Milk is one of the most favorite foods for most people. Moreover, it is quite interesting, because on the one hand, it is a drink, on the other, it removes hunger well. The debate about whether humanity drinks real milk or not does not subside to this day. Therefore, the question remains: how is milk made.
Dairy producers have long stated that it is unprofitable for them to make milk from powdered milk. To begin with, this is a very costly operation. Since you have to evaporate milk to make a powder out of it, and then restore it. The method is too long and clearly does not justify itself either financially or in terms of the usefulness of the product. Manufacturers claim that if they used this method, they would not get milk at all, but a dairy product. Therefore, we can say with firm confidence that real milk is on the store shelves.
The process of obtaining and making milk
Store milk is made from real milk. This means that it comes out from under the cow. And here it is worth considering a few nuances. So, for example, only a certain cow can give milk. According to its technical characteristics (if such a term can be applied to an animal), it must be at least 16 months old and weigh at least 300 kg. In addition, the cow must necessarily calve at least once - without this, milk production will be impossible.
The average life of a cow on a farm is 3-3.5 years. And all this time she can give milk. Moreover, the taste and shelf life of such a product does not depend at all on the age of the heifer.
The cows are milked three times a day with 7 hour intervals between milking. On average, about 70 tons of raw milk are produced per knocking on the farm. However, it is a mistake to think that it goes straight to bottling. In fact, milk is processed, resulting in 33 tons of milk, 28 tons of fermented milk products and 2 tons of cottage cheese.
After that, the milk is sent for processing in order to increase its shelf life. There are quite a few processing methods, and each has its own pros and cons.
Milk processing
If milk is collected at home, it is usually boiled. However, experts call this method far from the best, tk. useful qualities of the product are reduced, and very few vitamins and microelements remain.
In a factory, milk processing begins with its inspection and cleaning. First, all the necessary tests are applied to the product, and then they begin to purify it. The most popular way is the centrifuge. At the moment of unwinding, heavy particles are carried to the walls, where they settle. The result is refined milk that you can work with further.
The factories use heat treatment of milk, but in a slightly different way. The most popular option is pasteurization. It happens as follows. The milk is heated to 60 degrees and heated for an hour. So, useful substances are stored in it, because the temperature is not too high, and bacteria die.
Sometimes pasteurization is carried out at a temperature of 80 degrees, but the time is reduced to half an hour.
Another heat treatment option that is used to make milk is sterilization. In this case, milk is processed at temperatures above 100 degrees. This is necessary to kill all spores and bacteria, as well as enzymes. This process takes place as follows: milk is placed under a heat flow with a temperature of 135-155 degrees
For a few seconds. It is then immediately poured into sterile containers. The key to its safety is precisely the sterility of the packaging.
Experts note that sterile milk, having a longer shelf life, still tastes noticeably different from pasteurized milk.
