Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-07-29
Milk as Food.

Following is the introduction to
Farmers Bulletin, No. "a, lately issued
by the y. S. department of agricul-
ture The bulletin comprises 3S pages
and is valuable presentation of the
subject. 1t is for free distribution and
can be had on application to the sec
rotary:
"A quart of milk contains about the
same amount of nutriment as three
| quarters of a pound of beef, namely,
about four ounces. Six ounces OF
| bread would likewise supply not far
| from four ounces of nutritive sub
stances. To put it in another way.
| about one eighth of the whole weight
| of the milk, one third of the beef and
| two-thirds of the bread consist of
| actually nutritive ingredients. The
| other seven eghths of the milk and
one third of the bread are water.
while the two-thirds of the meat
which is not actual nutriment is main
ly water, but consists in part of bone.
But while the quart, or two pounds,
| of milk, the twelve ounces of beef and
| the six ounces of bread all supply like
amounts of nutriment, the nutritive
| values are not exactly the same: in
other words, they would not be equal
ly useful for food. Either the milk or
the bread eaten alone would make a
| better balanced food for man than the
meat. because it contains the different
| kinds of nutritive ingredients, or
nutrients in proportions more nearly
adapted to supply the wants of the
| body than is the case with the nutri-
tents of the meat
| milk contains all the ingredients
| needed for nourishment; that is, it
| furnishes the materials which build up
the body and keep it in repair and
also those which supply it with fuel
| to keep it warm and to furnish the
animal machine with the power
| needed to do its work.
| THE composition of milk and other
| food materials. the kinds and amounts
of different ingredients they contain,
are found by analysis in the chemi-
cal laboratory But (since anal
ysis is a separation into constituent
! parts) a rough analysis of milk is
| made in the dairy and in the Kitchen.
| When milk stands the cream rises.
| This cream consists of minute parti-
| cles of fat surrounded by casein and
other substances. The cream is put
in the churn and shaken. and the
| globules of fat gather together as
| butter. This separation of the butter
fat is a partial analysis of the milk.
| When rennet is added to milk it is
curdled. The ferment of the rennet
| causes the casein to coagulate. form
ing the curd. This is put in the cheese
press, the liquid is pressed out. and
the curd is changed to cheese. which
contains the casein and with it fat
and other materials which We're in the
milk and We're entangled or in
closed in the coagulated casein. The
whey from which the curd has been
separated contains a kind of sugar,
which can in its turn be separated from
the fluid, and is prepared commercial
ly and sold as milk sugar. After the
sugar has been removed there still re-
mains in the milk considerable
amounts of mineral compounds.
IF at the outset the milk had been
heated the water might have been
evaporated and the casein, fat, sugar
mineral salts, and other materials
would have remained as the milk
solids. The mineral compounds aid in
forming tissue, and have other uses
as well, but they are needed only in
small quantities"