A DAIRY DAY

Greetings everyone! I guess all are back to work after a luxurious Dasara vacations and slowly munching on how we spent every single day of Navarathri festival. Navarathri is gone but the sweets made during the fests are still stored in refrigerators. No matter what, festival means fun  and sweets. Irrespective of any religion and country,In all our festivals we prepare sweets and use one thing in common, I think you might have already guessed what I mean! Yes, it’s the dairy products. Almost all the sweets we make, have milk or other dairy products in it.

During Navarathri which means 9 days of festivals, every day different sweet dishes are prepared. The requirement of milk and its products are in a great demand during this season. So, I made a short visit to a dairy cooperative society in a nearby village during my Dasara vacation just to see how the milk is made to reach us from the primary producers. Most importantly, I quested to know why milk tastes different in different places. Today’s article is loaded with white flood and its variations ,in taste and density in different places. 

Most of us buy milk from dairy; same way, there are people who rely on cow’s milk directly received from the vendors. I have a habit of changing the milk dairies and products eventually. I even try tasting the milk from different vendors. I think most of you might have not tried the milk from private dairy cooperative societies (DCS). I sometimes buy milk from DCS and found that milk contains thick fat after boiling it. Even with respect to taste ,it is great! So let me tell you how the milk from DCS is different from the dairy and milk vendors.

 In short, DCS is an intermediate between milk producers and dairy. The milk producers get the milk from their farms and sell it to DCS, DCS in tern collects all the milk from different producers, checks the quality of the milk received, store it in a cold storage and send it to the dairy. Although the working seems to be very simple, but in matter of taste all the three milk differs and the reasons could be this,

• Milk from Vendors/ producers: We buy milk from vendors thinking the cow milk directly received from cattle is healthy, pure, free from adulterations etc. But often we may face the risk of adulterations from the producers themselves. Water is an all-time adulterant of milk, but there are also a few cases where the urad dal (Vigna mungo) paste is mixed with milk. The colour and texture of urad dal paste remains same like the milk and it also puffs up when boiled.

The taste of the milk depends on the kind of food the cattle feeds on, breed of the cattle, climatic conditions and other environmental factors. Cow milk which we receive directly from the cattle is unpasteurised and has the risk of bacteria and its manifestations. So it’s better to always have the pasteurised milk. 

• Milk from dairies: The milk sachets we get from the dairies contain pasteurised milk. They are devoid of any microbes since the milk is boiled at high temperatures to kill most of the bacteria and soon after it is cooled to kill the left out heat resistant bacteria. But in this case, the milk would have been skimmed off all its fats and leaving behind the necessary carbs, proteins, vitamins and minerals. There are various types of milk sachets ranging from skimmed milk to high fat milk, which we use it accordingly. 
• Milk from DCS: Milk purchased from local DCS is unpasteurised milk, but it is the mixture of milk from several producers from different places. In the DCS which I encountered, the milk is collected from producers of 5-6 surrounding villages. Jersey and Holstein Friesian are the only breeds of cattle considered. Everyday 3-4 litres of buffalo milk are obtained and they are said to be mixed with the cow milk. The DCS receives milk only after confirming the weight and quality of the milk.

First the milk is stirred in a stirrer to check the thickness.

 Later on it is sent to Milkotester connected to computer to test the quality of it. The device clearly shows the amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and vitamins present in the milk and same thing is recorded in the bill with the producer identity number, weight of the milk and the contents.  

 The collected milk is sent for the fat testing in an electronic centrifuge. 

 Small amount of milk is pipetted out into a test tube and added sulphuric acid into it. The sulphuric acid digests the protein layer from the fat and separates it. Now into this, a small amount of alcohol is mixed which differentiates the fat from other compounds.  

The colour of the milk turns purple. This mixture is taken into a centrifuge tube and run in an electronic centrifuge another tube with water is used to balance it. After centrifugation, the fat from the milk forms a separate layer; the fat layer should be minimum of 4 units as read in the centrifuge tube to be selected. 

Next the milk is subjected to purity/density check in a lactometer, anything above 8.5 units is selected. 

 Now the milk is stored in a cold storage of capacity 3000 lit overnight at 3-4⁰C and the very next morning, it is sent to the main dairy.

Finally, the milk has great importance may be during  festival seasons or in our daily lives. We are dependent on dairy and its products completely. I would like to suggest that choosing the right milk is based on the individual needs. When it comes to the point of health, it’s better to rely on the pasteurised milk meanwhile it is also important to add on certain quantity of fat in it. By saying this I will continue tasting milk from different sources and enjoy its taste and benefits. By the time make sure that all the Navarathri sweets are finished from your refrigerators.

I offer my sincere thanks to the staff members of “Haalu uthpadhakara sahakara sangha” of Naguvanahalli taluk for their kind support and providing me necessary information.