Dairy & Eggs
Semi-Skimmed Milk in gelato
Semi-skimmed milk is cow's milk with part of the fat removed, leaving about 1.5-1.8% fat and roughly 10.5% total solids. In gelato it is the primary liquid base, supplying water, milk proteins, lactose and a moderate dose of fat.
Balancing parameters
Per 100 g of product, verified against independent food-science sources (listed below).
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Solids | 10.5% |
| Water | 89.5% |
| Sugars | 0% |
| Fat | 1.6% |
| MSNF | 8.9% |
| Protein | 3.5% |
| POD (sweetening power) | 0.7 |
| PAC (anti-freezing power) | 4.7 |
Typical use: Commonly 50-65% of a white gelato base (the primary liquid), lower when heavy cream, milk powder or egg yolk are increased.
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Open the balancerHow to use it in gelato
Semi-skimmed milk is the main carrier of water and milk solids-non-fat (MSNF) in most white gelato bases, contributing lactose, casein and whey proteins that build body and improve emulsion stability. Its fat (about 1.6%) is far lower than cream, so it dilutes richness and lets you dial fat with cream, butter or egg. Its own anti-freezing power is modest: lactose (PAC coefficient 100, POD 16 in dry base) gives roughly PAC 4.7 and POD 0.7 per 100 g, so milk barely softens the mix and barely sweetens it. Use it as the volume base, then balance sugars and fat separately.
Origin & background
Industrial fat standardisation of milk became routine after Gustaf de Laval patented the continuous centrifugal cream separator in 1878, which let dairies precisely remove cream. The UK term "semi-skimmed" denotes milk standardised to 1.5-1.8% fat, codified in modern EU/UK milk marketing standards; McCance & Widdowson's The Composition of Foods lists it at about 1.8 g fat, 3.6 g protein and 4.8 g sugars per 100 ml.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- https://www.nutritionvalue.org/public_ingredient_12945.html (semi-skimmed milk, data sourced from USDA National Nutrient Database / FoodData Central)
- https://milk.co.uk/nutritional-composition-of-dairy/milk/ (Dairy UK, values from McCance & Widdowson's The Composition of Foods, 7th summary edition)
- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/ (USDA FoodData Central, milk reduced-fat/2% reference entries)