Recombined and Reconstituted Products

Abstract

A wide range of dehydrated dairy products (various whole-milk powders, skim-milk powders, and whey powders) are produced by the spray-drying process and account for about 15% of global milk production. Some reconstituted milk powders are used for direct consumption, but the vast majority are used as ingredients, sometimes after reconstitution, in products such as infant formulas, milk chocolate, meat products, or bakery products, or reconstituted and further processed into other dairy products, such as ultrahigh-temperature- or in-container-sterilized milk, sweetened condensed milk, or cheese; for many of these applications, specially prepared milk powders are required. Milk powders serve as major products for the storage of surplus milk for periods of shortage or for the transfer of milk from regions of surplus production to regions with a deficit, usually for climatic reasons, of milk. Large modern dryers are very efficient, both technologically and economically. With the use of modern membrane processing techniques, it is now possible to fractionate milk components and recombine them to prepare standardized milks for cheese and yogurts with improved product quality and plant use efficiency.