Get to Know Dairy Products: An Everyday Source of Nutrition

Hi Peekay Friend, do you know that products that we often consume every day such as milk, yogurt and cream are called dairy products, so what is dairy? Dairy is a category of food and beverages made from animal milk, mainly cows, goats and sheep. 

Dairy products are an integral part of our daily lives. However, we often only know them in general terms without understanding more about their types and benefits. In this article, we will take a closer look at dairy products.

Related Post: Get to know the different types of cheese and how they are served

What are Dairy Products?

Dairy products are products that are produced or contain animal milk, especially cow's milk. Milk processing produces various types of products that are not only delicious, but also highly nutritious such as protein, calcium, vitamin B12, and good fatty acids. These nutrients can provide good benefits to our bodies. However, some also contain saturated fat and cholesterol that need to be consumed wisely.

The supply chain process of dairy products goes through several stages until finally we can consume the product, starting from the production process of feed for dairy cows, followed by milk production on the farm, then through dairy processing such as pasteurization, packaging, and storage, then distribution of dairy products to distribution centers and final destinations such as supermarkets to markets and finally consumer consumption.

Types of Dairy Products

Produk dairy dapat dikategorikan ke dalam beberapa jenis berdasarkan bentuk dan cara konsumsinya. Berikut adalah beberapa kategori utama produk dairy:

Milk

Milk is a nutritious liquid produced by cows, goats, sheep and some other animals. Milk contains calcium, protein, vitamin D, and various other nutrients that are essential for health. Some examples of dairy products are as follows:

• Fresh milk: Pasteurized but fresh milk with a short shelf life.
• UHT (Ultra High Temperature) milk: Milk that is heated at a high temperature to extend shelf life without the need for refrigeration.
• Skimmed milk: Milk with most of the fat removed, low in calories.
• Low fat milk: Milk with less fat content than full milk, but more than skim milk.

Cheese

Cheese is a dairy product produced through clumping and fermentation of milk. Cheese has various textures, flavors, and shapes depending on the manufacturing process. Due to the many types of cheese, we can categorize this dairy product into 3 types based on its texture.

• Hard cheese: Examples include cheddar and parmesan cheese, with low water content and long shelf life.
• Soft Cheese : Such as brie and camembert, with a soft texture and sharper flavor.
• Semi-hard cheeses : Such as gouda and edam, with a texture in between hard and soft.

Yogurt

Yogurt is a fermented milk product that contains good bacteria, such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, which aid digestion. Here are some examples of yogurt products: 

• Traditional Yogurt : is fermented milk with good bacteria, usually has a smooth texture.
• Greek Yogurt: Yogurt that is strained to remove whey, resulting in a thicker texture and higher protein.
• Low-fat and non-fat yogurts: Variants with lower calories, or no fat content.

Butter

Butter is a dairy product produced from whipping cream containing milk fat, usually used in cooking, baking, and as a spread. There are various types of butter that we can find in the market, but in general, we can categorize this dairy product based on its taste, namely:

• Unsalted Butter: Butter without added salt, suitable for cooking and baking.
• Salted Butter: Butter with added salt, usually used as a spread.

Cream

Cream is the fatty part of milk that is collected before homogenization. Cream is often used in the preparation of various dishes and beverages. Here are some types of cream products that we often encounter:

• Whipped Cream: Cream with a high fat content that can be whipped into a foam.
• Cooking Cream: Cream with a lower fat content, used in sauces and dishes.

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By understanding this category, we can better recognize various dairy products and choose products according to our needs and preferences. If you are looking for complete and quality dairy products, Prambanan Kencana has a variety of dairy products ranging from milk to cream that you must try. Let's check the complete product here.