The Basic Preparation Of Foodstuffs: Dairy Products
These fairly basic tips may seem quite irrelevant for most modern households with a refrigerator in the kitchen, but modern devices do make people sloppy and it is still well-worth while knowing 'why' we must do certain things. It is also worth remembering these tips when there is no refrigerator to hand or when it so small that it will not hold everything you need, such as when camping, boating or on holiday in some countries in the world.
MILK:
Milk is known as 'nature's perfect food', because no other food, consumed on its own, can support adult human life. It is of the first importance for the growth and development of young people, but it must be clean as bacteria also find it very nourishing and quickly multiply in it. If your milk was not bought pasteurized, then it should be scalded and cooled quickly before drinking it.
How To Scald Milk: Rinse out a clean pan with cold water, pour in the milk and heat until bubbles rise around the side of the pan. Maintain the milk at this temperature, ie, do not let it boil, for three minutes. Do not let it overheat, as milk burns very easily. Pour immediately into a clean receptacle and stand it in a basin of cold water and cover with a muslin cloth to discourage the ingress of flies and dust.
How To Keep Milk Fresh: If milk is not be preserved in the containers in which it was bought, pour it into a clean receptacle, which has been rinsed with cold water. A warm container will cause milk to stick to the sides and go off more quickly. You should always keep milk in the coolest place in the larder and always keep it covered. it is worth remembering that draughts are most often at ground-level and that hot air rises. Never keep milk in an airless cupboard and in hot weather stand the container in a bowl of water with the cloth covering dangling in the water. The cloth will soak up water, which will evaporate, which uses up heat, ensuring that the bottle remain cool. Keep milk away from strong-smelling foods, as it absorbs odours easily. Never mix new and old milk together.
Sour Milk: Milk straight from the cow is slightly alkaline, but as it ages, lactic acid is formed and it becomes what we call 'sour'. Pasteurizing or scalding the milk slows down this process. Milk which is 'just on the turn' can be revived by boiling with a pinch of bicarbonate of soda to restore the alkalinity. Once the milk has gone too far and has curdled, it can be strained through (cheese) cloth, thereby separating the curds from the whey. The curds can be used as a filling for cakes, tarts, scones etc and the whey can be used as the liquid for making scones, cakes and soups etc., as it still has much goodness.
Evaporated Milk: Evaporated milk is ordinary milk, which has had some of its water evaporated by heat in some way or another before being containerised. Once reconstituted by adding water, it will last only a little longer than fresh milk does.
Condensed Milk: This is simply evaporated milk to which sugar has been added before canning. Sugar acts as a preservative and will keep the milk for about a week. Do not keep in the tin, but decant it into a jug or bottle.
Dried Milk: Dried milk comes in a variety of forms and notice should be taken of the instructions on the label. Specialized products can be bought for babies, invalids, convalescents and dieters, all of which contain varying amounts and types of added vitamins and minerals. Usually, they are very much lower in fat content than conventional milk.
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