Shake It Up Baby: Protein Powder in America

How it's made

From it's bad tasting beginnings to its delicious future, as protein powder has evolved it has become a staple for millions of athletes across america. The origins of protein powder started with an egg based powder and was quickly followed with a Whey based protein powder. Both of which probably tasted awful and were slow to digest. As industrial technology was better developed, so too was the quality and variety of available protein powder as people like Hoffman worked with teams of scientist to better develop this protein gold mine they have discovered. Back in the 1950's the process of making protein was literally done by hand, however the surprisingly large demand for a protein powder quickly change the manufacturing process. The manufacturing process of Whey protein in the 1950s was slow moving belts with huge ovens to dehydrate they whey curds. On top of that you might have to run the whey curds through the process more than once. Although the process of developing protein in the 1950s and now are relatively the same, it's simply the newer technology and machinery that give us the ability to create a more refined whey based protein powder. But it was the public demand that gave us reason to research how to better develop such a versatile meal replacement product. In the old way of processing protein powder, it involved various heaters and ovens to in order to extract all the moisture. Then big rollers would flatten and crush the protein substance. Similar to the process used now, however the technology and monitoring systems were less advanced. The final product of protein powder produced without modern technology was coarse, bad tasting product made in a way that is not nearly as controlled as modern methods. With modern technology, Whey protein and other forms of protein powder can be mass produced with relative ease. From 1950 until about 1990, It took a large amount of Whey curds to be processed into Whey powder, about 100 gallons of whey curds will only produce one 2lb tub of protein. Not only is this inefficient for production, but Whey powder isn't necessarily the best form of Protein powder for your digestive system.

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