Primer on Milk Products

[invisionary]

I am hoping this information is useful to everyone out there. I want to take a little time to discuss the various milk products commonly used in cooking since many of you will be using them tomorrow.


Milk - most people use cow's milk as it is readily available and comparably inexpensive. For a richer, more distinctive flavor, consider trying goat's milk in things such as cream sauces, puddings, and the like. Milkfat is the "cream" portion of milk - various grades of cream are based on how much skim milk is in the mixture, heavy cream being mostly cream with a very rich flavor with lighter creams being somewhat more healthy.

Whole milk is approximately 3.6% fat, but commonly available in North America is 2%, 1%, 0.5% (skim rich), and 0% (skim). The term skim comes from the fact that cream separates and goes to the top when left to sit - the cream layer is skimmed off and used in other products (okay, these days they put it in a big centrifuge and skim in that way). Homogenization is what keeps the milk from doing this in the jug.

There is somewhat of a debate between supports of raw milk versus pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized. For cooking purposes, I find that raw milk requires some getting used to and freshness is an absolute requirement (which generally precludes its use where dairy farms are not allowed to sell it). Likewise, ultra-pasteurization results in products that are shelf-stable for extended periods, but I find there is a considerable price to pay in terms of flavor. So unless you're remote or lack adequate refrigeration, stick with the regular stuff. New technologies are constantly in the works for improving milk quality and safety.

Opinions vary as to whether UV-treated packaging helps milk taste better. I personally don't mind regular gallon jugs as commonly sold in North America, but do your own taste test on this. I'm not a fan of glass or ceramic jugs, but in many parts of the world they are standard - but so is the expectation that milk is purchased for consumption within just a few days, so it matters far less. Also, the interior of most refrigerators is dark when not open.

Also commonly available is buttermilk, which while traditionally was the liquid left over from churning butter, now is made by adding lactic acid bacteria to regular milk. Its flavor is distinctive and commonly used in things like pancakes and ice cream. Notable about buttermilk is that because of the lactic acid it is often more easily digested. If your recipe calls for buttermilk but you don't have any on hand, there are some common substitutions. Consider adding a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk and allow it to sit for a few minutes. Alternatively you can use yogurt as a direct substitute, or 1/4 cup milk with 3/4 cup yogurt. If you have cream of tartar on hand, you can add 2 teaspoons to a cup of milk. These substitutions may not be appropriate for leavened baking - but a detailed discussion of this is beyond the scope of this article, so just keep it in mind.

Powdered milk is usable just as readily as liquid milk and for some baking applications may be preferable. Reconstitute as instructed for liquid milk, but be aware that because you're substituting your local water for the natural water occurring in regular milk you may get undesirable results.

Condensed milk is a sweetened product that is reduced to a paste with sugar added - the sugar serves as a preservative as much as a flavoring. Evaporated milk is similar but does not use sugar in the evaporation process. Dry milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk are not interchangeable, but depending on your application if you're stuck with evaporated milk you may be able to add sugar to it. Condensed milk is a staple of many cream-based desserts, including meringue pies and caramels.

Comments

[hugh_mannity]

Powdered milk is usable just as readily as liquid milk and for some baking applications may be preferable. Reconstitute as instructed for liquid milk, but be aware that because you're substituting your local water for the natural water occurring in regular milk you may get undesirable results.

Using filtered water will generally deal with any unpleasantness in the local water.

[invisionary]

Not my experience, but that's because unless you're using fairly complex filters you're going to still have all the fluoride or chlorine you would in regular tap water - simple filtration will help with minerals. Also, many consumer-grade filters will also introduce trace amounts of activated charcoal as this is the primary filtration mechanism. As previously stated, you "may" get undesirable results - this may not bother people as much as it does me.

[yvi]

you're going to still have all the fluoride or chlorine you would in regular tap water

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you one more reason why I don't want to move to the US ;)

over here, tap water is generally cleaner than water being sold in the stores and can be drunk (I get about 1 litre a day from tap water, my boyfriend 2 - I don't want o imagine carrying that up into the 3rd/4th floor) without wanting to throw up afterwards - which was my reaction when I tried the same in the US.

[invisionary]

I had a similar experience simply going from New York to Ontario - I stayed in Hamilton and got sick off the water, as they use much more chlorine there. Distilled water is the standard for drinking and cooking in that area, as I later found out, as the pollution on Lake Ontario is rather heavy.

[yvi]

I want to buy milk in gallons, too :(

Okay, it would probably be sour with my 'drinking one to two cups of cocoa a day', but it looks really cool in those big containers :)

[invisionary]

We're very heavy milk drinkers in this house, with a typical gallon of milk lasting us two days, especially with all the cooking we do! Keeping four people well fed, especially when you have a one year old that eats better than the four year old in the house takes a lot of food!

[yvi]

Yeah, when I still lived with my parents and sister we would go through 3 liters in two days or something. Now it's more like 2 liters in a week.

Though I am kind of wondering now, as I don't really use it for cooking except for pancakes. Any good recipes that use milk?

[invisionary]

What sorts of things interest you? There's all sorts of cream type things that rely heavily on milk, as well as a lot of baked goods where milk is an ingredient.

[yvi]

Baking is bad at the moment since the oven part in my kitchen is broken (and has been for the last 10 months - don't ask me how I deal), but any soup recipes?

[invisionary]

Hmmm. I am considering making a homemade clam chowder (a very American type of soup), and if it turns out well I'll post the recipe. It certainly involves milk.

[shirou]

Are you familiar with Dutch karnemelk? I'm not sure exactly what to call it in English. My first instinct is to call it buttermilk, but American buttermilk and Dutch karnemelk do not taste quite the same to me. I find buttermilk to be somewhat sweeter. Do you happen to know what the difference is between the two?

[invisionary]

Having never been to Europe or done much with it, I unfortunately can't say from personal experience. Some Googling suggests that it is actual buttermilk, the leftover liquid from making butter. If you're interested in this, I would suggest checking out Indian recipes, as traditional buttermilk is a very common ingredient in authentic Indian cooking.

[brigid]

I've found that milk in glass containers tastes better than milk in plastic, and MILES better than milk in wax-coated cardboard (UGH). I've found that milk (and other beverages) pick up a plastic taste easily, and to me, it tastes cleaner in glass.