Milk and Dairy

There are likely more than 4000 plus species of mammals from the smallest hog-nosed bat to the largest blue whale. However, irrespective of whether they live on the land or in the sea, all mammals share certain common characteristics. Two of which include being warm-blooded (endothermic) vertebrates that generally feed their young with milk—a complex, nutritional substance that provides nutritional and functional benefits. Besides looking at the various abilities of milk in the kitchen, this chapter also explores other dairy products. It is a wide-ranging topic in which butter, eggs, and cheese as well as the fermentation of various dairy products all play a major role in the kitchen. In this respect, this chapter covers many interesting and varied topics.