Density of milk - the criterion of its quality and naturalness

Milk, according to Academician Pavlov, is a wonderful food, given to us by nature, which is necessary for a person from the first months of life to the last days. People drink milk for more than five millennia and know that it contains all the substances necessary for the body: proteins, carbohydrates, enzymes, fats, vitamins, hormones and mineral salts, and these perfectly balanced components are fully and easily absorbed.

Everyone who uses milk wants to be sure of his quality. Among the many indicators that characterize its composition, one of the main ones is a test that determines the density of milk. Not everyone knows what this indicator is for, what its optimal digital value should be, and what, in fact, you can learn from it about the quality of milk and dairy products.

Determination of density according to the adopted methods makes it possible to identify falsification of milk. The normal density corresponds to the limits from 1,026 to 1,032 g / cm3 and depends on the breed of cows, as well as the conditions of their content, feeding and other circumstances.

The density of milk is the higher, the more it contains sugar, protein and minerals, and the lower, the more fat. Too low a density indicates that the milk is diluted with water, and high - to add back or cream. It is typical that if the fat is removed from the milk and the same amount of water is added, the density does not change, and such falsification can be detected by determining the amount of fat in milk and comparing the indicators. Thus, the density of milk is the main indicator of its naturalness.

Organoleptic and physico-chemical properties of milk are guided when determining its naturalness and suitability as raw material for industrial processing.

Indicators such as acidity, purity and milk density are checked daily when it is taken.

Of course, the most complete in its qualities is a pair, just milked milk. For some time it contains special substances that can inhibit reproduction and even cause the death of bacteria entering it. The duration of the bactericidal properties of milk depends on the degree of its purity and storage temperature. But milk is a perishable product, so to increase the shelf life it is processed and processed.

At dairies, milk processing is carried out under the supervision of a special sanitary service, which, among other things, controls the density of all dairy products. Determine the density of pasty and solid dairy products is much more difficult than liquid dairy products, therefore special instruments are used for monitoring.

The density of all dairy products depends on their composition. For example, for skimmed processed milk, it is higher than for raw milk. The density of cream is higher the lower the fat content. Milk powder, in addition to the actual density, is also controlled by bulk density . The density of a product such as butter, depends not only on the fat-free dry residue and the amount of moisture, but also on the air contained in it. This indicator is determined by the flotation method, which is considered approximate, but is quite sufficient for practical purposes.

The density of milk can be checked at home. If you drop a small amount of it into a vessel with water, then drops of undiluted milk will immediately fall to the bottom of the tank and dissolve, and if water is added to it, the drops instantly spread over the surface.

You can also mix milk and alcohol (1: 2) and pour into a saucer. If the milk is whole, flakes will immediately appear, when it is diluted with water and has a lower density, the flakes will not form for a long time.

Thus, the density indicator is the most important criterion for determining the naturalness and quality of milk.