Cow’s milk is made up of about 87% of water and 13% milk component or milk solids. The milk solids consist of a fat portion or butterfat accounting for 3.7% of the milk and a solids not fat portion, accounting for 8.9% of the milk.
SNF or solid no fat const sod three categories: lactose, minerals and proteins.
Cow’s milk is a nutrient dense food, providing a high concentration of nutrients in relation to its energy.
Milk also contains vitamins and other nutrients in small amounts, making it the most complete of foods. The young mammalians survive on it exclusively.
The principle proteins of milk are casein and whey proteins. These are high quality proteins, together containing, in varying amounts, all of the essential amino acids required for human growth and tissue maintenance.
Casein, is accounted for 77% of the protein component. These are bound tighter with calcium phosphate into particles known as micelles.
However, components of milk from different species vary, and occasionally the young of one species may be unable to tolerate the milk from another species, mainly because of differences in the lactose contained therein.
The fat content of milk from Ayrshire and Brown Swiss, and especially from Guernsey and Jersey breeds, is slightly higher than that from Holstein cows, but the latter breed generally produces much more milk than the others.
Composition of Cow’s Milk
