Toned milk is a method, developed in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, of treating buffalo

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...

by adding

skim milk Skimmed milk (British English), or skim milk (American English), is made when all the milkfat is removed from whole milk. It tends to contain around 0.1% fat. Background Historically, skimmed milk was used for fattening pigs, and was recommended ...

, powdered skim milk and water to buffalo milk. This process decreases the fat content, increases the quantity of available milk, and 'tones up' the non-fat solids level to the original amount. The cost of milk is reduced, making it more widely available and not a luxury purchase. Toned milk is often used in areas where milk production is extremely low or demand is very high compared to the available capacity. In these cases, untreated milk tends to be high in fat, and mechanical removal of the milk-fat would be cost-prohibitive. Buffalo milk has a fat content of about 7-8%, and contains calcium and a non-fat solids content of 9-10%. By reducing the fat content to 3% through the toning process, the available milk quantity is nearly tripled.

Double-toned milk

Double-toned milk is a similar product, where the fat content of the milk is reduced to 1.5% and the non-fat solids content increased to 9%. This product is produced by

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

for free distribution to homeless youth and low-income families. Unlike single toned milk, double-toned milk is always

pasteurized Pasteurization American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mi ...

Standard milk

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also defined ''Standard Milk''—milk which has a minimum fat percentage of 4.5—higher than cow's milk or toned buffalo milk's 3.5% but lower than full cream buffalo milk (6.5%).FSSAI Notifies Revised Standards for Milk and Milk Products
/ref> This makes the milk balanced in fat/cream content.

Double-toned milk

Standard milk

References

Further reading