Milk is the fluid that mammalian mammary glands produce. The color of the liquid changes from white to shades of yellow - depending on the fat content.
Composition of Cow's Milk
Milk contains beneficial ingredients and substances. The composition includes proteins, vitamins, trace elements and other useful minerals.
The chemical composition of cow's milk depends on several factors:
- type of milking;
- animal feeding conditions;
- age and breed of the cow;
- lactation period.
During lactation, which is approximately 300 days, the properties of the dairy product are constantly changing. The lactation period is divided into three stages:
The colostrum stage, which begins immediately after the cow gives birth to the calf. It lasts about 10 days. Milk obtained at this time is called colostrum. It has a thick consistency due to the greater amount of dissolved vitamins, fats, proteins and other minerals. Colostrum has an intense yellow color and a slightly salty aftertaste. It is not used for industrial processing.
The phase of normal milk, which lasts from 190 to 280 days. A dairy product obtained in a given period of time has the usual taste and texture.
The stage of old-milk milk lasts for the last 10 days of the lactation period. Such milk contains an increased number of white blood cells and proteins, but it has a low level of quality. Due to this, this dairy product is usually not used for industrial processing.
Interesting fact: milk is almost 88% water. Minerals and vitamins make up the remaining 12% of the fluid.
The chemical composition of cow's milk includes the following components: potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, iodine, zinc, phosphorus, vitamins A, B, D, C and E, water, fats, proteins, dry substances. Also, the composition of the dairy product includes about 50 trace elements and macrocells. They saturate the body with useful components and substances.
What is the color of milk associated with?
According to research, the main the cause of the white color of milk is casein protein. It creates spherical particles in a liquid, which are responsible for color. These particles, also called micelles, do not precipitate. They continue to be in the liquid, which results in the white color of the product. Protein contains about 20 amino acids, which are necessary for the proper functioning of the human body.
Interesting fact: the body alone can produce only 8 essential amino acids out of 20. Therefore, a person must ensure that all remaining acids enter his body in the form of food.
Thus, the products consumed by the cow practically do not affect the color of the dairy product. Milk appears in the body of the animal due to the synthesis and lactation period. During the lactation period, the body begins to collect all the necessary components from the blood, in particular casein. This component also makes milk white.
Does milk come in other colors?
In addition to the above substances, the composition of milk also contains natural dyes, presented in the form of substances of plant or animal origin.The first type of substance is formed directly in the body of the cow, while the second is obtained from various components that enter the body through plant food. Thus, cows from the pasture will give milk a slightly yellow hue, rather than the usual white.
Another interesting component of the dairy product is riboflavin. If the product contains an increased concentration of this substance, it acquires a greenish tint. Also, milk may have a pinkish color, if most of the diet of the animal will be plants like buttercup.
A dairy product may also have a red tint. There are two reasons: The product is not hazardous to health if the animal was fed milk and forage cabbage, reeds, shoots of coniferous and deciduous trees, sedge. In this case, milk is absolutely safe and does not harm the human body. Milk should not be consumed if the cow has suffered or is suffering from a disease. Most often it is pyroplasmosis, hemorrhagic mastitis and other diseases. Such a product can harm health and the body as a whole, therefore it is better to refrain from using it.
You can also not drink milk in blue. This product contains harmful microorganisms that have appeared as a result of unhygienic conditions of the animal.
So, the white color of natural cow's milk gives a special milk protein, known as casein. Diet practically does not affect either the color, the taste, or the consistency of the dairy product.
