|
Escherichia coli (commonly called E. coli) is a species of Gram-negative aerobic bacteria that is found in the intestine and is also widely used in microbiological and genetic research. The motile rod-shaped cells ferment lactose and are usually harmless commensals, although certain strains are pathogenic. Studies of E coli laboratory cultures have revealed much about the genetics of prokaryotes; the species is also frequently used in genetic engineering, particularly as a host for gene cloning and the expression of recombinant foreign genes in culture.
 Research Escherichia coli
Lactase is an enzyme found in the small intestine, needed to digest lactose.
Research Lactase
Lactase deficiency is a lack of the lactase enzyme. It causes lactose intolerance.
Research Lactase Deficiency
Galactose (lactoglucose) is a sugar formed together with glucose when lactose is boiled in dilute acids. It occurs naturally in ivy.
Research Galactose
Lactose is a sugar found in solution in milk. It is the combination of glucose and galactose.
Research Lactose
Milk is a secretion from modified skin glands of female mammals.
Cow's milk is the most popular form of milk consumed as a food by humans. All milks will vary in composition depending upon the diet and nature, but cow's milk is remarkably stable in constitutents so long as the diet is relatively stable. However, cow's milk does vary noticeably between milk taken in the morning and milk taken in the evening. This difference in milk has long been exploited by cheese makers to produce cheeses with distinct characteristics and taste. Morning milk being more water than evening milk which has a noticeably greater proportion of fat and solids. The last milk taken from the udder is likewise the richest in terms of fat content.
Unpasteurised cow's milk is generally reckoned as neing comprised of 86.3 percent water; 4.1 percent casein; 3.7 percent milk-fat; 5.1 percent lactose; and 0.8 percent mineral matter.
Research Milk
In chemistry, the sugars are a group of carbohydrates, soluble in water and having a sweet taste. The group includes glucose, lactose and saccharose.
Research Sugars
Cheese is a food made from the curds (solids) of soured milk - that is milk fermented by bacteria - from cows, sheep, or goats, separated from the whey (liquid), then salted, put into moulds, and pressed into firm blocks. The bacteria which ferment the milk convert the lactose into lactic acid. Lactic acid kills many harmful bacteria and viruses such as salmonella and e.coli, and there is no health reason to use pasteurised milk to make real cheese.
Cheese is ripened with other bacteria or surface fungi, and kept for a time to mature before eating. The precise fermentation process being a mystery still, no two natural cheeses are identical. There are six main types of cheese. Soft cheeses may be ripe or unripe, and include cottage cheese and high-fat soft cheeses such as Bel Paese, Camembert, and Neufchatel. Semi-hard cheeses are ripened by bacteria (Munster) or by bacteria and surface fungi (Port Salut, Gouda, St Paulin); they may also have penicillin moulds injected into them (Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Blue Stilton, Wensleydale). Hard cheeses are ripened by bacteria, and include Cheddar, Cheshire, and Cucciocavallo; some have large cavities within them, such as Swiss Emmental and Gruyere.
Very hard cheeses, such as Parmesan and Spalen, are made with skimmed or partially skimmed milk. Processed cheese is made with dried skim-milk powder and additives, and whey cheese is made by heat coagulation of the proteins from whey; examples are Mysost and Primost. From 1980 in France a cheese has the same appellation controlee status as wine if it is made only in a special defined area - for example, Cantal and Roquefort are appellation controlee cheeses, but not Camembert and Brie, which are made in more than one region. Italy has a similar system, Denominazione di Origine Controllata, a regulation designed to protect certain indigenous cheeses.
There are thousands of different cheeses made through the world, with Spain producing over 600 different cheeses.
Research Cheese
Mackeson's Stout is England's best-known bottled sweet stout. It is made by Whitbread and is a blackish colour with a sugary, fruity taste. It was originally brewed by the firm of Mackeson in Hythe, Kent, in 1907. At that time it was claimed to be a tonic for invalids because it contained milk sugar or lactose. The sugar does not ferment, so the beer is low in alcohol. Mackeson's was called milk stout until the British Government banned the term in 1946. However, Whitbread continues the connection through a milk churn on the label. It is still the leading brand in a declining sweet stout market and was once exported to 60 countries, and was brewed under licence in Belgium, Jamaica, New Zealand and Singapore.
Research Mackeson's Stout
Milk Stout is a type of stout with added lactose (milk sugar). The term was banned in Britain in 1946 because of the implication that milk was added to the brew.
Research Milk Stout
|
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
©1993 - 2009 The Probert Encyclopaedia
Southampton, United Kingdom
|
|
|
Abbreviations
