Nutritional Properties of Milk Products
Over the past 20 years, there has been a trend toward lower fat content in dairy products. This reflects the high caloric value of milk fat and the trend toward leaner, healthier nutrition. These “low-fat” products often have the fat replaced with sugars, so care must be taken in substituting these ingredients in a recipe. For bakers, this trend has not meant any great changes in formulas: a cream cheese product with 35% or 15% milk fat usually works equally well in a cheesecake. Some pastry chefs find lowering the richness in pastries and plated desserts can make them more enjoyable, especially after a large meal.
The following table provides the nutritional properties of milk products.
Nutritional Properties of Milk Products (per 100 g)
|
Nutrient |
Whole Milk (3.5% milk fat) |
Skim Milk (0.1% milk fat) |
Coffee Cream (18% milk fat) |
Heavy or Whipping Cream (36% milk fat) |
|
Protein |
3.22 g |
3.37 g |
3 g |
2 g |
|
Fat |
3.25 g |
0.08 g |
19 g |
37 g |
|
Cholesterol |
10 mg |
2 mg |
66 mg |
137 mg |
|
Potassium |
143 mg |
156 mg |
122 mg |
75 mg |
|
Calcium |
113 mg |
125 mg |
96 mg |
65 mg |
|
Magnesium |
10 mg |
11 mg |
9 mg |
7 mg |
|
Sodium |
40 mg |
42 mg |
40 mg |
40 mg |
|
Vitamin A (IU) |
102 IU |
204 IU |
656 IU |
1470 IU |
Note: Besides the elements shown in the Table, all dairy products contain vitamin B-complex. “IU” stands for International Units, a term used in nutritional measurement.