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Milk it for its goodness

Milk is full of natural goodness. But for those who don't like to take it as it is, you can add it to your tart, bread or shake recipes. SU AZIZ writes.

Blueberry and Strawberry Tart.

Strawberry Milk Shake.

Orange Raisin Bread.

WE all grew up drinking glasses of milk. The ultimate milky question is, when was the last time you had a glass of milk as an adult? Willingly, that is. If you are anything like me with a natural adversity towards milk in my adulthood, then it will be a couple of decades ago!

Nowadays, most of us go through days, weeks, months, of not really consuming milk. Except when it is hidden in desserts, hot beverages and chocolates, right? Well, I have news for you. Experts are saying it is not enough. Hang on a bit before you go on a milk drinking rampage, at least know the facts.

According to Farah Diba Khan, chief dietitian at Prince Court Medical Centre on the corner of Jalan Kia Peng in Kuala Lumpur, an average adult needs about two glasses or around 500ml per day of milk to keep things like osteoporosis at bay.

“And in relation to a healthy diet, it is good for diabetics, for better insulin absorption and it helps when it comes to weight loss.”

Whoa, stop! Don’t start guzzling tonnes of milk to lose weight. It doesn’t work that way. Milk becomes wondrous as an assisting influence when working side by side with a weight bearing exercise regime and an appropriate diet.

“Normally, bones will start to lose bone mass density after one hits 35-years onwards. But drinking milk is only effective when coupled with weight bearing exercises, eating other dairy products and an appropriate diet,” said Khan.

Milk consists of potassium, calcium, protein and magnesium. The first is essential for the body’s growth and maintenance while the second supports the structure of our bones and teeth. Lack of the third might lead to, among other things, a breakdown of muscle tissue. And the fourth enhances muscle and nerve functions.

Still, milk drinking does not come naturally for most adult Malaysians and to try and change them, well, “If you try to change the stripes of a zebra, it is ridiculous. Much like a human at a mature age! It (milk drinking habit) has to start from young,” admitted Khan. “Although it is never too late to start. Even when you are 60!”

Here’s what milk producers such as Dutch Lady have done. They gave us choices. There are all sorts of milk and dairy products such as yoghurt that is infused with vitamins, flavours and your budget consideration. Milk has gone to a whole different level and it has become chic.

“Whether it is low fat, skim or full cream, they are all the same. Milk is milk,” she said. “Buy according to your tastebuds and budget.”

Soy milk, according to her, is fine although it does not contain as much calcium as cow’s milk but for the lactose intolerant, soy-based products are the best alternative.

You can sample the many different types of milk tomorrow. Head to The Curve shopping mall in Petaling Jaya before 10am and discover what Dutch Lady has to offer. It is marking our first ‘Nationwide Milk Day’, which falls tomorrow, by distributing 50,000 milk packets free to Malaysians across the country.

“There is no such thing as over-consumption,” Khan said. “Except when you replace your meals with milk. Like mothers who overfeed their babies with milk and wonder why they never eat their meals. The thing that might happen in this case is you will grow fat and your cholesterol level might go up.”

What I say? I say, take baby steps. Start integrating more milk and dairy products into your daily diet. Increase it as you go along and while you decide which sort of milk suits you best. There’s UHTs, sterilised, pasteurised and in powder form, liquid form.

The list goes on. Still, choices are good and it gives us a chance to try out recipes using different types of milk and also yoghurt. So, as a famous advertisement once asked, “Got Milk?”. Your reply would be “most definitely!”

Recipe:

BLUEBERRY & STRAWBERRY TART

For the pastry, you will need:

120g butter
60g icing sugar
20g Dutch Lady full cream milk powder
240g plain flour
a small egg or half of a large one

Cream butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Add in flour and egg to form a dough (be careful not to over-beat).

Scale dough to 25-29g and press down onto a medium-sized tart mould.

Allow to rest for 30 minutes in chiller.

Bake in preheated oven of 180oC for 25 minutes, remove from tin and let it cool.

For the filling, you will need:

250g fresh or frozen blueberries
100g fresh strawberries
200g sugar
10g corn flour
10g potato starch
a small cup of water

Boil the blueberries, strawberries, sugar and water over low heat and cook for 40 minutes. Thicken with corn starch, potato starch and water and simmer until thickened.

For the topping, you need:

200g cream cheese
60g Dutch Lady mixed berries low-fat yoghurt
60g icing sugar
an egg

Whisk cream cheese, yoghurt, icing sugar and egg until emulsified, keep aside for later use.

Lastly, assemble all three components by filling half of the tart crust with the berries’ jam. Drop in a spoonful of blueberries and top with 1-2 tablespoons of topping.

Garnish with more berries and bake in preheated oven of 180oC for 25 minutes.

Remove from mould tin and let it cool. Sprinkle some icing sugar on top for eye-pleasing effect.

This recipe contains:

Calories: 270.87
Fat: 175.6g
Carbohydrate: 333.9g
Protein: 44.31g

STRAWBERRY MILK SHAKE

Two scoops of vanilla ice cream
A cup of Dutch Lady strawberry UHT milk
A handful of fresh strawberries

Rinse strawberries with water and cut into quarters. Mix all ingredients in a blender. Process until frothy and well-blended. Serve on tall glass garnished with strawberries.

This recipe makes two cups and it contains:

Calories: 148
Fat: 7.6g
Carbohydrate: 15.1g
Protein: 4.9g

ORANGE RAISIN BREAD

150g high protein flour
50g medium protein flour
40g brown sugar
4g or a pinch of instant dry yeast
20g Dutch Lady low-fat pasteurised milk
2 tbsp orange zest
2 tsp orange oil

Mix everything together. Then gather half a cup or equivalent to 20g orange juice and 20g Dutch Lady milk powder.

Slowly add in milk and juice into the mix. Knead till elastic.

Then, fold in 20g of butter and continue kneading for about 15 minutes.

Proof for 40 minutes or until size doubles. Then, fold in 50g of raisins into the dough. Flatten and shape accordingly.

Proof for another 40 minutes and bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.

This recipe serves 10 and contains:

Calories: 123
Fat: 23.70g
Carbohydrate: 222.4g
Protein: 32.46g

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