The Dairy Book of Home Cookery [antikvár]

IntroductionIntroductionMilkMilk is one of today's finest bargain buys. Its versatility enables it to be taken in so many attractive forms that it can appeal to everyone. For expectant and nursing mothers, infants and children, milk is useful for nourishment and sound growth. It provides teenagers with vital energy and aids healthy physical development. Adults find it revitalising and refreshing. For invalids and the aged, milk is easily digested and a convenient way of taking nourishment.Milk tempts, pleases and satisfies. To drink, cook and bake with it makes for better living.Grades of milkAll milk produced in Britain today is tuberculin-tested.UntreatedThis is raw milk which has not undergone any form of heat treatment.Untreated farm bottledThis is raw milk which must be bottled at the farm where it is produced. It may be from any breed of cow, provided the stock conditions on the farm comply with Government regulations and the producer holds a licence to use the special designation 'Untreated'.PasteurisedThis is milk which has been subjected to heat treatment which destroys harmful bacteria and prolongs its keeping qualities. Most milk is pasteurised, which means that it is heated generally to not less than 71 °C/161 °F for 15 seconds, and then rapidly cooled.HomogenisedThis is pasteurised milk, processed to break up the globules of butterfat evenly throughout the milk instead of allowing them to rise to the top.SterilisedThis is homogenised milk which has been heat treated in the bottle at a high temperature (at least 100°C/212°F) for 20 to 30 minutes and vacuum sealed. This extends the keeping quality of the milk. Unopened, it will keep fresh for at least 7 days, but several weeks without refrigeration is usual.Ultra heat treated (UHT)This long-keeping milk is homogenised milk which is raised to an ultra high temperature of132°C/270°F for 1 to 2 seconds. It is then asep-tically packed into containers. This milk will keep for several months and is usually date stamped.Channel IslandsMilk from Jersey and Guernsey breeds of cow with a minimum butterfat content of 4%. It can be supplied 'pasteurised', or as 'untreated' milk bottled at the farm of production or at a dairy.Milk ChartSee chart on page 6.Legal standards of milkOrdinary milk must have a minimum of 3% butterfat and 8.5% non-fat solids. Milk sold as Channel Islands, Jersey or Guernsey must contain not less than 4% butterfat.Care of milkAsk the milkman to leave it in a shady place away from direct sunlight and avoid leaving it on the doorstep for too long.If you find the birds are helping themselves, invest in some discs which fit over the bottle tops. When you bring milk indoors, either put it straight into the refrigerator or stand it in a basin or bowl of water and cover with a clean cloth with its edges dipping into the water. Evaporation of the water keeps the milk cool and fresh. Always keep milk covered and well away from strong smelling foods.Never mix new milk with old and never pour milk into anything but a spotlessly clean container.Boiling milkIf milk must be boiled, then do it quickly, stirring all the time, and cool it immediately. Prolonged heating of milk will cause the lactose (milk sugar) to caramelise, giving the milk a cooked flavour. As milk boils over surprisingly quickly, never leave a saucepan of heating milk unwatched.