Milk: Way or No Way?
In many cultures of the world, especially the Western world, humans continue to consume milk beyond infancy, using the milk of other animals (in particular, cows) as a food product. For millennia, cow milk has been processed into dairy products such as cream, butter, yogurt, kefir, ice cream, and especially the more durable and easily transportable product, cheese. Industrial science has brought us casein, whey protein, lactose, condensed milk, powdered milk, and many other food-additive and industrial products.
For our purposes today, we're just talking about milk, not those listed products made from milk.
Humans are an exception in the natural world for consuming milk past infancy. Most humans lose the ability to fully digest milk after childhood (that is, they become lactose intolerant). The sugar lactose is found only in milk, forsythia flowers, and a few tropical shrubs. The enzyme needed to digest lactose, lactase, reaches its highest levels in the small intestines after birth and then begins a slow decline unless milk is consumed regularly. On the other hand, those groups that do continue to tolerate milk often have exercised great creativity in using the milk of domesticated ungulates, not only of cows, but also sheep, goats, yaks, water buffalo, horses, and camels.
I'm not particularly fond of milk and use it occasionally on cereal as a nighttime snack, or a rare cup of hot chocolate paired with a fun winter activity or in front of the fire. I had to switch to lactose free. I use it in my coffee, and in cooking (bechamel) and baking (pudding, custards, etc.), but not often. I even tried to avoid it as a child. I'm Half-Way.
If you still drink milk, what is your preference? Cows milk? Whole or reduced fat or fat free? How often do you drink it and how do you use it?
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55 Comments:
I used to be required to drink a glass of milk with dinner, while growing up, but now I only use it for cooking. (I get my dairy from cheese and yogurt.) I guess if I had to drink a glass of milk, I'd have whole milk.
Junie at 10:25AM on 01/14/09
I only use straight milk in my cereals, both hot and cold, and prefer 1% or 2%. The only rare occasion on which I will actually drink a glass of milk is with hot chocolate chip cookies. Then a tall glass of milk is just the thing!
juliebugsmama at 10:25AM on 01/14/09
I am lactose intolerant, so I drink nondairy milk. My favorites are almond and hazelnut. I am not a big milk drinker, though, so I mostly use them on cereal (1 tbsp, no more, I am very picky), in coffee (a very small amount) or in baking. Once in awhile, I like hot cocoa made with hazelnut milk. Mmm!
KarynMC at 10:27AM on 01/14/09
unless oreos or cereal are involved no freakin way... and its still whole... i cant get into the watery "%'s" i was raised on whole and never made the switch... luckily for me my milk consumption isnt very much so i don't really worry about the disgustingness of drinking whole milk...
hungrygrl7 at 10:45AM on 01/14/09
I am a big milk drinker, I grew up having to drink a glass with dinner everynight. These days 1% is my go to, but I also enjoy vanilla soy. I have it in cereal daily, but I also love a tall glass of chocolate milk and hot cocoa is so much better with milk. My favorite protein shake is skim milk, ice, peanut butter, banana, and chocolate or vanilla whey protein. Got milk?
KtMc24 at 10:47AM on 01/14/09
I love milk, and up until last year, drank only whole milk. I switched to 2% only because I got tired of hearing how bad whole milk is for adults, and also once I realized really how much I was drinking every week -- nay, every day -- just in my coffee.
kfarrel3 at 11:03AM on 01/14/09
I love milk and all things made from milk. Usually I have 1% on hand and I prefer organic milk (which also keeps about twice as long as conventional milk). Lately I have also been using it to make protein shakes with Spiru-tein Banana flavor. The high protein boosts my energy level and helps me feel less hungry.
I also drink a lot of spice chai with the 1% milk.
brigittesm at 11:14AM on 01/14/09
I drink a glass everyday--it's kind of my pre-breakfast (I hate to eat breakfast right after I get up, so I take yogurt to work for later in the am)
I buy 2 %, but I'll drink whole milk. Either way, it has to be ice-cold. A cold glass of milk and a warm gooey brownie can't be beat!
Lilla at 11:15AM on 01/14/09
I MIGHT drink a glass of milk once a year...and it would only be because it has Quik strawberry syrup in it. I hate the way milk smells and tastes. We only buy organic whole milk so I won't have the runs all day.
While in Japan, I've been told that I used to drink unpasteurized whole milk. I have no memory of this. I might check that out that since I can get that at the stores here too.
Cassaendra at 11:16AM on 01/14/09
I used to go through milk in cycles, I wouldnt drink it for 6 mths and then I'd kill a half gallon in 2 days. Now I dont drink it anymore because of medical issues. I use soy milk to cook with and on VERY rare occasions I'll have cold cereal, but mostly avoid it and dont even miss it anymore. However I do miss GOOD cheese (soy sux!!!) lol ;-)
huneybumper at 11:28AM on 01/14/09
I love milk, and have it in some form every single day. To me, there's nothing better with almost all desserts than a huge glass of cold milk. I will say, though, that for me, milk needs to come from a cow. "Milk" from soybeans, rice, almonds, or anything else just isn't real milk, in my opinion....although I admit that chocolate soymilk is starting to grow on me. Anyway, I drink skim, and have for years, although I can handle 1 percent. Anything beyond that is like drinking straight cream. Yum, I seriously don't know that I'd want to live life without it.
kimberlymac at 11:34AM on 01/14/09
huneybumper - have you tried Dr.Cow? I am just curious. It is "artisan cheese" made from cashews and macadamias. I've heard mixed reviews, and it's way out of my price range, so I haven't tried it. I agree that most fake cheeses suck (the best I've found are sheese and cheesely, but they are not the same). I think I'm going to try making my own fermented nut cheese, though. Eventually.
KarynMC at 11:37AM on 01/14/09
I'm 34, but my mom was older when she had me, so I was told that Terrible Things would happen if I didn't have a glass of milk or orange juice with every meal.
As soon as I had any say-so in what went into my mouth, the milk, followed by the oj, were the first things to go--and I always got lectures about not putting enough milk in my cereal.
I transitioned to skim from whole when I was ten or so, by request.
I went through a non-dairy period a few years ago, and while now I do eat yogurt, I only use unsweetened almond milk at home. I also never really drink beverages of any kind, so the 'milk-like liquid' is for baking or to moisten but not wet some bread product.
So no way, on drinking milk. My apologies to the Milk Mustache brigade ;)
HeartofGlass at 11:48AM on 01/14/09
Way - we use skim milk (the kind that is treated to have the mouth feel of 2%, otherwise I can't deal with it...it also seems to last longer than regular dairy milk). We also have a fat free half and half type product in the house for coffee.
Amandarama at 11:57AM on 01/14/09
Way on whole milk....can't drink it, but luv to cook with it
Markbb at 12:08PM on 01/14/09
I don't drink milk, but that has do with my good friend lactose intolerance. I do use soy milk, since I love cereal. But my drinking just milk days are over.
Laurel E at 12:17PM on 01/14/09
Way way way way way. I think one of the reasons I have such great bones is my milk habit. My mother fell a million times and didn't break anything - another milk junkie.
I make hot chocolate with milk (never water) and I also make my oatmeal with milk and not water. I love cheese but eat it sparingly due to the high fat.
I know some people hate dairy or cannot tolerate it. I am glad I'm not one of them because calcium pills (unless they're liquigels) are not an option for me.
therealchiffonade at 12:26PM on 01/14/09
Way! Not only do I usually add milk to my tea and coffee, but I also have occasional cravings for a whole glass of it (and I have a habit of listening to my cravings). I also make all kinds of milk shakes (real milk for me, soy or almond milk for my OH).
When I was a child, my grandmother would always give my baby brother and me a glass of milk and a slice of cake about an hour before bedtime. Perhaps, this is how I got "hooked". While I've always added milk to tea or coffee (never cream or syrups), when I moved to the US, I stopped craving that "glass of milk" almost altogether. Until I started buying organic milk - amazingly, it tastes like the milk of my childhood. And its shelf like is much, much longer (a very important thing considering that I'm the only one who drinks milk in the house. Oh, and the pups, occasionally), too.
So way - to whole organic milk!
brooke29 at 12:44PM on 01/14/09
Way.
WAY.
WAY!
I love milk. I usually drink 2%, though I will drink whole if 2% is not available. I love a tall, cold glass of milk. I hate strawberry syrup, but chocolate milk is good when I'm in the mood for it. I will drink soy/almond/rice milk but I don't love them, they're a bit too thin and watery for me. They're great with cold cereal, though.
If I couldn't drink milk anymore, I would be VERY sad. I'm convinced that my boyfriend and I are a good match because we're identical in our love of milk.... we can kill a gallon between the two of us in about 3 days! Lol....
Growing up, my parents decided that it was more cost-effective to buy dry milk. Ugh. Can't stand the stuff. Eventually I got them to mix it half and half with 2%, but it still wasn't the same.
nightowl at 12:48PM on 01/14/09
No way.
Milk gives me a terrible gut-ache. Ice cream, too. I can do yogurt, buttermilk and cheeses, evap. and powdered but only in moderation. I have a small amount of evap in my coffee each day (in order to avoid yucky powdered creamer which causes no trouble but blech! and yummy cream which I love, but can't have). Even a tiny bit on cereal makes me sorry for trying it again.
I have tried the lactaid milk and soy, but having gotten used to not reaching for a glass of "milk" I use it so seldom, it always goes bad before I can use it up.
Color me bummed!
coffeefrappe at 1:57PM on 01/14/09
Cow's milk please. Way!
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 1:57PM on 01/14/09
WAY..!! I guzzle it down but only skim milk because that was what I was raised on...I go through 1/2 gallon every 2 days...I love it with cereal, cookies etc...I love skim milk with ice cubes in the summer, it's very refreshing--
However, my coffee is a whole other issue....need to use cream or half & half or whole milk...can't stomach the thought of 1% , 2% or skim in the coffee..yeech.....
Italiancupcake at 2:14PM on 01/14/09
Half-way, I guess. I drink a latte every weekday morning, and occasionally in the afternoon. I tried soy milk for a little while, but it gave me a stomachache, so it was back to the the nonfat for me.
I was raised on powdered milk, so I don't have the instinct to drink a glass of milk. Occasionally I'll have a bowl of cereal with milk, or hot chocolate, but that's about it.
cyberroo at 2:40PM on 01/14/09
Way and only whole milk. I grew up on 2% but when I had kids the doc said to switch over to whole. I've never looked back. I probably have at least one glass a day.
LizSherman at 3:51PM on 01/14/09
Way. I drink skim all the time because I just happen to love, love, love it. It lets the true coffee taste shine thru in my iced lattes and it doesnt overpower my cereal.
I use whole in cooking and baking though!
ChelleyD01 at 4:16PM on 01/14/09
I hated the taste of milk growing up, and I only use milk in baking now. I'm not lactose intolerant even though I'm Asian, because I love yogurt and cheese and icecream. However, I'm allergic to soy milk...guess they'll revoke my Asian badge any day now.
Aynsl156 at 5:03PM on 01/14/09
Wayy!! I'm from Wisconsin, can't help it:) And to all of you crying about lactose intolerance, I've got one word for you: Lactaid. Almost my entire family is lactose intolerant, including my own mild case, and this stuff is a life-saver. Pills work ok, but the actual Lactaid milk (which is just milk with Lactase added) is fantastic.
Embackus at 5:29PM on 01/14/09
Way! I use fat free milk in my smoothies or on my cereal.
izatryt at 5:40PM on 01/14/09
I love milk but usualy involved with something else like cereal, oatmeal, cream of wheat. Chai tea lattes is a daily drink of mine I put some milk in it and when I have a PB & J, cookies or brownies I have to wash it down with a tall, cold glass of milk. I do not like anything less then 2% milk, too watery, and nothing other then cows milk.
pjracz10 at 6:48PM on 01/14/09
way. 1% is my fav
dearrie at 7:02PM on 01/14/09
((Hugs)) for all of you who can't have milk.
LOL@Aynsl156 - I didn't realize being lactose intolerant was a prerequisite to being Asian.
For me it's 2%. I can't drink 1% or skim (it's blue!) but I a mouthful of full-fat milk tastes like straight cream to me these days.
therealchiffonade at 7:22PM on 01/14/09
Way.
Whole.
Cow.
Rookiecook at 7:23PM on 01/14/09
Way-1% all the time, on cereal , out of the glass, in recipes but, I have to have half&half in my coffee
dmcavanagh at 7:28PM on 01/14/09
@ Embackus I've heard Lactaid is good, however some people have more than an intolerance for dairy. I cant have dairy at all without resporting to prescription meds. as it is, even with 8$ worth of pills, I still suffer nausea cramping etc.... without the pills I end up in the emergency room. NOT fun ;-) I;m sure Lactaid works for people with an intolerance but probably not with a downright allergy.
@ KarynMC where do you fine Dr Cow cheese? I did a search and couldnt turn it up :-(
huneybumper at 10:07PM on 01/14/09
I didn't like milk as a kid when I had to drink it, but recently my mom bought Organic Cow milk that is DELICIOUS. I have had at least a gallon in the past week--cold in the morning, warmed before bed, or frothed for an afternoon snack.
mmmmm...I am 100% convinced that organic milk tastes much richer, and I am more willing to drink it.
veggieout at 10:27PM on 01/14/09
Super way! I could go through a gallon a day. Not kidding. Whole or 2%. I crave a big cold glass of milk all the time. Actually, screw that, right out of the jug! Love it! I often find myself with too little milk to cook with because I drank it all!
sailordave at 10:53PM on 01/14/09
Ugh, NO! Never, never, never... ::shudder::
Steen at 11:18PM on 01/14/09
absolutely no way from the time i could talk. i'm sure the first time i ever said no was accompanied by my arm shoving a bottle away. yuck! i still resent the kindergarten teacher who forced me to drink warm milk from a wax carton in the school cafeteria. i'm surprised that i didn't vomit on her.
cybercita at 11:27PM on 01/14/09
Yup. We go through about a half-gallon of whole milk a week. And for ice cream and cooking and desserts and whatever, I'll also buy half-and-half or whipping cream on occasion. Sometimes I buy 2 percent for yogurt.
dbcurrie at 1:13AM on 01/15/09
absolutely WAY. I am dead serious when I say I can go through a gallon a day and have absolutely no stomach problems. It has to be either whole or 2% (depends on wether I'm in a healthy mood or not) and ice cold. My dad and stepmom buy 1% and whenever I visit I feel like I'm eating my cereal with water...
I cannot, under any circumstances be comfortable eating cookies, pb&j, brownies or any baked goods really, without milk.
mayoxqueen at 1:51AM on 01/15/09
Okay, I loved milk unti I went to college in the 1980's. The dining hall never kept the "cow," you know, milk on tap, cold enough. It was around 40-42 and I have always liked my milk at a chilly 34. Grandpa would be rolling over in his grave right now--he was a terrific dairy farmer in Northern NY.
The "warm" milk soured me on it. And also the fact that I have developed asthma and one of my sons is a severe asthmatic. That fact about milk and respiratory problems don't mix is true. Much to my cheese ass loving dismay.
dhorst at 9:08PM on 01/15/09
@dhorst-when I spent time in Ogdensberg, my family lived directly across the street from "Brown's Dairy". Do you recognize the name? As kids, we would go over everyday to buy milk, and you could watch the whole bottling process going on. That was in the late 50's and early 60's. Boy am I getting old! ,
dmcavanagh at 9:25PM on 01/15/09
RAW MILK WAY! and fuck all y'all 1% and skim drinkin shitheels! Of course I mean this in the most positive nurturing way possible... ONE LOVE!
PAV!
Pavlov at 9:27PM on 01/15/09
@dmcavangh-Yeah, I remember Brown's Dairy. I also remember that my grandfather would not buy any other icecream than Dairylea. That's who he sold his milk to. And after he "retired" as gracefully as a man of the land could, he regularly took my sister and me to a fellow farmer's place and let us fill up the glass milk bottles with milk from a swirling stainless steel vat. He felt that he should support the his business in the most personal way. And boy, the milk shakes he made...and icecream for dessert every noon time meal and at supper too. Helluva Good is one of those north country things. I love their French Onion Dip and their once in a while Bodacious Onion Dip (love that name).
dhorst at 10:20PM on 01/15/09
Half-way -- every morning I have my fat free homemade latte. It's mostly steamed milk and less than 1 cup a day. A bit of calcium for the day! Other than that, I only use milk for cooking/baking.
Catharine56 at 10:26PM on 01/15/09
@dhorst-ditto on the Helluva Good, the only thing of their's I don't like is their cheese curds, way to salty. If you get up that way and have the desire for some good cheese, try the Heritage Cheese shop over in Heuveltown (I think that's the correct spelling),they make some good cheeses including great fresh cheese curds (my fav).
dmcavanagh at 10:31PM on 01/15/09
Soymilk. I've been drinking soymilk (sweetened with sugar) since I was a kid, as it is a common Vietnamese beverage.
CafePhine at 12:04AM on 01/16/09
A big yes on milk, and I pump it up for the granddaughter-athletes we have. Too important for those young bodies to avoid.
As to 1% and other reduced fat in lattes: I scald it in the microwave, a cup about half full, before I add the coffee. I think it slightly caramelizes the lactose, or milk sugar, and makes it tastier for that use. Try it. More calcium, less fat.
lemons at 12:17AM on 01/16/09
Ugh, I keep reading the name of this thread as Milky Way or No Way...
brooke29 at 1:13AM on 01/16/09
me too and i wrote the damn thing! and you're reading my mind. now, i want chocolate and caramel.
PerkyMac at 1:17AM on 01/16/09
Exactly! And I keep wanting to reply, way!
brooke29 at 1:53AM on 01/16/09
@dmcavanagh~I will certainly try the Heritage Cheese shop. There's supposed to be some really good Amish cheese craftsmen in the area. Are you aware of any? I'll be heading up there in February to drop off the kids at my parents for a visit over winter break, so I intend to get my cheese on--asthma be damned.
dhorst at 7:32AM on 01/16/09
@dhorst-Heritage is probably one of the one's you've heard about. It's the only one I know of.
dmcavanagh at 3:48PM on 01/16/09
Milk? Plain Milk?! NO WAY! Didn't even like plain milk as a child. I shudder even thinking of that lukewarm milk carton that they would try to make you drink with those gross graham crackers in Kindergarten... After I ralphed, they no longer tried to force that little ritual on me anymore :)
I can now drink Plain Non-Fat Milk with a chocolate dessert. But it has to be ice cold with crushed ice in it.
ddvierra68 at 1:16PM on 01/21/09
@dd ~ I went to a Catholic grammar school where we ate at our desks, but milk was provided. It was left outside in the middle of the night and brought in at lunchtime. It was either frozen solid or warm and occasionally spoiled. Rarely was it just right. I forged a note saying I was allergic to white milk and could only drink chocolate, and got away with it! That was the only way I could get it down and I pretty much quit drinking milk after 8th grade.
PerkyMac at 1:46PM on 01/21/09