Powdered milk, also known as milk powder, is created through a process that significantly reduces its water content. This allows for extended shelf life and easier storage and transportation compared to liquid milk. The process involves two main stages: evaporation and drying.
The Two-Stage Process:
1. Evaporation:
- First, the liquid milk undergoes evaporation. This involves boiling the milk under reduced pressure and at a low temperature. This method prevents scorching or damaging the milk proteins. The reduced pressure lowers the boiling point of the milk, allowing for efficient water removal without excessive heat. The outcome is a concentrated milk product with significantly less water.
2. Drying:
- Next, the concentrated milk is sprayed into a chamber filled with hot air in a process called spray drying. This creates a fine mist that maximizes the surface area exposed to the hot air. The rapid evaporation of the remaining water transforms the milk into a fine powder.
Final Product:
The resulting milk powder is then collected, cooled, and packaged. Different types of milk powder, such as whole milk powder, skimmed milk powder, and buttermilk powder, are produced depending on the initial composition of the liquid milk.
