🔄 Standardization
Also known as: normalization
Fat content is adjusted to 1.5 / 2.5 / 3.2%.
Standardization means bringing milk to the right fat content. Raw milk varies in fat: it depends on the breed of cow, the feed and the season. But in the shop, milk of one brand must always be the same: for example, 1.5%, 2.5% or 3.2% fat.
First the milk is separated into cream and skimmed milk. Then the two are mixed again in an exact ratio. If richer milk is needed, more cream is added. Extra cream goes into butter or sour cream or is sold separately. In modern dairies, automatic systems do this right in the flow of milk. Flow and density sensors measure the cream, valves adjust the mix, and a computer makes sure the fat content is exact. This method is called direct in-line standardization.
Not only drinking milk is standardized, but also cream and the milk for cheese, yogurt and ice cream. After standardization, milk is usually homogenized and pasteurized.
How it connects to milk
🔄 Standardization ← then ← 🔄 Separation → gives → 🥛 Cream → made from → 🥛 Milk
Links
- Previous step
- 🔄 Separation
- Next step
- 🔄 Homogenization
Frequently asked questions
Why does shop-bought milk always have the same fat content?
Because it is standardized: the cream is separated and then mixed back with skimmed milk in an exact ratio to get 1.5%, 2.5%, 3.2% and so on.
Is milk watered down during standardization?
No. The fat content is changed by mixing cream and skimmed milk. Adding water is fraud, and labs detect it by the milk's freezing point.
Similar
🌡️ Sterilization · ✅ Quality control · 🌡️ UHT processing · 🌡️ Pasteurization
Sources
- Tetra Pak Dairy Processing Handbook: Centrifugal separators and milk standardization
- Tetra Pak Dairy Processing Handbook: Pasteurized and ESL dairy products
- Wikipedia: Milk