Milk: the whys of its forms in prepared drinks?

[gsyh]

Okay, though I personally prefer homogenized milk, I can see why skim milk is so popular, in canned coffee, in chocolate milk (though I'm like :( over the fact that 99% of chocolate milk is skim milk, rarely 2% chocolate milk, and homogenized chocolate milk is a unicorn)...some of my relatives always drink skim milk because they are concerned about

Comments

[l0verlada]

In my experience buying skim or 1% mixes worse and lets not even talk about making chocolate milk with it...ugh.

I think it's something to do with the consistency of eggnog maybe? Without the added cream it isn't quite right and they are trying to cut the fat some?

Personally I prefer whole or 2%, there are arguments all over about which is better for you so I'll stick with it.

[9thmoon]

It's interesting to me that the lower fat the milk, the higher the sugar content.

[tough_as_petals]

they have to give it flavour somehow.....

[atalanta0jess]

Added sugar, or natural/milk sugar? I wonder if its because the sugar is basically some percentage of what is there...if they remove the fat, there's less to "dilute" the sugar, essentially. No idea really, but that would be my guess, if you're talking about sugar content in plain skim milk or something.

[darkenedminds]

Its because without the fat, there is more water, lactose, and proteins in the remaining milk. A one cup serving has more sugar (lactose) and protein compared to a cup of whole milk, where some of the volume is occupied by the milkfat.

[wholuvsya]

From age two, our ped has suggested 2% milk for our kiddos. The only difference between whole and 2% (according to her) is the fat content.

[marzipan_robots]

yep...my brother had serious brain damage when he was born, and his doctors insisted that my mom give him an abundance of whole milk because the fat was good for brain development, and i'm sure the same is true for babies with no brain damage as well since baby's brains develop faster in the first two years than any other time in life.

[wolfden]

Now, they say full fat for first two years these days. I've not seen recommendations beyond that. It's a moot point her as my daughter is 10 and won't touch milk anyways.

When I was a fat, happy baby they put me on skim milk when I was like 6 months.

[marzipan_robots]

i like skim milk. whole milk and 2% are just too thick for me.

[marzipan_robots]

oh yeah, and you'll often find that skim milk is an ingredient right along with 'milk fat'. i think the reasoning is that it's easier to control the fat content.

if you use skim milk and add fat, you're adding fat to non-fat. if you use whole milk and add fat, you're adding fat to an already existing fat content. i think it's easier to be more precise if you start with nothing than if you start with a debatable percentage of fat...if that makes sense.

[proudlyfallen]

Whole milk isn't a debatable percentage of fat -- it's standardized to 3.5% unless marketed as a "specialty" milk (like pure Jersey milk, for instance). All dairy farms are required to test and adjust the fat content of their milk so it's consistent. (That isn't as weird as it sounds -- they keep very good records on what cows produce what fat content and will adjust the milking herd for that.)

[marzipan_robots]

interesting.

this is just what was explained to me when i asked a similar question, and the person seemed to know their stuff about it so i took it as a pretty good answer.

even so, it still makes sense that it's easier to add from nothing than from something.

[chasingtides]

I do homemade eggnog because of lactose intolerance - I use whole milk Lactaid instead of fake cream or some other horrible choice.

(Honestly, commercial eggnogs scare me a bit - I can't have them for the soy, my parents can't have them for the milk, and some of them give my cousins the spins. I just use milk, rum, spices, and pasteurized eggs. Voila.)

[proudlyfallen]

Do you have a recipe? I'd love to try making my own.

[chasingtides]

Sure! (And remember these are proportions - I usually make it for a house full of relatives, but you can drop it down for one or two people)

6 cups whole milk (whole lactaid)
Equivalent of 6 eggs
1 cup dark rum
1 cup whiskey (bourbon if you've got it)
1 cup sugar [basically keep the whiskey-rum-sugar even]
2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons cloves

Beat the pasteurized eggs with the sugar and milk. Add the spices & vanilla and warm over low heat 10 minutes (until aromatic, not longer). Pour into pitcher with alcohol. Mix well. Serve garnished with nutmeg and whole clove.

[proudlyfallen]

Thank you so much!