Elementary Chef

Of course you do. It’s almost impossible to cook without milk, although I do have some lactose intolerant friends who do wonders with liquid coffee mate… But for today, I want to answer another question — this one about milk.

If you’ve looked at the dairy case at the grocery lately, the selection is a bit intimidating. The most popular milks are sold based on the percentage of fat they retain. In addition to these stand-bys, you find a number of milks marketed by their additives. I typically keep both 2% and skim milk in my fridge. While I opt for skim milk for drinking, adding to coffee & tea, and cereal, I frequently cook with 2%. I just like the creamier consistency in a lot of my recipes!

Whole Milk retains the full fat value of milk. The actual fat percentage of whole milk hovers around 3.25%, but is slightly variable.

Reduced Fat Milk comes closest to retaining the taste of whole milk, but contains only 2% milk fat.

Low Fat Milk, when you can find it, contains 1% fat. For those who just can’t drink skim (like my husband!), this can be a good compromise.

Very Low Fat Milk, often harder to find, contains 1/2% fat. This has become a popular milk for marketing with additives.

Skim Milk is fat-free and very diet-friendly. Some people complain that it tastes like water, but I honestly can’t stand anything else, I’m so used to it. It also steams very well for lattes.

Half-and-Half is a blend of half cream and half milk, used mostly for coffee and tea, although I also use it in place of cream in heavy soups (like potato or cheese.)

Sweet Acidopholous adds acidopholous cultures and vitamins A&B to lowfat milk. Many people swear by this stuff, which is supposed to help prevent yeast infections and reduce gas (!!)

My daughter points out that I’m skipping a whole list of her favorite milks — like orange cream (yuck!) Suffice it to say that flavorings are added for just that — flavoring. An elementary-stocked kitchen should always have a gallon of fresh milk ready. A well-stocked kitchen should add cream or half-and-half and powdered milk.

Got milk?