FOOD RESOURCE COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
LACTIC ACID, BUTYL LACTATE, ETHYL LACTATE
Ruth Winter.1978. A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives. Crown Publishers, Inc., New York.
A colorless, nearly odorless liquid which occurs in sour milk as the result of lactic-acid bacteria; also found in molasses, due to partial conversion of sugars, in apples and other fruits, tomato juice, beer, wines, opium, ergot, foxglove, and other plants. It is produced commercially by fermentation of whey, cornstarch, potatoes, and molasses. Used as an acidulant in beverages, candy, olives, dried egg whites, cottage, cheese, confections, bread, rolls, buns, cheese products, frozen desserts, sherbets, ices, fruit jelly, butter, preserves, jams (sufficient amounts may be added to compensate for the deficiency of fruit acidity), and in the brewing industry. Also used in infant-feeding formulas. Used in blackberry, butter, butterscotch, lime, chocolate, fruit, walnut, spice and gelatins, puddings, chewing gum, toppings, pickles, and olives (24,000 ppm). In concentrated solution it is caustic.
Igoe, Robert S. 1983. Dictionary of Food Ingredients. Van Nostrand and Reinhold Company.
is an acidulant which is a natural organic acid present in milk, meat, and beer, but is normally associated with milk. It is a syrupy liquid available as 50 and 88% aqueous solutions, being miscible in water and alcohol. It is heat stable, nonvolatile, and has a smooth, milk acid taste. It functions as a flavor agent, preservative, and acidity adjuster in foods. It is used in Spanish olives to prevent spoilage and provide flavor, in dry egg powder to improve dispersion and whipping properties, in cheese spreads, and in salad dressing mix.
Garrett, Theodore Francis (edited by). 1898. the Encyclopedia of Practical Cookery. L. Upcott Gill, 170, Strand, W.C. London. Vol. II
is the acid of sour milk.
Excerpts from Bender, Arnold E. 1990. Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology. Butterworths, Boston.
The acid produced by the fermentation of milk sugar and responsible for the flavor of sour milk and precipitation of the casein curd in cottage cheese. Also produced by fermentation in silage, pickles, sauerkraut, cocoa, tobacco-its value here is in suppressing the growth of unwanted organisms. In mammalian muscle metabolism the first stages of breakdown of glucose end at pyruvic acid. In severe exercise this is reduced to lactic acid, which can accumulate in the muscles. Similarly formed in meat muscle from glycogen immediately after death. Used as a acidulant (as well as citric and tartaric acids) in sugar confectionery, soft drinks, pickles and sauces.
