Condensed milk

“ Sweetened condensed milk, although rarely quite sterile, keeps indefinitely, and is invariably brought into commerce in tin canisters. The preparation of sweetened condensed milk forms one of the most important branches of manufacture in Switzerland and is steadily increasing in England. Although milk can quite well be preserved in the form of condensed unsweetened milk, which dietetically possesses immense advantages over the sweetened milk in which the balance between carbohydrates and albuminoids is very unfavourable, such unsweetened milk has found little or no favour. ”

“ People in cities nowadays use condensed milk largely in preference to the uncondensed, regarding it as more desirable because of the careful supervision maintained by the companies over the dairies from which they get their supplies. ”

“ Dried and condensed milk are used where they can be obtained and fresh milk cannot. Thousands of tons of condensed milk have been sent over from America. There has been scarcely a child born in the north of France and none in Belgium whose continued life during all that period has not been dependent upon American condensed milk. At one time the Ministry of Food in Great Britain, anticipating a milk shortage in the winter bought large quantities of dried milk for distribution by local health committees and infant welfare societies. ”

“ Condensed milk is not to be recommended as a permanent food where good fresh cow's milk can be obtained.
What are the objections to its use?
It is very low in fat and proteids, and high in sugar. This accounts for its easy digestibility, and also explains why children reared upon it often gain very rapidly in weight, yet have as a rule but little resistance. They are very prone to develop rickets and sometimes scurvy.
Are the proprietary infant foods open to the same objections as condensed milk? ”

“ Evaporated milk is a product of the greatest importance to all families far removed from the source of a reliable fresh milk supply. It is just the pure milk with a large part of the moisture removed. It contains all the natural butter fats, mineral salts, proteins, and solids of the fresh milk. Nothing is changed in evaporated milk excepting the quantity of water in the fluid. For that reason, when canned milk is used to feed to children it is best to purchase a reliable brand of evaporated milk. Condensed milk is whole milk reduced by heating ”

“ No condensed milk shall be made or offered for sale unless the same is manufactured from pure, clean, healthy, fresh, unadulterated and wholesome milk, from which the cream has not been removed, or unless the proportion of milk solids contained in the condensed milk shall be in amount the equivalent of twelve per centum of milk solids in crude milk, and of such solids twenty-five per centum shall be fat. ”

“ If, for any reason, the mother feels that it is necessary to feed her baby the boiled milk, she may counteract the effects on a child, three months old or more, with the strained juice of half an orange, morning and evening.
Particularly in mining towns, mothers must depend upon condensed milk as artificial food for babies. While it is much better to use fresh cow’s milk, if it can be secured, the condensed milk is preferable to stale cow’s milk. If a reliable brand is secured, the mother is buying fresh milk which has been sterilized and then evaporated. ”

“ Even the condensed whole milk if diluted beyond 1 part of milk to 3 of water is deficient in fat. Sweetened condensed milk has one-third its weight of extraneous sugar added to it, and on this account it tends in children to produce fatness, and a distaste for simple food; in children fed on it alone ossification (formation of bone) is retarded, and resistance to illness is diminished. The only dietetic advantages it possesses over fresh cow’s milk are its freedom from possible disease germs and easier digestibility. ”

“ One good recipe for modifying cows' milk is: One part milk, two parts cream, two parts lime-water, three parts sugar water, the sugar water being made by putting two even teaspoonfuls of sugar of milk in a pint of water.
Condensed milk, which is often used as a substitute for cows' milk, is not nearly so good, since it has lost in the process of condensation one of the most important elements, that which forms bone tissue. ”

“ We have seen very serious illnesses produced in children (and adults too) by the heavy doses they have got when both the farmer and milk vendor have added these preservatives. This they often do at the season when the milk easily turns sour. Every care should therefore be taken to get milk guaranteed free from these noxious drugs; and if this is impossible, condensed milk should be used instead. As there is a great variety of brands of condensed milk in the market, always choose one which guarantees that the milk taken has been whole milk, and also unsweetened. ”

“ At sea, or when such milk as can be had is of doubtful quality, there may be just cause for resorting to it, but it is as unwise to employ it when fresh milk is procurable as it is to use extract of beef when freshly made beef-tea can be had. I am aware that some infants will only take condensed milk, and appear to thrive upon it, but I think it is not to be trusted to for the highest nutritional purposes, and it should be discarded as soon as possible. The value of milk for the aged is not appreciated as it should be. ”

“ Cream contains about 40 per cent. of fat and 55 per cent. of water; SKIMMED MILK is water, with sugar and caseine. Whey is merely a solution of milk sugar with a little albumen. Milk is best and most plentiful in spring, and richer but less abundant in dry seasons. The last milk drawn from the cow contains most cream. Koumiss, the use of which is rapidly increasing, is well skimmed milk, treated with a lactic ferment for 30 or 40 hours. It is very easy of digestion. Condensed milk is ordinary milk evaporated so that three pints are reduced to one. It soon spoils unless the air is excluded. ”

“ Dried milk is not so satisfactory, as it does not mix well for cooking, but it has the advantage of light weight. Since a can of condensed milk will last one or two days, according to size, it is necessary to protect an opened can or there will be a fine mess in one's baggage. ”

“ They form undoubtedly the best substitute for fresh cows' milk which we possess, and are a great boon especially to the poor in large towns where the milk supply is often scanty, not always fresh, and sometimes of bad quality. I should certainly prefer condensed milk for an infant to milk from cows living in close dirty stables, such as my experience thirty years ago made me familiar with in some parts of London. ”

“ Also most housekeepers making ice cream at home will find it convenient and economical to use a mixture of milk 65and cream and in doing so one must not expect so much expansion.
In many places outside of dairy sections cream is scarce and condensed milk is substituted to a large extent. Lately milk powder has come into use and Emulsified Cream has become popular. Skim-milk powder and unsalted butter may be kept in stock and be available at any time, and by means of an Emulsifier they are united again into a product identical with the milk or cream from which they were originally separated. ”

“ Never give a child a bottle merely to keep it quiet; you damage both stomach and character. The food should be as near the heat of the body as possible, i.e. at or about 98° F. Cold milk delays digestion, and does injury. If the child is allowed to lie on the back, it gets the milk too fast, and indigestion follows. If good cow’s milk cannot be got, Swiss condensed milk is useful, but it must not be given too strong; 1⁄2 teaspoonful to a teacup of water is plenty to begin with. For the first 4 months it is an excellent substitute for ordinary milk, and most children thrive on it ”

“ It is a matter of great importance that the dairy should not be situated near a pig-stye, sewer, or water-closet, the effluvia from which would be likely to taint the milk. It is surprising how small a quantity of putrescent matter is sufficient to taint a whole churn of milk; and as it has been demonstrated that the almost inappreciable emanations from a cesspool are capable of conferring a bad flavor on milk, it is in the highest degree important to remove from the churn and milk-pail every trace of the sour milk. ”

“ In order to modify or “humanize” cow’s milk so as to make its composition nearly the same as that of mother’s milk, simple dilution with water is therefore not sufficient.
There are, however, various other methods which may be used to advantage. For instance, top-milk from a bottle of fresh milk which has stood 4 or 6 hours in ice water will contain 6 to 8% of fat. By diluting this with an equal part of water, the percentage of protein, fat and mineral matter will be about right, and sugar, either cane-sugar or milk-sugar, may be added to supply the carbohydrates. ”

“ It is then ready to strain through two thicknesses of cheese-cloth and care must be taken to squeeze well so as to obtain as much of the whey as possible, which is very important. Add one tablespoonful of sugar to sweeten. Pour into nursing bottles, the amount being according to the age of the baby. A sufficient number of bottles are prepared for 24 hours’ feeding. Care should be taken to keep the milk in a cool place as it will sour the same as fresh milk. Every time the baby is fed the milk must be warmed by placing the bottle in a pan of water and heating to the right temperature. ”

“ By diluting with water to reduce the protein and salts, and adding sugar and a little cream, the proportions of these different substances may be made to approximate those in mother's milk. In both the sugar is the same—lactose, or milk-sugar; the fats are also much alike in each; but the albuminous matter of cow's milk differs somewhat from that of human milk, particularly in the way in which it coagulates in the presence of acids. Human milk forms into small, light, feathery curds; cow's milk into large, compact, not so easily digested masses. ”

“ In the hospital or in the home it serves as a substitute for milk when a mild diet of easily digested food is temporarily required for a weak stomach. For such purposes it must not be allowed to become acid as in cheesemaking, but should be prepared as the chief product from sweet new milk or freshly separated skim milk. The sweet milk is set with rennet—one Junket Tablet, dissolved in cold water, to a quart of milk—at a temperature of 90° to 100° F. As soon as a firm curd is formed it is carefully broken up and transferred to a strainer of cheese-cloth. ”

“ If food products are actually congealed, no germ growth occurs, and they may be kept quite indefinitely, but this process cannot be successfully applied to milk, as the fat and casein are physically changed, so that a normal emulsion can not again be made when the frozen milk is melted. ”

“ Where artificial feeding must be started early, cow’s milk is almost universally employed. Whenever possible, “certified milk” should be used; the ordinary milk, however, can be boiled with little or no harm. In diluting and preparing this milk, we have the choice of several methods. The so-called percentage feeding, favored in America, is difficult and cumbersome, and has no advantages over its simpler rivals. Pfaundler’s rule may be safely employed. It is as follows: One-tenth body-weight of milk, one one-hundredth body-weight of sugar diluted up to one liter ”

“ Well smoked and dried strips will keep a very long time. When these are wanted for use, they are very carefully washed and purified, and then laid in the salt brine from the butter-barrels, or in lukewarm salt water to soak. The liquid is put into bottles and laid in the cellar. For curding milk as much is taken as is thought to be necessary, which cannot be determined without considerable practice and experience. If too little is taken, the cheese is not fat enough; if more than the right quantity, it gives a disgusting acid taste. ”

“ The sugar is turned into lactic acid, which combines with the casein and when this process has continued for a certain length of time the result is clabbered milk or sour milk. The length of time varies with the temperature and the care given the milk. If milk remains sweet for a long time during warm weather, discharge the milkman and patronize one whose product sours more quickly, for milk that remains sweet has been subjected to treatment. All kinds of preservative treatment cause deterioration. ”

“ For instance, the protein in human milk consists mainly of albumin, while that of cow’s milk is mostly casein. It is often a question whether the individual baby can digest the casein without trouble. A trifle of rennet ferment,—a fraction of a Junket Tablet,—added to the modified cow’s milk just before feeding may be beneficial to overcome that defect. A little limewater also is healthful as it neutralizes any acid that may develop in the mixture. For the particular needs of the individual baby, a competent doctor should be asked to prescribe. ”

“ When of the ordinary richness, it is to be diluted with an equal quantity of water or thin barley-water. If, however, the first milking can be obtained, which is more watery, and bears a closer resemblance in its chemical composition to human milk, but little dilution will be required. If green and acrid stools make their appearance, accompanied by emaciation and vomiting, the milk must be more diluted, and given less frequently. If the symptoms of indigestion do not yield, milk containing an excess of cream should be used. ”