Dairy alternatives
A milk substitute is a liquid meant to replace the milk from a mammal. It is a whitish liquid that resembles milk and is often packaged as a powder to be mixed with water to yield a liquid that resembles milk. Milk substitutes usually contain milk powder in varying proportions of 30 to 80%, with the remainder consisting of other ingredients including whey, palm oil, coconut oil and similar vegetable extracts. Due to their composition, milk substitutes tend to have a longer shelf life and can withstand higher temperatures than milk, without spoiling.
A milk substitute is often used to replace dairy milk in tea, coffee, or a recipe. Milk substitutes include plant milk (including soy milk), which is used by those who want to avoid animal products for health or ethical reasons, including vegans, or because of taste preference.
Some milk substitutes are marketed to consumers as healthier than cow's milk, because they may be lower in saturated fat and, if they are entirely free of animal products, cholesterol-free. When milk substitutes are lacking in vitamins or dietary minerals present in dairy milk (such as vitamin B12 or calcium), they are usually fortified.
Humans consume milk because of its nutritional value, especially minerals like calcium, vitamins such as B12, and high protein content, but also due to taste preference, as all human babies are weaned on mother's milk or similar infant formula, which leads to positive taste associations later in life. Therefore, any milk substitute is usually expected to meet such standards, though there is no legal requirement for it to do so. This also results in more additives being put into milk substitutes to compensate for their lack of natural vitamins, minerals and proteins.
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