Milk substitute

A milk substitute is one term used to describe plant milk in relation to mammalian milk. Other terms include non-dairy beverage, nut milk, and alternative milk.[1]

A range of packaged plant milks from a Western grocery store.
Infant formula
Coffee-Mate, a synthetic coffee whitener made for use in coffee

Milk substitutes for non-infant consumption take two forms: plant milks, which are liquids made from plants and may be home-made or commercially produced, and coffee creamers, synthetic products invented in the US in the 1900s specifically to replace dairy milk in coffee.

Due to their composition, alternatives to dairy milk may have a longer shelf-life and may be able to withstand higher temperatures than dairy milk without spoiling.[2] Some milk substitutes are marketed as being healthier than cow's milk due to being lower in saturated fat and (if entirely free of animal products) cholesterol-free. When milk analogues lack the vitamins or dietary minerals present in dairy milk (such as vitamin B12 or calcium), they may be fortified.

History

Around the world, humans have traditionally consumed plant milks for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.[3][4] In 2018, Tara McHugh in Food Technology Magazine wrote: "The word “milk” has been used since around 1200 AD to refer to plant juices."[1] The article also said: "Of all the plant-based milks, coconut milk has the longest tradition of use. It originated in India and Southeast Asia and has been used as both a drink and an ingredient for nutrition and ceremonial offerings. Soy milk also has a long history and was discovered in 1365 in China."[1]

In 2018, Benjamin Kemper wrote in the Smithsonian Magazine:

Linguistically speaking, using “milk” to refer to “the white juice of certain plants” (the second definition of milk in the Oxford American Dictionary) has a history that dates back centuries. The Latin root word of lettuce is lact, as in lactate, for its milky juice, which indicates that even the Romans had a fluid definition for milk. Ken Albala, professor of history at University of the Pacific and host of the podcast Food: A Cultural Culinary History, says that almond milk “shows up in pretty much every medieval cookbook.” Almonds, which originate in the Middle East, reached southern Europe with the Moors around the 8th century, and their milk—yes, medieval Europeans called it milk in their various languages and dialects—quickly became all the rage among aristocrats as far afield as Iceland.[5]

Fortification

Humans may consume dairy milk for a variety of reasons, including tradition, availability and nutritional value (especially minerals like calcium, vitamins such as B12, and protein). plant-sourced substitutes for dairy milk may be expected to meet such standards, though there are no legal requirements for them to do so. This may result in additives being put into milk substitutes to compensate for the absence of certain vitamins, minerals and/or proteins.[2] Infant formula, whether based on cow's milk, soy or rice, is usually fortified with iron and other dietary nutrients.

Non-dairy milks
Main article: Plant milk

Coconut milk is made by mixing water with the freshly grated white inside pulp of a ripe coconut. Though considered by some in the west as a substitute for dairy milk, coconut milk has been used as a traditional ingredient in Southeast Asian, South Asian, Caribbean, and northern South American cuisines for centuries, if not millennia. It is also a source of calcium and vitamins C, E, B1, B3, B5 and B6.[6] Coconut milk is usually very high in fat and calories, but low in protein, which makes it a good substitute for cream, as it can be whipped up in a similar fashion to decorate baked goods or desserts.

Almond milk

Almond milk is produced from almonds by grinding almonds with water, then straining the pulp from the liquid. This procedure can be done at home. Almond milk is low in saturated fat and calories.[7][8]

Oat milk is a relatively recently developed plant-based milk substitute. Different preparations are available for either direct consumption or to use in coffee. Oat milk has a smooth oatmeal flavour and is often supplemented with calcium and vitamins to be a viable vegan mammalian milk replacement. Oat milk is marketed as an environment-friendly alternative to almond milk.

Soy milk

Soy milk is made from soybeans and contains about the same amount of protein as dairy milk. When enriched by the manufacturer, it may be a source of calcium and vitamin D and some B vitamins such as B12; however, this is not in all brands of soy milk. According to one study, soy protein may be a substitution for animal protein to prevent and control chronic kidney disease.[9]

Rice milk is mostly used for baking because of its sweet taste, but in case of a nut or soy allergy a grain milk processed from rice may be preferable. When fortified, this milk can be a source of calcium, vitamin B12, and vitamin D2.

Hemp milk is made by grinding hemp seeds with water, which are then strained to yield a nutty creamy flavored milk. Hemp milk is naturally rich in protein and amino acids.

In yeast-derived milk products, sugar is mixed with yeast and the resulting fermentation process creates the whey and casein proteins (which are identical to those found in milk). This is then combined with plant-based sugars, fats, and minerals to reproduce the milk, which can then be used like regular milk, including cheesemaking. Milk substitutes produced in this way do not require the use of animals and compared to regular milk production are more efficient, produce fewer greenhouse gases and utilize less land (as no animals need to be fed, medicated, impregnated, milked, and slaughtered when no longer productive).[10][11][12][13]

Composition of plant milks

In the United States, dairy milk is required by federal law to contain a certain amount of vitamins A and D. However, there is no such requirement for milk substitutes. In Germany, milk substitutes tend to contain 30% milk powder, with the remaining 70% consisting of whey and cheaper vegetable extracts, especially palm oil and coconut oil.[2]

Lactose intolerance
Dairy-free ice cream

Lactose is the major sugar found in dairy milk. Lactose intolerance occurs when an individual is deficient in the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the lactose in the intestine. Bloating, cramps, constipation, or diarrhea may result when an individual who is lactose intolerant consumes a dairy product. Due to genetic differences,[14][15] intolerance of lactose is more common globally than tolerance.[16][17][18][19][20] Rates of lactose intolerance vary globally, from less than 10% in Northern Europe to as high as 95% in parts of Asia and Africa.[21] In a modern Western context, food products are manufactured as dairy substitutes partly to cater to lactose intolerant individuals, including milk, yogurt, whipped topping and ice cream. In Asia and Africa, where rates of lactose intolerance are much higher than in the West and dairy production has been less predominant, many traditional analogues to dairy milk beverages exist, including amazake, douzhi, kunnu aya, kokkoh, poi and sikhye.

Lactose-free manufacturing

A lactose-free food, such as non-dairy ice cream, may require a different process during manufacturing. For example, traditional dairy ice cream is made with a combination of milk products that contain lactose, but non-dairy ice cream may be synthesized using hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (coconut oil, palm kernel oil and soybean oil) along with emulsifier, protein, sweetener and water. Some not yet widely prevalent synthetic ice cream products are claimed to have a similar flavour and texture to traditional dairy ice cream.[22]

However many smaller scale, organic, gourmet or slow food focused non-dairy ice cream manufacturers create all their products using traditional, natural and only slightly altered methods. The preferred base for non dairy ice creams are often coconut milk or plant cream, due to the higher fat and lower water content preventing the formation of ice crystals.

Infant formula
Main articles: Infant formula and Soy-based infant formula

Breast milk substitutes are available for infants if breast feeding is not an option. Infant formulas based on cow's milk, soy or rice can be a supplement to breast milk or a sole source of nutrition before solid food is introduced. Infant formula is usually fortified with dietary nutrients optimised for babies and toddlers, such as iron, to ensure survival, growth and health of the baby.[23]

gollark: Obviously SSD vs HDD is a big jump, but SATA is still fast enough for most consumer uses.
gollark: I've seen 4K displays and don't really care. My laptop screen is 120Hz and it is not significantly different from my 60Hz monitor, except for slightly better colours but this isn't very related. I recently got a mid-range-ish phone instead of the cheapest-available ones I usually would and it's somewhat nicer (better haptics and sensors mostly), but premium ones seem to have very diminishing returns from the ones I've interacted with. I've tried a few mechanical keyboards and they don't seem significantly nicer (one was even *worse* for me due to excessively tall keys/high key travel). I also have an NVMe disk and it does not feel very different to the SATA SSDs I had before.
gollark: See, even if it *was* good, you probably just get used to it and then demand higher standards forever.
gollark: Wrongness is correlated, probably.
gollark: Oh, also NVMe disks.

See also

References
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  2. "Documentary - Too much milk in Europe (Interview with Sprayfo)". DW Germany. 25 March 2017.
  3. Cho, Susan; Almeida, Nelson (29 May 2012). "Dietary Fiber and Health". CRC Press – via Google Books.
  4. Linné, Tobias; McCrow-Young, Ally (2017). "Plant Milk: From Obscurity to Visions of a Post-dairy Society". In Cohen, Mathilde; Otomo, Yoriko (eds.). Making Milk: The Past, Present and Future of Our Primary Food. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 197. ISBN 9781350029972. Retrieved 3 August 2019. The earliest document that mentions a plant-based milk - almond milk - dates back to a 1226 cookbook from present-day Iraq. [...] Soy milk [...] has roots in the Han Dynasty in China [...], in particular the early years of the Dynasty (202 BC to AD 9) when soybeans were ground and mixed with water to make soy milk [...].
  5. Kemper, Benjamin. "Nut Milks Are Milk, Says Almost Every Culture Across the Globe". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  6. Lewin, Jo. "The health benefits of coconut milk". BBC Good Food. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  7. "Almond Milk vs Cow Milk vs Soy Milk vs Rice Milk". Medium. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  8. Beck, Leslie (23 June 2014). "What's a healthier choice than cow's milk: rice, soy or almond?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  9. Rafieian-Kopaei, M; Beigrezaei, S; Nasri, H; Kafeshani, M (2017). "Soy Protein and Chronic Kidney Disease: An Updated Review". International Journal of Preventive Medicine. 8: 105. doi:10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_244_17. PMC 5760843. PMID 29416834.
  10. Love, Tessa (August 24, 2016). "Would you drink this milk made out of yeast? Berkeley startup bets the answer is yes". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  11. Perfect Day: Meet the startup that makes milk—without cows
  12. Cow Milk Without the Cow Is Coming to Change Food Forever
  13. This Startup Wants to Make Cow's Milk—Without Cows
  14. Simoons FJ (December 1969). "Primary adult lactose intolerance and the milking habit: a problem in biological and cultural interrelations. I. Review of the medical research". The American Journal of Digestive Diseases. 14 (12): 819–36. doi:10.1007/bf02233204. PMID 4902756.
  15. Flatz G, Rotthauwe HW (1971). "Evidence against nutritional adaption of tolerance to lactose". Humangenetik. 13 (2): 118–25. doi:10.1007/bf00295793. PMID 5114667.
  16. Cook GC, Kajubi SK (April 1966). "Tribal incidence of lactase deficiency in Uganda". Lancet. 1 (7440): 725–9. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(66)90888-9. PMID 4159716.
  17. Jersky J, Kinsley RH (1967). "Lactase Deficiency in the South African Bantu". South African Medical Journal. 41 (Dec): 1194–1196.
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  19. Flatz G, Saengudom C, Sanguanbhokhai T (February 1969). "Lactose intolerance in Thailand". Nature. 221 (5182): 758–9. doi:10.1038/221758b0. PMID 5818369.
  20. Elliott RB, Maxwell GM, Vawser N (January 1967). "Lactose maldigestion in Australian Aboriginal children". The Medical Journal of Australia. 1 (2): 46–9. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.1967.tb21011.x. PMID 6016903.
  21. Deng Y, Misselwitz B, Dai N, Fox M (September 2015). "Lactose Intolerance in Adults: Biological Mechanism and Dietary Management". Nutrients (Review). 7 (9): 8020–35. doi:10.3390/nu7095380. PMC 4586575. PMID 26393648.
  22. Doris E. Pitz. Lactose-Free Synthetic Ice Cream. United States Patent No: 2,643,90, February 17, 1987. http://patft.uspto.gov. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  23. Feeding baby infant formula. Government of Alberta Health and Wellness. http://www.health.alberta.ca Archived 2018-01-07 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
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