Milk not only complements the nutrition of various grains, but it is also a perfect match for pasta that requires good elasticity and toughness. Whether making steamed buns, bread, dumplings, jiaozi, or noodles, you can use milk instead of plain water to knead the dough, or add milk powder directly. Due to the action of milk protein, the dough's gluten strength is enhanced, resulting in noodles that don't break easily, bouncy steamed buns, dumplings that don't burst, and fluffier bread. In fermented foods, the large amount of B vitamins and amino acids in milk also provide ample nutrition for the yeast, leading to a better fermentation effect, a more expanded dough, and a richer aroma.
It should be noted that if you add milk to make soft pancakes like jianbing, it's best to use "whole wheat flour," or add other low-gluten ingredients like rice porridge or cornmeal. This is because the high gluten strength from milk can affect the texture of soft pancakes.
Using milk or milk powder to make pasta not only easily supplements a large amount of calcium but also slows down the absorption rate of milk, avoiding the trouble of "lactose intolerance." This allows people who usually can't drink milk to also benefit from its nutrition, allowing the whole family to share nutritious and delicious food. Milk and Fruit
The theory that milk and fruit cannot be eaten together is actually a misconception. The organic acids in fruit can cause milk to curdle, but they do not prevent the human body from absorbing the nutrients in milk. Because the human stomach is highly acidic, far exceeding the acidity of fruit, milk naturally forms curds once it enters the stomach. Since adults can digest solid foods like beef jerky, soft milk curds are certainly no problem.
As long as the astringent and sour taste of fruits and vegetables is not strong, milk can be mixed with various fruit and vegetable juices. Cloudiness does not affect the nutritional value. Yogurt is suitable to be eaten with various sweet fruit pieces, including fresh and canned fruits. Mixing diced kiwi, yellow peaches, and strawberries with yogurt to make a fresh and beautiful healthy dessert is a great option. Milk and Breakfast Cereals
Following Western customs, breakfast often consists of milk-soaked cereal flakes. In fact, the design of cereal flakes already takes milk into consideration. Cereals have a low protein content and are deficient in lysine, an important essential amino acid. When paired with milk, not only is the protein supply increased, but the lysine-rich milk compensates for the amino acid imbalance in grains, thereby enhancing the nutritional value of the cereal.
Similarly, milk can also be used to prepare sesame paste, fried rice paste, soak popcorn, cook corn porridge, or cook rice porridge. Just remember that when cooking porridge with milk, it's best to add the milk after the porridge is cooked, stir it in, and then cook for another one or two minutes to avoid the loss of nutrients in milk sticking to the pot wall during prolonged cooking.