"The book contains many contributions informed by recent research. These will be of value to nutritionists, dairy scientists and technologists working in research, industrial and teaching roles…the editors have achieved their aim of producing a reference work that addresses the nutritional and functional properties of milk and its contribution to human nutrition. It is a valuable reference source for dairy professionals." (International Journal of Dairy Technology) The dairy sector is under increasing scrutiny on environmental and health grounds. Optimising the nutritional and functional properties of milk as part of a balanced diet offers one solution to these challenges. This book draws on a wealth of knowledge from a team of internationally-renowned dairy experts to show how this can be achieved. Understanding and improving the functional and nutritional properties of milk reviews the latest research on the remarkable range of functional and nutritional properties of milk that make it both a key food source and ingredient in a wide range of dairy products. The collection discusses proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and other components of milk, as well as how our understanding can be used to optimise the quality of milk and dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 General 1.The role of the dairy matrix in the contribution of milk and dairy products to the human diet: Jan Geurts, FrieslandCampina, The Netherlands; 2.Digestion of milk protein and milk fat: Aiqian Ye, Riddet Institute, Massey University, New Zealand; 3.Milk composition and properties: interspecies comparison: Golfo Moatsou, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece; Part 2 Proteins and lipids 4.Caseins and casein micelles: Thom Huppertz, FrieslandCampina and Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands and Victoria University, Australia; and Inge Gazi, Utrecht University and Netherlands Proteomics Center, The Netherlands; 5.Advances in dairy protein science: whey proteins: Dimuthu Bogahawaththa and Todor Vasiljevic, Victoria University, Australia; 6.Understanding nutritional and bioactive properties of whey: Geoffrey McCarthy, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ireland; James A. O’Mahony, University College Cork, Ireland; and Mark A. Fenelon and Rita M. Hickey, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ireland; 7.Functional ingredients based on bioactive peptides from milk proteins: Egon Bech Hansen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark; 8.Advances in dairy lipid science: physicochemical aspects: Daylan A. Tzompa-Sosa, Ghent University, Belgium; and Naomi Arita-Merino, Wageningen University, The Netherlands; 9.Advances in understanding the biosynthetic pathways of milk lipids, their health benefits and bioactive properties: Nurit Argov-Argaman, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; Part 3 Carbohydrates and other components 10.Lactose in milk: properties, nutritional characteristics and role in dairy products: Thom Huppertz, FrieslandCampina and Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands; 11.Nutritional properties and biological activity of lactose and other dairy carbohydrates: Michael Gänzle, University of Alberta, Canada; 12.Advances in understanding of indigenous milk enzymes: Lotte Bach Larsen, Søren Drud-Heydary Nielsen and Nina Aagaard Poulsen, Aarhus University, Denmark; and Alan L. Kelly, University College Cork, Ireland; 13.Advances in understanding milk salts: Xiao-Chen Liu and Leif H. Skibsted, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Part 4 Optimising milk composition and quality 14.Advances in instrumental analysis of dairy products: Paul Andrewes and Stephen E. Holroyd, Fonterra Research and Development Centre, New Zealand; Brendon Gill and Richard Johnson, Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd, New Zealand; and Andrew Lewis, Andrew MacKenzie and Mikhail Vyssotski, Callaghan Innovation, New Zealand; 15.Genetic factors affecting the composition and quality of cow’s milk: Nina Aagaard Poulsen and Lotte Bach Larsen, Aarhus University, Denmark; 16.Dietary factors affecting the composition of cow’s milk: Martin Auldist, Agriculture Victoria Research, Australia; 17.Sensory properties of milk: understanding and analysis: Tim Coolbear, Nathalie Janin, Rachel Traill and Rebecca Shingleton, Fonterra Research and Development Centre, New Zealand; 18.Microbial quality and spoilage of raw cow’s milk: Maria Kazou, Alkmini Gavriil, Chryssi Kounenidaki and Effie Tsakalidou, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece; 19.Understanding the contribution of milk constituents to the texture of dairy products: liquid milk products: Hilton C. Deeth, University of Queensland, Australia; 20.Understanding the contribution of milk constituents to the texture of dairy products: fermented products: Georg Surber, Harald Rohm and Doris Jaros, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany; 21.Understanding the contribution of milk constituents to the texture of dairy products: cheese: Michel Britten, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada;