I know I’ve asked before, but do you buy raw, local or commercial dairy? This year we are getting our milk delivered from a local dairy. After going back and forth about it for awhile, we decided we’d rather pay a little more for our milk, and know where it is coming from.
The thing is, commercial milk is one of those kind of borderline if-y sorts of foods. One gallon could contain milk from literally thousands of different cows–and it has been heated, fortified, homogenized, separated and reconstituted. If you want to get right down to it, it is a shadow of its original self. It is stripped of a lot of its health qualities. In days gone past, people drank milk straight from the cow. It had inconsistencies, cream at the top–and occasionally, it wasn’t white, but instead a cream color. When pasteurization was born, mostly out of a response to poor milk handling practices, people started to believe that real, raw milk wasn’t safe and “grocery store milk” became the standard.
To make commercial dairy, the milk is put into HUGE industrial centrifuges, where it gets separated into fats, proteins, etc. Then, the parts are recombined to make whole, low-fat, and skim milk. It is pasteurized and then bottled and sent on its way.
A lot of peeps I know are starting to go back to local dairy milk or raw milk, so I think it’s starting to make a comeback.
So, do tell, what is it for you: raw, local, or commercial milk? And can you taste the difference?
~Mavis
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James Rancourt says
Hi Mavis,
I agree that what you get in the markets today is not real milk. I can remember back in the late 40’s and early 50’s the milk was just pasteurized. it came in bottles with the cream floating on top and had to be shaken to mix the cream back into the milk. Took me a bit of time to get use to homogenized milk.
It would have been nice if you had gone into a bit more depth in your article by covering the amount of cream in the various grades of milk…skimmed milk, 1%, 2%,and whole milk…also as to just what ‘homogenized’ milk is.
Regarding, ‘raw milk’. Yes, in my opinion, this is the best way to go. However, even though there are stringent standards on the health of dairy cattle, many states still do not allow it’s sale.
Huggs ~ Jim
Melissa says
Raw goat milk! We raise them ourselves so we know exactly what they are fed and how they are cared for.
Brenda says
I agree with Melissa. Raw goal milk is healthier.
Vicky says
RAW!!! Won’t touch that store stuff with a 20ft pole! Go to http://www.realmilk.com/ and get the facts & history of our milk supply. I do goats milk and get it from next door…I walk out to the barn and pull a few teats and then walk back to the house with what I got!! LOL!!! Can’t get fresher than that!!
Tracey says
In our state you can’t buy just the milk but an Amish CSA in our area sells cow shares, lol, and then you get a certain amount of milk a week based on how big of a share you have. They let me taste it and thought it was good but kinda grassy lol.
andrea d says
I buy mine from a local farm. not one cow, but one herd. no hormones given to the cows. not raw, but far from ‘commercial’. there’s usually a little cream on top (not enough to seperate, but a quick shake mixes it in). glass bottles. $2.45 for half gallon. the taste is so much better than store bought. i actually just found out about a place nearby that sells raw milk but haven’t had the chance to try it yet.
we don’t drink as much milk these days, maybe two gallons a week, but when the kids were younger we went through four or more gallons per week. i would buy eight half gallons at a time. those glass bottles were not light. i’ll never forget the one day i came out to the kitchen to find my eighteen month old son had moved about six of the bottles from the fridge to the family room and was going back for another. thankfully he didn’t break any 🙂
Monica says
When I was a little girl I was at my great aunt’s house in the country…..we had to drink milk with every meal (which I have never liked milk to begin with) and I don’t know if it was raw or pasterized but it was nasty! Fast Forward 25 years, I only buy commercial milk…and really we do not use it a lot at my house so it would probably be a waste if I bought the raw/local stuff.
Jo B says
Rice milk, usually Costco’s Organic Kirkland brand. Cow’s milk is for baby cows, and look how quickly they grow, plus they only drink it until they get to a certain age.
Michelle says
I know it’s not a popular opinion, but I agree. Mostly almond milk for us – made in the Vitamix with 1 cup raw almonds and 4 cups water (I don’t even strain it). Great for drinking (mainly in smoothies) and baking. With so many dairy allergies out there, I think it’s time for people to really re-think cow’s milk consumption, and why. From a frugal standpoint, just think about how much money you would save if you stopped buying cow’s milk and drank free water instead 🙂
Linden says
Too many people have become ill from raw milk; there was a good reason pasteurizing became the law. I wish we had a local dairy, so I’d know the source of the milk, but we don’t. I never realized how spoiled I was when I was in grad school and my roommate’s parents, who owned a dairy farm, would drop by a 10 quart container of fresh milk each week. The carton fit on the top shelf of the fridge and had a pour spout for ease of use—but you could tell by the taste when they were eating grass versus when they were eating silage from the winter storage.
Mrs. Mac says
Local farm .. raw .. grass fed
Kris says
We’ve been using the local milk delivery(Smith Brothers) for about 6 months. One week we ran out and I had to buy it at a wholesale store. I had a mutiny! Everyone was asking when the milk man was coming. I don’t drink milk, but my family, especially my husband, could tell the difference.
Kate says
Now that I’m an adult, I’m lactose intolerant. Just after I really started getting into cheeses…sigh
I found out it’s really just that my body can’t process homogenized & pasturized milk. Why? Those fat globules have changed in size and shape, making it harder for me to process. The pasturization kills off the bacteria that (conveniently) my body would use to digest the milk fats. So, that means unpasturized cheese, goat cheese, and sheep.
The more careful they are with the food industry requirements, the less it is real food…I’m really getting tired of worrying how much nutrition has been taken out and what they have put back in, as well as all the pesticides (hello-where are the bees???) and toxins.
Janna says
I could’ve written your comment Kate. I intolerant now too:( Agree completely with it all!!!
Heather says
Husband is the milk drinker in the family and he has recently switched to Almond Milk. We wondered if he was having health issues associated with Cow Milk so we first switched to Trader Joe’s Organic Milk. Then a couple of weeks ago he has switched to unsweetened almond milk. He likes the flavor and feels better so I don’t plan on going back to buying Cow Milk unless he requests. (I have been using powdered milk for baking, but that is because I still have some in the house.)
Teacher Stacy says
We have been drinking organic whole milk for years. Back when we started, I would occasionally buy a milk at school in the morning if I missed breakfast. After about a year, I couldn’t stand the taste anymore, and additionally, it made me worry that it actually HAD a taste. Yick. I’ve even managed to convert my mother!
Victoria Bennett says
I buy Fleurieu Milk Company unHomogenized Jersey GM free milk for drinking and Homogenized jersey for coffee (great froth) from local farmers who were sick of being paid such low gate price for their milk they took a chance, as they would be broke soon anyway…. it paid off. I buy because it tastes great REAL MILK no bull s–t put in nothing taken out just as the cow wanted it. lol Ome of the best things ive ever decided to do and supports local farmers and their families…….feels good tastes good thats called a win win .
and as far as bees disappearing CHEMICALS look up Vanishing Bees that will explain very simply I ordered the dvd very interesting Very sad it could be the end of food literally
By the way I live in South Australia Australia
Sheila M. says
I grew up on powdered milk until my older siblings moved out of the house and my parents could afford what we called ‘real milk’. I remember having our milk delivered from Smith Brothers farm which was just a few miles away in the valley. Did that make us local or commercial milk drinkers? Most of us who drink commercial milk probably won’t bother commenting about it. As an adult, I own 8 chickens who free range in the daytime and are confined to their chicken run when we are away. I rarely talk about eating fresh eggs. I can’t taste the difference. (But I love my chickens…they are fun pets and let me use their poo for my garden.) We are fortunate that no one in our family has allergies or intolerances. We all have different priorities about how we choose to spend our money and our time. I am perfectly happy drinking commercial milk, eating commercial cheese, and licking from a commercial ice cream cone.
Monica says
I agree 🙂
Lisa says
From our family of five, three drink rice milk and two drink skim milk. It is crazy to think we drink milk that is really made for baby calves.
Karen at A Glimpse Into My Reveries says
I have been buying organic milk from the grocerystore for about nine months now. This after watching Robyn O’Brien’s Ted Talk (http://youtu.be/rixyrCNVVGA). I am trying to buy local organic produce and will be expanding my backyard organic garden this year!
When the budget is tight I will sometimes use Tillamook butter & cheeses as they are somewhat local and are hormone free.
It was recently brought to my attention that Fresh Breeze Oganic dairy farm is located in the same town my husband commutes to (Lynden, WA)! I will be switching to our local dairy!
Maxine says
We get ours delivered too in returnable glass bottles. I’m a girl that’s milked cows and I drink enough milk to know the good stuff. 🙂
Kristina says
Whole raw milk from the cow tastes great. That said, I’ll take pasteurized milk any day, no bacterial outbreaks in my house, no siree. Even the best practices can result in milk contamination, regardless of how GM free, hormone free, organic etc. Cows still poop. Poop still gets on their udders. The end. ( I always joke that some folks would just like to go back to the “good ol’ days” when we all died young of infectious diseases the way God intended. Nothing more “natural” than that.) If it’s pasteurized milk, I would support a local farm over a large dairy for sure, though.
maile says
Raw local goat milk. I also make other nut milks in the Blentec. I bottle in glass!
becky says
At the new year we switched over to a local delivery (with cute glass containers and door-to-door delivery) and because we’ve read that whole milk is second best to raw (still has the enzymes to break down the dairy proteins) – we switched from non-fat to whole since raw is unavailable near us. I am someone who does not like milk – but this milk is AMAZING. It tastes soooooooo good. Okay, off for a cold glass.
Linda had a little Lamb says
Commercial milk is absolutely filthy. That’s the reason why is has to be pasteurized. Commercial milk cows are so over milked that their teats leak out pus. They should change those got milk ads to got pus.