• +91 882 488 8577
  • admin@jagsfresh.com
New Delhi, 110033

The Modern Milk Variants

 

Have you ever wondered, why milk is considered as the most important and healthy drink for the human body? Packed with calcium, proteins, vitamins and many more nutritious components, milk is the most essential and nutrient rich beverage. Due to it’s myriads of health benefits, many options for milk opens up which includes plant-based milk for vegans and lactose free milk for those who are lactose-intolerant.

With the help of food technologists from all around the world, milk has been processed to make it safer and more nutritious with proper pasteurization and fortification. Several ways of processing have been done to come up with more varieties like – Whole Milk, Low-Fat Milk, Skimmed Milk, Ultra High Temperature Milk, A2 and A1 Milk.

Let’s take a look at each one of them with their nutritional benefits and why they all our good for human body.

1. Whole Milk or Fresh Milk – It’s rich in taste and is higher in calories, containing 150 calories in 8 ounce of milk, 8 grams of protein, 8 grams of fat, including 5 grams of saturated fat.

2. Low Fat Milk – LFM has less fat with 8 ounce of milk containing 2.5 grams of fat in 100 calories; relatively low-calorie source of milk for all the weight watchers.     

3. Skimmed Milk – Skimmed Milk is virtually fat free but it’s all other nutrients remain intact.

Note: These are Pasteurized Milk i.e. milk is heated up to 72 degree celsius for 15 seconds, and then cooled down to 6 degree celsius to kill all the pathogenic bacteria. It is a common Indian household tradition to boil the milk before refrigeration which is nothing but same as pasteurization. Even the pack states that “you don’t have to boil this milk” as it is already pasteurized and is free from all pathogenic bacteria. In USA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bans the interstate sale or distribution of raw milk. Milk sold across must be pasteurized and should meet all quality standards.

Below are three specialized varieties of milk:

4. UHT (Ultra Heat Temperature) Milk:  This milk is heated up to 135 degree celsius for 4 seconds and then cooled rapidly. UHT milk is free from microorganisms in the vegetative state. The main advantage of UHT Milk is – it            can be transported and can be stored at room temperature and has no additives or preservatives as required by regulatory bodies. UHT Milk is mostly used by café’s or restaurants as it has longer shelf life because UHT              processing of milk has shelf life of 5-6 months which makes it a perfect choice.

5. A1 & A2 Milk:

    Both A1 and A2 milk comes from the same source that is the cow, there is a considerable difference in terms of chemical composition. A1 milk has A1 & A2 type of protein (casein), whereas A2 milk has only A2 type if protein        (casein). This is important because the way the milk is broken down and metabolised in the system is different. Further, due to availability factor, the A1 milk is relatively cheaper and easier to find than A2 milk. Recent findings      suggest that A2 milk is superior in terms of health benefits than A1 milk.

The benefits of milk on the human system are well known — drinking milk in Indian families has been a cultural practice right from the early times when every individual household also housed a cow from which fresh milk was sourced. However, there has been a shift in our milk consumption patterns with a multitude of options available today.

These different types of milk have several advantages of their own and are popular among people because of uniqueness – skimmed and low-fat milk is a perfect choice for weight watchers, fresh milk is a great choice for children and adults who need all the nutrients with fats in it and UHT for commercial use.

Jagsfresh  offers all these different varieties and regularly scans the market to know about recent developments. There is a constant effort to provide standardized and quality products which enhances health of consumers.