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Photo of powdered milk
Photo of powdered milk

Powdered milk is a powder made from dried (dehydrated) milk solids. Powdered milk has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and does not need to be refrigerated, due to its low moisture content.

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[edit] History

Powdered milk was first made in 1802 by Russian doctor Osip Krichevsky. 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 needing of nonperishable, easy to prepare food.

[edit] Processing

Powdered milk is typically made by spray drying nonfat skim milk. Whole milk powder can also be manufactured in a similar fashion. 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. [1]

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).

[edit] Uses

Powdered milk is frequently used in baking, in recipes where adding liquid milk would render the product too thin to be used. It is also a common in UN food aid supplies, fallout shelters, warehouses and wherever fresh milk is not a viable option. Powdered milk is also used in Western blots as a blocking agent to prevent nonspecific protein interactions.[citation needed]


Reconstituting 1 cup of milk from powdered milk requires 1 cup of potable water and 1/3 cup of powdered milk.

Powdered milk is also widely used in various sweets such as the famous Indian milk sweet balls known as gulab jamuns.

[edit] Controversy

Compared to fresh milk, powdered milk (and powdered eggs) are stated to be exceptionally high in oxysterols (oxidized cholesterol).[1] The free radicals have been stated to have atherogenic ("causing atherosclerosis")[2]. Powdered milk is frequently added to 1-2% pasteurized milk to give it more body.[3]

[edit] Trivia

  • "Powdered Milk Man" is a supervillain in the fictional universe of the band The Aquabats!, portrayed both in a song and sometimes as an onstage character at live shows. He should not be confused with Powdered Toast Man, a character from the animated Ren and Stimpy Show on television.
  • Due to its resemblance to cocaine, powdered milk is sometimes used in the movie industry as a prop in lieu of actual cocaine.
  • Powdered milk was also used on TV to create the piles of dust which were all that remained of (most of) the original Red Dwarf crew.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Atherogenic effect of oxidized products of cholest...[Prog Food Nutr Sci. 1989] - PubMed Result
  2. ^ Atherogenic effect of oxidized products of cholest...[Prog Food Nutr Sci. 1989] - PubMed Result
  3. ^ SCD: Paleolithic Diet Symposium List

[edit] See also