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Milk Composition Open Access Journals | Peer Reviewed Journals
Journal of Geology & Geophysics

Journal of Geology & Geophysics
Open Access

ISSN: 2381-8719

+44 1478 350008

Milk Composition Open Access Journals

Milk contains more water than any other element, around 87% for dairy cows. The other elements are dissolved, colloidally dispersed, and emulsified in water. The quantities of the main milk constituents can vary considerably depending on the individual animal, its breed, stage of lactation, age and health status. Herd management practices and environmental conditions also influence milk composition. If milk is left to stand, a layer of cream forms on the surface. The cream differs considerably in appearance from the lower layer of skim milk. Under the microscope cream can be seen to consist of a large number of spheres of varying sizes floating in the milk. Each sphere is surrounded by a thin skin (the fat globule membrane) which acts as the emulsifying agent for the fat suspended in milk. The membrane protects the fat against enzymes and prevents the globules coalescing into butter grains. The fat is present as an oil-in-water emulsion: this emulsion can be broken by mechanical action such as shaking. About 98% of milk fat is a mixture of triacylglycerols, with much smaller amounts of free fatty acids, mono-and diacylglycerols, phospholipids, sterols, and hydrocarbons.

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