered milk solids.
Alternatively, the milk can be dried by drum drying. Milk is applied as a thin film to the surface of a heated drum, and the dried milk solids are then scraped off. Powdered milk made this way tends to have a cooked flavor, due to caramelization caused by greater heat exposure.
Another process is freeze drying, which preserves many nutrients in milk, compared to drum drying. The drying method and the heat treatment of the milk as it is processed alters the properties of the milk powder (for example, solubility in cold water, flavor, bulk density).
Uses
Powdered milk is frequently used in the manufacture of infant formula, confectionery such as chocolate and caramel candy, and in recipes for baked goods where adding liquid milk would render the product too thin.
Powdered milk is also a common item in UN food aid supplies, fallout shelters, warehouses, and wherever fresh milk is not a viable option. It is widely used in many developing countries because of reduced transport and storage costs (reduced bulk and weight, no refrigerated vehicles). As with other dry foods, it is considered nonperishable, and is favored by survivalists, hikers, and others requiring nonperishable, easy-to-prepare food.
Reconstituting one cup of milk from powdered milk requires one cup of potable water and one-third cup of powdered milk. Powdered milk is also used in western blots as a blocking buffer to prevent nonspecific protein interactions, and is referred to as Blotto.
