Drinking Milk
This may get me into trouble, especially with my friends who are all about supporting local farms and farmers. But I have to get something off my chest about milk.
Are there any adults out there who drink milk for pleasure?
Are there any adults out there who drink milk at all?
I’m not talking about pouring milk in your cereal, or putting a splash of milk in coffee. And I’m not even talking about washing down a dense chocolate brownie with a few sips of cold milk. Really what I’m curious about is if anyone sits down to dinner with a cold glass of milk to accompany a meal.
Because to me, it seems like madness.
It’s not as if I have a thing against milk. I don’t. As an ingredient, it’s indispensable. Without dairy farms, we wouldn’t have butter, or whipped cream, or any of the amazing cheeses that I love. Yogurt is one of the mainstays of my current diet. Life without yogurt? Perish the thought. And ice cream is one of the best things ever.
But life without fluid dairy? I wouldn’t miss it at all.
Which isn’t even to say that I don’t appreciate the occasional glass of good whole milk. You know, something from a small local farm, that’s gently pasteurized, and hasn’t been homogenized. It’s rich, it’s sweet, and it feels like a decadent treat.
Of course, I don’t drink soda routinely either. Some time in the past, I wrote about soda and milk being liquid candy and liquid food, respectively. I’ll take my food as solid food, thankyouverymuch. And if there are nutrients that come from dairy, I’ll take those in the form of fermented dairy from yogurt and cheese.
Fluid milk plays almost no part in my life besides as an ingredient in cooking.
One cannot make a savory bread pudding without milk. Macaroni and cheese requires it, even if you are just making junk from a box.
But my kids drink skim milk all the time. I can’t stand it. To me it seems like liquid sugar that has been stripped of its natural fats. And reflexively, they will often request it to accompany their dinner. If dinner were peanut butter sandwiches, I would understand. But spaghetti with meatballs? It blows my mind.
Maybe, just maybe, I can see how adding extra protein to the diet of small growing humans makes some degree of sense. But adults? Yet, I think there are people who drink milk all the time. Or maybe it’s just a cereal thing.
Anyone?
FUSSYlittleBLOG 
Have not had a glass of milk in 20+ years.
I have recently been into kefir. Does that count?
Also, there is one particular meal for which I feel a glass of cold milk is the perfect accompaniment: a basket of Burger House cheeseburgers from the original location on Hillcrest in Dallas, with well done fries on the side. This is the way I enjoyed them at my grandmother’s house many years ago and though I have experimented with other beverages milk cannot be topped. Something about the way it coats the esophagus for the incoming grease….
Kefir is kefir. Fermented dairy is much more interesting.
I’m fascinated by the milk pairings of people’s youth. There are some who insist that the ideal beverage to have with Albany fish fry is chocolate milk. Sounds disgusting. So I had to give it a try. And it was totally disgusting.
Surely it isn’t the same experience for those who grew up consuming the two side by side.
On the other hand, a grilled cheese from Heid’s in Syracuse with chocolate milk and extra pickles is a favorite meal of mine. Though if you regularly eat meat, you should get the actual hot dogs there.
Mom used to make meatloaf in the crock pot with a tomato and onion sauce and serve with white rice and green beans. I make it from time to time and occasionally drink a glass of milk with it. Strangely, though, the idea of pasta with red sauce and a glass of mil squicks me out.
I didn’t like it as a kid — parents had to mix in Hershey’s syrup to get me to force it down — and still don’t as an adult. I’m with you.
I’ll proudly position myself as an adult who gladly drinks a full glass of whole milk frequently! Don’t hate :D
That’s interesting. Maybe you can share with the class some more details about that. Here are a couple of questions to get you started. When do you drink milk? And what does it do for you?
I’ll pour a glass of milk in the evening while watching TV or reading in the evenings, more so than drinking with meals. I find it a comforting/relaxing beverage. Of course, I do buy Battenkill Valley whole milk, so it’s certainly not cheap store-brand skim milk
I grew up drinking a few glasses of 2% milk with every dinner, and a carton with my school lunch, and it probably helped me get enough protein as a growing child since I didn’t eat much meat.
I get dairy from cheese or yogurt now, and the most milk I have is in a bowl of cereal. I keep trying to switch to non-dairy, but nothing else has the right flavor or mouthfeel in coffee.
I do only drink it occasionally outside of using it in cereal etc….But it’s usually with something sweet like cookies or cake. Need the blandness to cut the sweet of said treat. And sometimes I do appreciate an ice cold glass of Ovaltine.
Liquid milk in coffee/tea and the occasional chocolate milk for the kids is all we do. And nog in season.
In our house – 2 out of 3 adults have a daily glass of fat free milk
Yep. Maybe once or twice per week on average. [Not skim, though – too watery.]
I’ve drunk milk as a drink my whole life, I guess; I like the taste, it’s a healthier choice than soda, and I specifically choose it when I want something to mitigate capsaicin (which as you will know is not water-soluble, but is readily lipid-soluble). I probably drink it more since my kids have been drinking milk as a default dinner beverage, but it’s always been a viable choice.
My husband, whose father’s family is Puerto Rican, must drink milk with Puerto Rican food. I think it’s a comfort food, childhood holdover.
A cold glass of milk pairs with just about any food imo. And it should be really cold. Like condensation on the side of the glass cold. Great mouth-feel with a neutralizing ability to the palette. This is especially the case for foods on the spicy end of the spectrum. *disclaimer- I am a dairy farmer.
Humans are the only species that continue to drink milk after transitioning to solid food. Would it be any less grotesque if they drank milk from their own species instead of others’? I just don’t know.
Regardlless, it’s simply untrue that you need milk for bread pudding or macaroni and cheese. Search “vegan bread pudding” and “vegan mac and cheese.” There’s more to this world than FLB sometimes envisions.
I try and not mix milk with meat, or alcohol.
Alcohol curdles milk. Meat+dairy can give digestive issues.
I’m constantly eating meat and drinking alcohol so I don’t ever really get a chance to drink a glass of milk.
I think it’s insane that some adults don’t drink a glass of milk every now and then. Most of my milk gets used in cereal or oatmeal. But there are few greater food pleasures for me than a warm chocolate chip cookie, followed by the neutralizing power of a glass of cold whole milk. Although more often, it’ll be a block of dark chocolate and with a sip milk from the carton.
I drink milk like it is water. But, I only drink skim milk, so it is a half-truth.
I cannot stop giggling at this.
Interesting. I personally haven’t had liquid milk in at least a dozen years, yet I can appreciate and remember the fulfillment it brings. I do occasionally miss a nice brownie with a medium sized glass of whole milk. Then I come to my senses. A guy I work with is a milk fanatic – he claims to drink at least a half-gallon per day. It’s not uncommon for me to witness him pouring back a tall glass of whole milk here at work. The only drawback for me – he does have a bit of an odd curdled dairy smell about him. Seriously – it’s like garlic, you sweat it out.
whole milk straight out of the glass jar, warmed with cinnamon, shots of cream, and small glasses of 1/2 and 1/2 (all battenkill, or even better, raw if we can find it) all happen frequently at our house. get your kids off of skim milk. Their growing brains need all the good fats from whole milk from cows on pasture (battenkill for sure, or organic valley)
Coming late to this discussion party, but wanted to add: I grew up drinking whole milk with every meal, but like most commenters, I now only buy milk to have on hand for cereal or cooking (not coffee, blech… I’m a black coffee drinker). On very rare occasions, if we have fresh baked goodies on hand and milk in the fridge, I’ll drink a glass of milk. It’s not that I don’t like milk, but I got out of the habit of drinking it by the glass once I hit my teens.
Interestingly, I’ve found that a tall glass of cold chocolate milk in the morning is great after imbibing too much alcohol the night before. I call it my “hangover helper.” Which makes me worry a bit at Atzya Void’s comment (while giggling at “I’m constantly eating meat and drinking alcohol.” LOL!)
Also: my 73 year old mother LOVES drinking milk with every meal, and has always done so. AND (brace yourself)… one of her favorite snacks is a big bowl of buttered popcorn with a glass of milk. I tried them together once; PASS! LOL…