Module 1. Status of food processing industry and future prospects

Lesson 3

MAGNITUDE AND INTERDEPENDENCE OF DAIRY AND FOOD INDUSTRY -I

3.1  Introduction

Food industry has represented major commercial users of dairy products and ingredients ever since time immemorial, when milk became accepted as an important functional ingredient. Some of the important food industry which relies a lot on dairy ingredients includes Bakery, Meat and Poultry, Chocolate, Malted powder, etc. Likewise industries like Ice cream, Mozzarella/pizza cheese, Dairy analogues (cheese, whipped toppings, ice cream, paneer, etc.) also relies on food ingredients and products. Thus, there is a tremendous interdependence of dairy with food industry.

As an agro-based industry, the future of dairy industry lies in the food industry. The dairy products are not only used for their significant effect on the physical and chemical properties of baked products, but also because of their nutritional contribution to these items. The classical examples of interdependence of dairy with other food products are shown in Table 3.1. However, dairy products are one of the most costly raw materials utilized in the food industry.

The profusion of dairy products now being offered to the food industry as a consequence of adoption of newer techniques such as membrane filtration, ion-exchange, immobilized enzyme, etc. may cause dilemma to the food industry.

Table 3.1 Examples of interdependence of dairy with other food

Sr. No.	Classic example of synergy between dairy and food	Benefits
(a)	Fruit/nut/chocolate flavourings, colourings, stabilizers, emulsifiers in ice cream mix	Fruit, nut, chocolate contributes to varied flavours and texture for the consumers to enjoy. Stabilizers and emulsifiers help to build body, smoothen texture and aid in air incorporation in ice cream
(b)	Blend of cow/buffalo milk with vegetable milk viz. soymilk, groundnut milk, rice milk, oat milk, etc. and products made thereof (i.e. flavoured milk, fermented milk products, ice cream-like products, paneer-like products, etc.)	Allows complementing amino acid and fatty acids of two sources in one product; reducing cost, healthier product
(c)	Mozzarella cheese/Pizza cheese with pizza	Enjoyed as fast food; flavour and nutrition from cheese used as topping on pizza; shred, stretch, melt, oil-off important properties of cheese for use on pizza
(d)	Malted milk powder/foods	Easy to digest, more nutritious and palatable (malt provides flavor and color), cost effective
(e)	Milk/White chocolate; Use of Milk Crumb in chocolate manufacture	Milk solids affects desirable appearance, taste and influences texture of chocolate
(f)	Milk solids in Bakery products viz., Milk Bread, Cheese crackers, Cheese cake, etc.	Milk solids improves appearance, taste and nutritional property of bread
(g)	WPC or WPI in formulation of egg-less cake	Enables obtaining spongy ‘eggless’ (vegetarian)  cake
(h)	Dairy ingredients/products in meat and poultry products	Affects appearance, taste and texture favourably in cooked dishes
(i)	Milk analogues, Imitation whipped cream, Imitation whiteners, Cheese analogues, etc.	Healthier product with low-fat, cholesterol-free image; cost-effective; high shelf life

3.2  Relation Between Dairy and Baking Industry

Technological properties of milk constituents in relation to baking properties

The milk constituents have certain functionalities either by themselves or in combination with other ingredients which may be usefully exploited in baked products.

3.2.1 Milk fat

Although more expensive than other edible fats, it is a much appreciated ingredient of flour confectionery products because of its superior taste and flavour.

The important characteristics which distinguish milk fat from other edible fats are:

· Has an intrinsically attractive flavor, which is pleasing to human palate.

· Higher proportion of short chain fatty acids contribute to ease of digestibility.

· Has fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K.

When used in baking it serves much the same purpose as do other fats, namely to lubricate and weaken the gluten structure and thereby shorten and tenderize the product. The crystalline nature of milk fat assists in the formation of the initial foam structure of batters. After baking, when the product ‘sets’, the fat partly recrystallizes and assists in maintaining the moist texture by binding the water.

3.2.2 Milk proteins

The characteristics of milk proteins which are advantageously exploited in the preparation of baked goods are:

a) Stabilization of food during preparation, conservation and storage, which is brought about by prevention/lessening of water separation, fat separation and escape of gas.

b) Improvement and/or maintenance of consistency and structure of food.

c) Many of the flavours and aromas which develop during baking result from thermal degradation of protein and amino acids.

Some of the utility of dairy ingredients in baked goods is depicted in Table 3.2. The type of cheeses recommended in bakery product is furnished in Table 3.3.

3.3.3  Lactose

Lactose is commercially produced from whey, the by-product of cheese, casein, chhana and paneer. Some important properties of lactose for baking purpose are:

a) It enhances the flavor of products such as vanilla, chocolate, spice, etc. and maintains the flavor, color and aroma of baked goods by retarding the losses during processing and baking.

b) Owing to its sweetness, it may replace 10-50% of the sugar in some bakery items and forms a convenient bulking agent.

c) It binds water to give a tender, moister and better eating quality product.

d) Its emulsifying property enables replacing and/or increasing the efficiency of shortening.

e) It gives tenderizing effect and strengthens the cell walls.

f) Being non-fermentable by yeast during processing, it is made available for Maillard reaction and caramelization to occur at the high temperatures prevailing in the oven, resulting in golden brown crust color.

3.3.4  Minerals

Minerals are of some significance as nutritional adjuncts in bread and other bakery products and comprise a part of milk’s buffer system. Ions such as calcium and phosphorus bring about changes in casein and are used to modify skim milk for special bakery blends.

The influence of some important dairy ingredients on the quality of baked goods is shown in Table 3.2. The type of cheese suitable for baked goods in furnished in Table 3.3.

Table 3.2 Milk solids as value-added ingredient in baked goods

Sr. No.	Type of dairy ingredient	Raw materials	Influence exerted in baked goods
	Fluid milk	Milk/Skim milk	Important moistening agent. Improves dough or batter handling properties, flavour, crust colour, nutritional value. Applications ‘Milk bread’, ‘Skimmed milk bread’
	Condensed milk	Condensed skim milk	Problem with uneconomic shipping, storage and spoilage
		Concentrated whey	Its high lactose content is desirable where high crust colour is desired.
		Condensed butter milk	Valued ingredient in specialty bakery products requiring short texture, without excessive dryness. Used as flavouring agent in ‘Rye-bread’
	Milk powders	WMP	Limited usage due to high cost. Gives rich character in milk bread.
		NFDM	High heat powder desirable where freeze-thaw stability desired and high carbohydrate system; other applications low heat powder desirable. Heat treated NFDM improves crust colour, loaf volume and nutritional quality.
		Dried cream	Used in cream cakes. Both sweet and sour cream are spray dried to obtain this.
		Whey powder	‘Breading’ or ‘Crumb coatings’ used on fried products contains whey as a critical ingredient. Heat treated whey has improved functionality in baked goods.
		Butter milk powder	Butter milk solids @ 3% of flour weight desirable for bread
	High protein powders	Caseinates	Enhanced protein content of foods, improved functional properties
		Whey protein concentrates	Enhanced protein content of foods, improved functional properties
	Fat sources	Butter	Important for flavor and texture. Used in butter sponges, savouries, biscuit, short bread
		AMF/Butter oil	AMF sometimes denatured by vanillin or carotene
		Fractionated butter fat	Avoids use of hydrogenation which has unhealthy image. Applied in puff, pastry, short cakes and croissants.
		Fat blends	Helps in cost reduction, more healthy fats (i.e. more polyunsaturated fats, low cholesterol). Utilized in puff-pastry butter.

WMP – Whole milk powder, NFDM – Non-fat dried milk, AMF – Anhydrous milk fat.

Table 3.3 Type of cheeses recommended for a bakery product

Sr. No.	Cheese variety	Recommended bakery items
1.	Mature Cheddar cheese	Cheese biscuits and straws, Cheese sticks, Speciality breads, Hamburger, Buns, Muffins
2.	Dried Cheddar cheese	Snack foods, Dry prepared mixes
3.	Cottage cheese	Sour dough formulation, muffins, Devils food cake, Yellow layer cake, Lemon pudding, Thick sauces for casseroles
4.	White cheese (Fromage Blanc)	Cheese cakes
5.	Mozzarella cheese	Pizza, Cheeseburger, Tacos
6.	Romano, Parmesan, Provolone	Pizza
7.	Quarg cheese	Cakes, Cheese-cream baked goods, Fillings, Some confectioneries