Powdered Milk: Overview, Nutritional Facts, Production Methodology, and Health Benefits

Powdered Milk

Milk powder is known by many names such as dried milk, powdered milk, and dehydrated milk. This form of milk has proved to be a boon for those who don’t have access to fresh milk every day for any specific reason or can’t consume fresh milk due to any special health condition. Dried milk is one of the most used milk products in India and across the globe.

It takes almost no time to prepare dried milk for use. What you need to do is just take a little bit of lukewarm water and mix the dried milk in it. You can take the amount of milk as per your exact requirements. Within a few seconds, you will be reconstituting the power to get it in liquid form. With this liquid form of milk, you can prepare the following instantly:

  • Tea or coffee
  • Any cereal-based foodstuff
  • Different types of milk-oriented sweet dishes, and
  • Any dairy-based foodstuffs that you admire and like to cherish.

Be it full fat milk powder or dried milk power of any other milk variant, powdered milk offers a large number of advantages when compared to regular milk. Let’s take a look at some of the nutritional facts associated with powdered milk:

The percentage of nutrients as per a 100gm serving of milk powder:

  • Calories – 496
  • Total Fat – 27g – 41%
  • Cholesterol – 97mg – 27%
  • Potassium – 1,330mg – 38%
  • Sodium – 371mg – 15%
  • Total Carbohydrates – 38%
  • Dietary Fiber – 0%
  • Vitamin C – 14%
  • Sugar – 38g
  • Iron – 2%
  • Vitamin D – 5%
  • Vitamin B6 – 15%
  • Cobalamin – 55%
  • Magnesium – 21%.

How is milk powder or powdered milk produced?

Powdered milk is produced by spray drying milk. In this procedure, first of all, milk is heated to its boiling point to eliminate around 50% of its water content. The milk solids achieved this way are then treated with a spray in a heat chamber wherein all the remaining water content again evaporates leaving behind milk in an absolute solid state. Today, skimmed and full-fat milk products in India are immensely popular and are heavily used in the following items:

  • Production of infant formula
  • Cheese
  • Medical and sports nutrition
  • Confectionery
  • Kitchen and baked goods.

This blog discusses some of the salient advantages of powdered milk in the following points:

Powdered milk requires no refrigeration

One of the most salient advantages associated with dried milk is that it does not need any refrigeration when it comes to storage. In a developing country like India and various other similar countries in the South Asian region, not 100% of people have access to electricity and refrigeration. Therefore, dried milk powder has proved to be a boon for them.

Powdered milk has a longer shelf life than liquid milk

When you buy regular milk packed in a plastic pouch, you need to put that immediately either in the refrigerator or use it at once. Milk in liquid form has a shelf life of only a few hours. On the other hand, powdered milk generates no such emergency before the users or consumers. They can use it as and when they want. It is because powdered milk’s shelf life is very large up to many months. Due to this incredible shelf life, milk powder is still popular in various offices and homes as one of the key kitchen staples for day-to-day applications.

Powdered milk offers similar health benefits as regular liquid milk does 

When it comes to the health benefits, dried or hydrated milk is even better in terms of nutritional value when compared to regular liquid milk. It is the most viable substitute in the absence of liquid milk. Some of the top reasons why powdered milk scores heavily over liquid milk in terms of functionalities and nutrition value include the following:

  • Powdered milk is available in a wide range of options to choose from
  • Those who are restricted to take full-fat milk due to any specific health reason can opt for skimmed milk powder in India and other parts of the world
  • Powdered milk is light due to amazing fat balance which is carried out during its manufacturing or production
  • There is no difference in the taste of powdered milk when compared to regular milk in liquid form
  • Powdered milk can be carried easily anywhere in small pouches and can be used round the clock as per the requirement.

Powdered milk’s fortification has added more value to it 

Fortification is a scientific procedure in which certain components are added to the powdered milk to make it ideally suitable for people of all groups and also patients suffering from a large number of lifestyle diseases like heart disease and diabetes. These days, milk powders with added vitamin D are getting immensely popular across the globe because more than 80% of people have a drastic deficiency of vitamin D due to low exposure to direct sunlight.

Fortification has played a great role in popularizing dried milk, apart from the convenience that it offers to consumers. Benefitting users with the same gravity just like regular whole milk, powdered milk is extremely rich in amino acids, different types of minerals, and vitamins. Powdered milk is one of the best sources of high-quality protein. In a moderate serving of 100 grams, dehydrated milk provides 26gm of protein making up around 52% of our everyday protein needs.

Concluding Remarks 

Alpha Milkfoods Pvt. Ltd. is one of the most well-known dairy product manufacturers and suppliers in the country. The company has a well-established global and national retail presence to offer ease of buying to its customers. Managed by a 40 years old business group that has diversified interests in high-growth business verticals, Alpha Milkfoods Pvt. Ltd. has over the years gained the trust and in turn has ranked as the preferred supplier for bulk customers, large institutions, and reputed multinationals. For more information on the complete product profile, you can get in touch with the company.

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