As most of you know, I track my weekly
food waste and last week I had a big surprise. We had spoiled milk. I
don't remember having spoiled milk during my entire adult life. And
while I remember milk spoiling when I was a child, that too was a
rare occurrence. (Back then, we drank whole milk that spoiled faster
than the skim milks of today. Also, spoilage usually happened because
one of the kids forgot to put it back in the refrigerator.)
During my childhood, we always had
whole milk, butter, and ice cream in our house. We even had butter
milk, which I hear if you weren't raised on it, is not too appealing
for most people. My father was a farm boy, and the way he saw it,
dairy products were a must for every day life. We were happy he
thought that because we all our liked milk. There was no need to tell
my sisters and me that we needed to drink it to get strong bones. We
were already consuming it with gusto.
Not only did I enjoy milk, it was a
useful tool sometimes during supper. That was on those days when my
mother served liver or sweet potatoes which I considered the worst
tasting foods on earth. The rule was that you had to have a spoonful
of everything, but no more if you didn't like it. So I would get the
smallest spoonful I could, then spend the next while taking a small
bite, then a drink of milk to wash it down. Another small bite, then
a drink of milk. I could easy drink a couple of glasses of milk using
this method before a small serving of sweet potato was gone. That
seems kind of silly now, but it was my tried and true method then.
Through the years, my milk drinking has
decreased and I prefer water today. However, the Carnivores in my
family still love their milk. When there were four of us living here,
we bought milk 2-3 gallons at a time, and that would happen a couple
of times per week. However, with Wally and Theo buying their own milk
now, obviously Ward and I don't need as much. I have cut back to
buying a gallon a week. Sometimes that's not enough and sometimes
that's too much.
I hear there are a lot of uses for old
or spoiled milk, however I haven't paid much attention to them
before. I never had any reason to. However, maybe that's something I
should look into these days.
Do you drink much milk?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Shaking
For heaven’s sake, for your sake and the cow’s sake.
That’s the dumbest way I’ve seen
To make a milk shake.
~Shel Silverstein
I'm still in the buying lots of milk stage. But for myself, I don't drink dairy milk, but use soy or almond milk. I do eat yogurt which I make with dairy milk. I'm not sure how much milk we'll need when it's just the two of us. That will be a tricky one, as my husband's milk use is rather sporadic and depends on if we have granola in the house or not. I'll probably still buy it by the gallon, and just freeze it in quart or pint containers.
ReplyDeleteIf I found as good of prices as you do on milk, I might buy extra and freeze some. However, I haven't had the best luck with freezing milk to drink. So for now, I'm just going to try to buy the right amount. Do you find much difference in how much milk your son drinks in comparison to your daughters?
DeleteI think I was put off drinking milk by the free milk we were given at primary school (a crate of little bottles used to sit in a warm classroom until mid morning...) My own kids love milk so we get through it easily with no chance of it going sour.
ReplyDeleteMilk is definitely a drink that is best served cold, so warm milk in your classroom does not sound too appetizing. It's no surprise that you don't like it.
DeleteI too grew up hating milk because it was the skim variety, and I was required to drink it. Still makes my stomach turn thinking about it. I do enjoy whole milk, especially if it's from grass-fed cows because it comes out much sweeter that way. But still can't quite bring myself to just down a glass of it. I have to have it in coffee or maybe with something chocolate. Of course, I'm lactose intolerant too, so that may be part of my aversion. I usually buy the smallest container I can find (even if it's twice the price per ounce) and it still takes a concerted effort to use it all before it goes bad. I'm considering trying Lili's method of freezing it.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I got really into making yogurt... which is a good way to use up a bunch of milk. I like yogurt MUCH better than milk. Still, I had a hard time using the yogurt before it went bad. Actually... making pancakes is a good way to use up milk... but as I mentioned, I don't do well with a high carb breakfast.
Anyhoo... I'm sorta avoiding buying the stuff at the moment. I miss having coffee (can't stomach it black) but I have to say, my innards are happier!
I think most of us become somewhat lactose intolerant as we age, although some just start out that way. As long as you get your vitamin D and calcium other places, you really don't need dairy products. I guess you've already figured that out.
DeleteIf milk is just starting to turn, use it in something you cook. I tend to use it in bread, but puddings also work.
ReplyDeleteI remember Ward's mother (and mine) realizing that no matter how much milk she bought, it would all be gone by the end of the day.
You know, I've heard other people say that they like to use old milk in pudding. If I only liked pudding that would be a good idea. Maybe Ward would like to try making some next time we have old milk. He likes pudding.
DeleteI can only imagine what it was like for your mother trying to keep milk in your house especially when she had three teenage boys and their little sister drinking it. Or for that matter, keeping cereal in the house. Or food in general. :)
We go through about 5 gallons per week. I like to get my grocery shopping done in one day for the week so I buy it all at once and get lots of comments--"My, you have a lot of milk there!". The only time I have problems with it souring is when I occasionally get a bad batch from Aldi (they seem to have solved the problem but last summer I stopped buying it from them for awhile due to 2 batches that soured before the due date). Unlike Yvonne, I don't like old milk in pudding--I can taste it--maybe I'd like it better in baked goods?
ReplyDeleteWe usually didn't buy more than three gallons a week, because we didn't have room in our fridge. Do you have an extra large fridge?
DeleteNo, actually, we have a smaller one because in our kitchen-before-renovation, we could only fit the shorter ones in the space. And when we renovated, we kept the same fridge, so we are now committed with always having a smaller fridge. A lot of our food is stored in the freezer and I just bring it out as I need to--we have an upright freezer in the basement in addition to the freezer with the fridge--freezer space is more of a premium around here. We also don't have an ice maker or running water with our fridge. The only time I wish we had a bigger one is when my in-laws visit during gardening season. They are very generous with bringing fresh produce from their huge garden for us to enjoy, but it can be tricky to fit everything in.
DeleteWe also have a smaller fridge with no ice maker. As you mentioned, except for special occasions, it is plenty big enough.
DeleteDon't know if this relates or not, but a few years ago a dear friend of mine who now lives in Australia shared with me her favorite recipe for chocolate "pudding". I tried it several times, but it just kept coming out like cake. I figured I just had the metric conversion wrong, so I asked her for details. Turns out in Australia "pudding" means "cake!" Go figure!
ReplyDeleteDid you like your pudding/cake?
DeleteI have a chocolate pudding cake recipe which probably isn't what Cat is referring to, but I swear my son goes into a chocolate coma when he eats it. :)
DeleteWell... actually I'm not a huge fan of cake - I was sorta hoping for actual pudding. Anyhow, I was just wondering if Yvonne above was talking about using old milk in pudding, of if she really meant cake!
DeleteJust thought I'd chime in on the pudding/cake issue. My grandmother was English and she used to make steamed puddings. She still made them in the oven, like a cake, but her pudding mold was set into a water bath, to steam in the oven. They come out like what we think of cake, in texture. Think Christmas Pudding or Plum Pudding. Both those are cake-like in texture. My grandmother made several types of puddings, bland ones she called nursery puddings, something called treacle pudding which had a brown sugar like glaze on it, and in summer, fruit puddings. What I call pudding, she called custard. Does any of that sound like the recipe you were given, Cat?
DeleteThis whole cake/pudding discussion is very interesting. However, the most interesting part to me is the pudding recipe that sends Kris's son into a chocolate coma. :)
DeleteInterestingly, it's from a Weight Watchers cookbook! As one friend described it, "This is GOOD! Not just Weight Watchers good, but good!"
DeleteWarm Chocolate-Pudding Cake
Preheat oven to 350*. Spray a 9-inch-square baking pan with nonstick spray.
Combine in a large bowl:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon instant-coffee powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt.
Make a well in the center. Pour in:
1/2 cup milk
1 melted tablespoon butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Stir just until blended; spoon the batter evenly into the pan.
In a small bowl, combine:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Sprinkle evenly over batter in pan. Gently pour 1 2/3 cup boiling water in a zigzag fashion over the top; do not stir. Bake until the top of the pudding is set, about 35 minutes. Cool for 10-15 minutes on a rack. Cut into 9 squares and serve warm or at room temperature.
It sets up like cake with a pudding-like base at the bottom. We love it and I usually have the ingredients on hand. You don't have to add the coffee granules but I find they really bring out the chocolate flavor so I have a cheapie jar of them on hand just for this cake! For me, it's just the thing if I want to eat something that tastes decadent but I don't want a huge calorie load.
I'm always fascinated with the English puddings. Lili's info is fun.
1 square= 165 calories, 2 grams fat with 1% milk used