Dairy product and process

A method for preparing a protein-containing food product, the method comprising

• a) providing a heat-treated, liquid milk protein concentrate that has been produced directly from fresh, liquid milk, the milk protein concentrate comprising at least about 9% total protein by weight, and
• wherein the milk protein concentrate after storage for at least about one month at a temperature of about 20° C.
• i) exhibits essentially no observable gelation or aggregation,
• ii) comprises less than about 5% by weight sediment,
• iii) has a whiteness index value of at least about 70,
• iv) has a viscosity of less than about 950 mPa·s when measured at a temperature of 20° C. and a shear rate of 100 s−1, or
• v) a combination of any two or more of, or all of, (i) to (iv), and
• b) mixing the milk protein concentrate with one or more additional ingredients to produce the protein-containing food product.

A method for preparing a sports beverage, the method comprising

• a) providing a heat-treated, liquid milk protein concentrate that has been produced directly from fresh liquid milk, the milk protein concentrate comprising
• i) at least about 13.8% total protein by weight, or
• ii) comprising less than about 13.8% total protein by weight and at least about 50% total protein by weight relative to total solids non-fat,
• wherein the milk protein concentrate after storage for at least about one month at a temperature of about 20° C.
• i) exhibits essentially no observable gelation or aggregation,
• ii) comprises less than about 5% by weight sediment,
• iii) has a whiteness index value of at least about 70,
• iv) has a viscosity of less than about 950 mPa·s when measured at a temperature of 20° C. and a shear rate of 100 s−1, or
• v) a combination of any two or more of, or all of, (i) to (iv), and
• b) mixing the milk protein concentrate with one or more additional ingredients selected from the group comprising one or more flavour agents, a sweetener, one or more colouring agents, one or more stabilisers, an acidity regulator, one or more vitamins, one or more minerals, and one or more enzymes to produce the sports beverage.

Use of a heat-treated, liquid milk protein concentrate that has been produced directly from fresh liquid milk in the preparation of a protein-containing food product, the milk protein concentrate comprising at least about 9% total protein by weight, wherein the milk protein concentrate after storage for at least about one month at a temperature of about 20° C.

• i) exhibits essentially no observable gelation or aggregation,
• ii) comprises less than about 5% by weight sediment,
• iii) has a whiteness index value of at least about 70,
• iv) has a viscosity of less than about 950 mPa·s when measured at a temperature of 20° C. and a shear rate of 100 s-1, or
• v) a combination of any two or more of, or all of, (i) to (iv).

A method of preparing a liquid milk protein concentrate, the method comprising

• a) providing a composition comprising casein and whey protein,
• b) subjecting the composition to microfiltration or ultrafiltration to produce a retentate, and
• c) subjecting the retentate to a heat treatment having an F0 value of at least 3.0 to prepare a milk protein concentrate,
• the milk protein concentrate comprising at least about 13.8% total protein by weight, or comprising less than about 13.8% total protein by weight and at least about 75% total protein by weight relative to total solids non-fat,
• wherein the milk protein concentrate after storage for at least about three months at a temperature of about 20° C. has no apparent gelation.

A method of preparing a liquid milk protein concentrate, the method comprising

• a) providing a composition comprising casein and whey protein,
• b) subjecting the composition to microfiltration or ultrafiltration to produce a retentate, and
• c) subjecting the retentate to a heat treatment having an F0 value of at least 3.0 to prepare a milk protein concentrate
• the milk protein concentrate comprising at least about 13.8% total protein by weight, or comprising less than about 13.8% total protein by weight and at least about 50% total protein by weight relative to total solids non-fat,
• wherein the milk protein concentrate after storage for at least about one month at a temperature of about 20° C.
• i) exhibits essentially no observable gelation or aggregation,
• ii) comprises less than about 5% by weight sediment,
• iii) has a whiteness index value of at least about 70,
• iv) has a viscosity of less than about 950 mPa·s when measured at a temperature of 20° C. and a shear rate of 100 s−1, or
• v) a combination of any two or more of, or all of, (i) to (iv).

A heat-treated, shelf stable liquid milk protein concentrate, the concentrate comprising a microfiltration or ultrafiltration retentate, or a combination thereof, wherein the milk protein concentrate

• a) comprises at least about 13.8% total protein by weight, or less than about 13.8% total protein by weight and at least about 50% total protein by weight relative to total solids non-fat, and
• b) after storage for at least about one month at a temperature of about 20° C.
• i) exhibits essentially no observable gelation or aggregation,
• ii) comprises less than about 5% by weight sediment,
• iii) has a whiteness index value of at least about 70,
• iv) has a viscosity of less than about 950 mPa·s when measured at a temperature of 20° C. and a shear rate of 100 s−1, or
• v) a combination of any two or more of, or all of, (i) to (iv).

A method for preparing a liquid nutritional composition, the method comprising

• a) providing a heat-treated, liquid milk protein concentrate that has been produced directly from fresh liquid milk, the milk protein concentrate comprising
• i) at least about 13.8% total protein by weight, or
• ii) comprising less than about 13.8% total protein by weight and at least about 75% total protein by weight relative to total solids non-fat, wherein the milk protein concentrate after storage for at least about three months at a temperature of about 20° C. has no apparent gelation, and
• b) mixing the milk protein concentrate with at least one source of lipid and at least one source of carbohydrate to prepare the liquid nutritional composition.

A liquid nutritional composition comprising

• a) a heat-treated, liquid milk protein concentrate that has been produced directly from fresh liquid milk, the milk protein concentrate comprising
• i) at least about 13.8% total protein by weight, or
• ii) comprising less than about 13.8% total protein by weight and at least about 75% total protein by weight relative to total solids non-fat, wherein the milk protein concentrate after storage for at least about three months at a temperature of about 20° C. has no apparent gelation,
• b) at least one source of lipid, and
• c) at least one source of carbohydrate,
• wherein the liquid nutritional composition comprises
• a) at least about 5% total protein by weight,
• b) from about 0.1% to about 30% by weight fat,
• c) from about 0.1% to about 45% carbohydrate, and
• d) from about 50 to about 300 kcal per 100 mL of the composition.

A method for preparing a yoghurt, the method comprising

• a) providing a heat-treated, liquid milk protein concentrate that has been produced directly from fresh liquid milk, the milk protein concentrate comprising
• i) at least about 13.8% total protein by weight, or
• ii) comprising less than about 13.8% total protein by weight and at least about 50% total protein by weight relative to total solids non-fat,
• wherein the milk protein concentrate after storage for at least about one month at a temperature of about 20° C.
• i) exhibits essentially no observable gelation or aggregation,
• ii) comprises less than about 5% by weight sediment,
• iii) has a whiteness index value of at least about 70,
• iv) has a viscosity of less than about 950 mPa·s when measured at a temperature of 20° C. and a shear rate of 100 s−1, or
• v) a combination of any two or more of, or all of, (i) to (iv), and
• b) mixing the milk protein concentrate with
• i) at least one additional ingredient selected from the group comprising one or more milk powders, liquid milk and lactose powder, and
• ii) a yoghurt starter culture,
• to produce a yoghurt mix, and
• c) allowing the yoghurt mix to ferment to prepare the yoghurt.

A yoghurt comprising a heat-treated, liquid milk protein concentrate that has been produced directly from fresh liquid milk, the milk protein concentrate comprising

• i) at least about 13.8% total protein by weight, or
• ii) comprising less than about 13.8% total protein by weight and at least about 50% total protein by weight relative to total solids non-fat,
• wherein the milk protein concentrate after storage for at least about one month at a temperature of about 20° C.
• i) exhibits essentially no observable gelation or aggregation,
• ii) comprises less than about 5% by weight sediment,
• iii) has a whiteness index value of at least about 70,
• iv) has a viscosity of less than about 950 mPa·s when measured at a temperature of 20° C. and a shear rate of 100 s−1, or
• v) a combination of any two or more of, or all of, (i) to (iv), and
• wherein the yoghurt comprises at least about 3% by weight total protein.

A method for preparing a dairy beverage, the method comprising

• a) providing a heat-treated, liquid milk protein concentrate that has been produced directly from fresh liquid milk, the milk protein concentrate comprising
• i) at least about 13.8% total protein by weight, or
• ii) comprising less than about 13.8% total protein by weight and at least about 50% total protein by weight relative to total solids non-fat,
• wherein the milk protein concentrate after storage for at least about one month at a temperature of about 20° C.
• i) exhibits essentially no observable gelation or aggregation,
• ii) comprises less than about 5% by weight sediment,
• iii) has a whiteness index value of at least about 70,
• iv) has a viscosity of less than about 950 mPa·s when measured at a temperature of 20° C. and a shear rate of 100 s−1, or
• v) a combination of any two or more of, or all of, (i) to (iv), and
• b) mixing the milk protein concentrate with liquid milk or a milk powder, or a combination thereof to produce the dairy beverage.