eli5 How are different types of milk made? Does a cow produce heavy whipping cream that just gets diluted down to skim milk?

Question

eli5 How are different types of milk made? Does a cow produce heavy whipping cream that just gets diluted down to skim milk?

In: 3

Answer 1

A cow produces milk with, on average, 3% to 4% fat content; it varies by the type of cow, the time of year, the diet of the cow, and overall condition. In large-scale industrial dairies, the fat content is removed to make skim milk, then precise amounts are added back in to make a consistent final product. In the US whole milk has 3.25% fat, and other common options are 2% and skim. In Europe whole milk is 3.5% fat, and we tend to have richer cream as well.