Powdered milk

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Powdered milk is a powder made from dried milk solids. Powdered milk has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and does not need to be refrigerated due to its low moisture content.

Contents 1 History 2 Uses 3 Controversy 4 Trivia 5 References 6 See also

[edit] History

Powdered milk was first made in 1802 by Russian doctor Osip Krichevsky. It is found abundantly in many developing countries because of reduced transport and storage costs (as it does not require refrigeration). Like other dry foods it is considered nonperishable and is favored by survivalists, hikers and other people in need of nonperishable easy to prepare foodstuffs.

[edit] Uses

Powdered milk is often used in baking, in recipes where adding liquid milk would render the product too thin to be used. It is also a common sight in UN food aid supplies, fallout shelters, warehouses and wherever fresh milk is not a viable option. Powdered milk is also used in Western blots as a blocking agent to prevent nonspecific protein interactions.

[edit] Controversy

Compared to fresh milk, powdered milk (and powdered eggs) are stated to be exceptional high in oxysterols (oxidized cholesterol) ^[1]. The free radicals have been stated to have atherogenic ("causing atherosclerosis") ^[2] and carcinogenic ("causing cancer") properties. ^[3] Powdered milk is frequently added to 1-2% pasteurized milk to give it more body.^[4]

[edit] Trivia

• "Powdered Milk Man" is a supervillain, mostly described in a song from The Aquabats. He should not be confused with Powdered Toast Man character from the animated The Ren and Stimpy Show on television.
• Due to its resemblance to cocaine, powdered milk is sometimes used in the movie industry as a prop in lieu of actual cocaine.

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=2678267&query_hl=2&itool=pubmed_docsum
2. ^ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=2678267&query_hl=2&itool=pubmed_docsum
3. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_2002_June/ai_86387583
4. ^ http://www.scdiet.org/7archives/lutz/paleo2.html

[edit] See also

• Evaporated milk
• Condensed milk