Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recalled how he was ridiculed for calling camel milk nutritious. He added that now camel's milk was fetching double the price for the farmers than cow's milk, and chocolates made with it are high in demand. Inaugurating various projects worth crores in Gujarat, Modi said, ''I had spoken about the nutritious value of camel milk. But people made fun of me as if the Gujarat chief minister had committed some crime. Cartoons were drawn to mock me. I am thankful that, after so many years, Amul has fulfilled my dream.''
Modi inaugurated Amul's premium chocolate plant worth Rs 533 crore in Anand, Gujarat. He also inaugurated an incubation centre cum centre of excellence of Anand Agriculture University, an ice cream plant worth Rs 20 crore, and unveiled a solar cooperative which was initiated with the help of the National Diary Developemnt Corporation at the Mujkuva village. Besides, the PM laid the foundation stones for Amul's expansion projects related to milk processing, butter manufacturing, and packaging.
Nutritional value of camel milk
Meanwhile nutrition experts vouch for the incredible nutritious qualities of camel milk which is a great source of energy as well. In many countries, camel's milk is used as a natural remedy for skin ailments and allergies. Researches reveal that the protein rich camel milk contains about 50% less fat content than cow's milk. A store house of Vitamin C, camel milk is also a rich source of iron and calcium.
Delicacies made from camel's milk
In the Gulf countries, many food items with camel milk as the main ingredient are available in the supermarkets. In Doha, pasteurized camel milk is available in sealed bottles. Strawberry, dates, and chocolate flavoured camel milk is a popular drink in Qatar. Yogurt, ice creams, and chocolates are made with it. Camel milk ice cream in chocolate, dates, saffron, and almond flavours are a hit among the young and the old alike. Compared to cow's milk, camel milk has a stronger flavour and a smell which makes it an excellent ingredient for desserts.
Processed camel's milk
Founded in 2006, Dubai based Camelicious is the biggest exporter of camel milk products in the world. Pasteurized and bottled camel milk have already hit the shelves of leading supermarket chains like Carrefour, Al Meera, and Safari in Qatar and UAE. Merchants say that people who buy bottled camel milk to taste it, come back to buy more bottles. It was Camelicious which made pasteurized camel milk so popular in Qatar when the company introduced it for the first time in 2016. Al Nassama, another company based in Dubai, is the largest producer of chocolate made from camel milk.
Experts say that Qatar is one of the biggest consumers of camel milk products in the Middle East. Flavoured camel milk in pet bottles is quite popular here. It would cost up to 39 riyals for a 1 litre bottle and 9.75 riyals for the smaller ones. Camelicious, which runs the largest camel farm in the world, currently has a herd of 5300 camels. The company owned by the Emirates Industry for Camel Milk and Products (EICMP) exports camel milk and milk products to countries like Kuwait, Jordan, Britain, Austria, Russia, India, and Malaysia.
Ice cream
The Al Ain Dairy, the largest dairy producers in the Middle East, in 2015, lunched camel milk ice cream under their Camelait brand of milk products. The ice cream which is available in chocolate, dates, strawberry, almond and saffron flavours is available in all the leading retail outlets in the UAE. The chief executive of the Al Ain dairy Shashikumar Menon said that the Camelait products would be exported to the Northern African countries, Europe, and USA besides the GCC countries. The camel milk ice cream is available in tubs of 125 ml to 1 litre. Each tub of ice cream is generously garnished with variety of nuts as well.
