Ashland

Dairy

Dairy

Churning up possible solutions

Whether from cows, sheep or goats, the world of dairy continues to grow and evolve.  Yogurt, milk, butter, and a wide assortment of cheese are some of the products that start as milk.  Regardless of the final product, Ashland wants to work with you to find solutions for your products, such as improved shelf life, better texture or more stability. As solvers, the folks at Ashland apply their passion to new and better ways to deliver rich, full-bodied ice cream or manage the acids in milk drinks to improve shelf life. Ashland is churning out solutions... for you.

Ashland’s hydrocolloids are an excellent solution for ice creams, low-pH beverages and other dairy-based products where stabilizers are needed for optimal shelf life, viscosity and mouthfeel.  For example, acidified-milk drinks are popular in many countries. Lowering of pH by the addition of flavors or by the activity of lactic acid-producing bacteria may cause separation of serum due to aggregation of milk proteins.  Cellulose gum stabilizes the proteins, preventing serum separation in acidified milk drinks by increasing the viscosity and electrostatic repulsion.

Ice cream also needs stabilization with the repeated freeze-thaw cycles common in product distribution channels.  These fluctuations in temperature, known as heat shock, cause the available water to coalesce and form large, coarse ice crystals imparting a granular consistency.  Cellulose and guar gums control the water mobility and formation of ice crystals in ice cream to deliver rich full-bodied products with the desired flavor and consistency profile that formulators demand.