26% fat milk powder is manufactured by pasteurising and making homogenous fresh liquid milk. Water is then removed by evaporation and by spray drying or roller drying.
The first milk drying technique that was used was roller drying. Its low investment and energy costs explain why spray drying took a long time to develop in the dairy industry. This technique only became predominant in the 1970s. Nowadays spray drying is the most used technique for milk dehydration.
Roller drying is still used for specific applications such as manufacturing milk powder with high free fat content, milk powder that has a strong Maillard reaction for chocolate confectionery or caseinate powders.
Full cream milk powder is especially used in Bakery, for Viennese Pastry, Pastry, Chocolate and Confectionery.
Dehydrated 26% fat milk powder has all the advantages and benefits of the drinking whole fat milk. Its dried form enables longer conservation of the product (at least 6 additional months). This is the reason why industrials use it for so many purposes. It is also possible to prevent taste spoilage due to fat oxidation by packing powder in inert gas.
Possible uses of 26% fat full cream milk powder and their advantages
- Bakery, Viennese pastry, Pastry, Chocolate:
- Oven-made products:
- Hydrophilic / hydrating agents from full cream milk proteins give a better texture and help maintain preservation quality of the finished products.
- Browning / colouring due to Maillard reaction, lactose and proteins react with other sugars during baking and give colour and aroma (caramel, brown malt) to the products.
- Ready-made dishes:
- Soups, sauces, dressing:
- Emulsion: proteins act as an interface between oil and water in order to steady fat emulsion.
- Desserts, ice-creams, fresh dairy produce, candy:
- Mousses, cakes, meringues, marshmallows, ice creams:
- Frothing / whisking: proteins act as an interface between air and water in order to create a steady film of bubbles.
- Custard, pudding, firm yoghurts, confectionery:
- Thickening / gelling: lactose and proteins have hydrophilic properties that have an influence on viscosity.
- Coffee colouring:
- Whitening effect / dispersible abilities: milk powder helps steady coffee colouring as a whitening agent that work even at the low pH and high temperature that coffee colouring has to support.
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