Milk Products
. Milk in its natural form, directly from a cow, is called raw milk. It is an extremely versatile product from which a myriad of commercial products are derived. A. Whole Milk, Low-fat Milk, and Skim Milk Since the fat in raw milk is lighter in weight than the rest of the milk, it will naturally rise to form a layer of cream if allowed to stand. Spinning the milk in a large machine, called a centrifuge, accelerates the formation of a cream layer, or the separation of fat, from raw milk. Varying amounts of fat are removed from the raw milk, resulting in different kinds of fresh milk. If the fat content is lowered to 3.25 percent, the milk is sold as whole milk. Low-fat milk typically has 1 percent or 2 percent fat. Skim milk, or nonfat milk, is the liquid that remains after removing all the cream; it contains about half a percent milk fat. About half of the milk produced in the United States is consumed as one of these types of fresh milk; the rest is processed into other products such ...