GIFSQ Tools · Module 07 — Dairy, Milk, Cheese & Fermented Products · Tool 121 of 500
Standardise a batch of milk to a target fat content: add cream to raise the fat or skim milk to lower it, by the Pearson square balance.
Try sample values — fills the form with the worked example below.
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To add (kg)
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Final batch (kg)
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Target fat (%)
Equation: Cream to add (kg) = milk (kg) × (target fat − milk fat) ÷ (cream fat − target fat). Skim milk to add (kg) = milk (kg) × (milk fat − target fat) ÷ (target fat − skim fat). Final batch (kg) = milk + amount added.
Method: Pearson square mass balance for milk standardisation (IDF/ISO dairy practice; fat measured by ISO 1211 Röse-Gottlieb or ISO 9622 mid-infrared). Add cream when the target is above the milk fat; add skim milk when the target is below it.
Assumptions: the cream and skim milk fat contents are known and constant through the batch; volumes are treated as masses (density differences ignored); no fat is lost in handling.
Limitations: the balance only fixes fat — protein, solids-not-fat and total solids shift too and must be checked separately; it does not correct for added water or for cream that has partially churned.
Rounding: amounts to 2 decimal places; percentages to 2 decimal places; intermediates unrounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Method: Pearson square mass balance for milk standardisation (IDF/ISO dairy practice; fat measured by ISO 1211 Röse-Gottlieb or ISO 9622 mid-infrared). Add cream when the target is above the milk fat; add skim milk when the target is below it.
Assumptions: the cream and skim milk fat contents are known and constant through the batch; volumes are treated as masses (density differences ignored); no fat is lost in handling.
Limitations: the balance only fixes fat — protein, solids-not-fat and total solids shift too and must be checked separately; it does not correct for added water or for cream that has partially churned.
Rounding: amounts to 2 decimal places; percentages to 2 decimal places; intermediates unrounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Worked example: 1000 kg of milk at 3.5% fat, cream at 40% fat, target 4.0% fat. Cream to add = 1000 × (4.0 − 3.5) ÷ (40 − 4.0) = 13.89 kg; final batch = 1013.89 kg.
Enter values above to see results.
Whole milk is typically about 3.5% fat; cream for standardising is usually 35–40% fat and skim milk about 0.1% fat. Tool 121 of 500 — GIFSQ
