Milk is the ideal drink for dipping biscuits, accompanying cereals and is delicious when combined with cocoa powder. Milk is also the key ingredient in yogurt, ice cream, and macaroni and cheese. Before milk became the basis for many delicious dishes and desserts, milk had to undergo many changes. This article will explore milk composition, historical milk processing, milk production in the United States. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The four main components of milk are water, carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Other components such as vitamins, minerals and enzymes are found in milk, but in small amounts. The most important component found in milk is water, which makes up about 88% of milk. Another component of milk is protein, which makes up about 3.3% of milk. The two main types of proteins found in milk are casein and whey. About 80% of milk protein is made up of casein. The remaining 20% ​​of protein in milk is made up of whey. Fats are another component of milk. Fat represents 3.4% of milk. These fats, or fatty acids, are composed of a chain of carbon atoms accompanied by hydrogen atoms lining the outside of the chain and a carboxylic group at the end of the fatty structure. Fatty acids have only two classifications: saturated or unsaturated. Saturated fats have single carbon bonds while unsaturated fats have double carbon bonds. Milk fat is made up of 70% saturated fat, 28% monounsaturated fat, and 2.3% polyunsaturated fat. The second constituent of milk is carbohydrates. Milk is made up of 4.9% carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, also called saccharides, are structures composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The three types of carbohydrates are monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides. Monosaccharides are the simplest form of sugar. Since a monosaccharide is not a form of molecular compound, it is used as a building block for other carbohydrates. Glucose, galactose and fructose are examples of monosaccharides. When two monosaccharide molecules are joined, they form a disaccharide molecule. A polysaccharide molecule is formed when more than two monosaccharide molecules are joined. Polysaccharides are complex sugars due to their long chains of monosaccharide compounds. While monosaccharide and disaccharide molecules are simple sugars since they are composed of only two monosaccharides. Examples of polysaccharides include starches, fibers and glycogen. Examples of disaccharides include maltose, lactose and sucrose. Lactose is the type of carbohydrate found in milk. Lactose is formed by the union of glucose and galactose. There are different varieties of milk. Whole milk, low-fat milk, and skim milk are the three most common types of milk. The fat percentage of whole milk cannot fall below 3.25%. The fat percentage of skimmed milk cannot fall below 0.5%. The percentage of fat in skimmed milk cannot exceed 0.5-2.0%. Milk is produced in different ways. The three common milk production processes are pasteurization, homogenization and vitamin fortification. According to Chris Cavette, in “Milk” from the How Products are Made website, the complete production..