4 ms·

I've been waiting for this to go mainstream for a long time. Unfortunately, my experience of mainstream milk is it's generally pretty crappy, mostly because of

I've been waiting for this to go mainstream for a long time. Unfortunately, my experience of mainstream milk is it's generally pretty crappy, mostly because of how it's produced. In New Zealand, the average "milk" is pretty disappointing. I've enjoyed A2 milk in the past but it's always been from boutique farms and most of the time they don't scale up (e.g. Ridge A2 Milk was a company which produced a great product but failed ~2010 I guess due to lack of traction). I'm not sure whether it's better milk because of the chemical structure, or because it's not reconstituted in a factory. I'm personally enjoying Naturalea milk, it's one of the few I can actually enjoy (http://goodmanfielder.com/portfolio/naturalea/ http://goodmanfielder.com/portfolio/naturalea/). I think that their entire production process yields a better product, something that Fonterra will unlikely be able to achieve because they scale their production while minimising cost. I'd rather pay a bit more and get milk I enjoy. Boutique A2 milk is some of the best I've had.

erentz 8y ago
> In New Zealand, the average "milk" is pretty disappointing. Genuinely surprised. One of the things I hate about living in the US is the terrible milk. I have a hard time drinking it. I don’t know what they do to it here but it comes with a gross, almost off aftertaste. (It also seems to have a surprisingly long shelf life.) New Zealand milk is amazing by comparison. It’s one of the things I love about going home. :-)
- abawany 8y ago
  If available to you, I can recommend trying the following brands: * http://www.kalonasupernatural.com/ http://www.kalonasupernatural.com/ - non-homogenized, available at Natural Grocers * http://www.promisedlanddairy.com/our-story/ http://www.promisedlanddairy.com/our-story/ - seems to be from Jersey cows, if the color of the milk is any indication Another thing to watch out for if you are buying Horizon Organic is the UHT (ultra high temperature) processing it and some other brands use. It makes the milk shelf-stable (i.e. a sealed container needs no refrigeration) but adds a burnt taste that can be offputting.
  - Moru 8y ago
    This is very common in Germany, it has some similar taste as the aromas they use for margarine to taste creamy. It's really horrible, I have never managed more than a sip of milk in Germany. Shelf life is three months, room temperature. If you want fresh milk you can find it in some bigger supermarkets but only a few bottles and I seldom seen anyone buy it.
InclinedPlane 8y ago
Depending on where you live there are better options for milk. In the Seattle area, local to me, it's possible to find vat pasteurized milk from grass fed cows in many of the slightly upscale organic stores.
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  Grass fed is the standard in New Zealand. I think that even if you went looking for it you couldn't find corn fed dairy cows.
  - sitharus 8y ago
    Correct, there's no such thing as grain-fed dairy in NZ, though you can get some grain-finished beef. Dairy cows are supplemented with palm kernel cake though which has some controversy around it.

erentz 8y ago

> In New Zealand, the average "milk" is pretty disappointing. Genuinely surprised. One of the things I hate about living in the US is the terrible milk. I have a hard time drinking it. I don’t know what they do to it here but it comes with a gross, almost off aftertaste. (It also seems to have a surprisingly long shelf life.) New Zealand milk is amazing by comparison. It’s one of the things I love about going home. :-)

abawany 8y ago
If available to you, I can recommend trying the following brands: * http://www.kalonasupernatural.com/ http://www.kalonasupernatural.com/ - non-homogenized, available at Natural Grocers * http://www.promisedlanddairy.com/our-story/ http://www.promisedlanddairy.com/our-story/ - seems to be from Jersey cows, if the color of the milk is any indication Another thing to watch out for if you are buying Horizon Organic is the UHT (ultra high temperature) processing it and some other brands use. It makes the milk shelf-stable (i.e. a sealed container needs no refrigeration) but adds a burnt taste that can be offputting.
- Moru 8y ago
  This is very common in Germany, it has some similar taste as the aromas they use for margarine to taste creamy. It's really horrible, I have never managed more than a sip of milk in Germany. Shelf life is three months, room temperature. If you want fresh milk you can find it in some bigger supermarkets but only a few bottles and I seldom seen anyone buy it.

InclinedPlane 8y ago

Depending on where you live there are better options for milk. In the Seattle area, local to me, it's possible to find vat pasteurized milk from grass fed cows in many of the slightly upscale organic stores.

toomanybeersies 8y ago
Grass fed is the standard in New Zealand. I think that even if you went looking for it you couldn't find corn fed dairy cows.
- sitharus 8y ago
  Correct, there's no such thing as grain-fed dairy in NZ, though you can get some grain-finished beef. Dairy cows are supplemented with palm kernel cake though which has some controversy around it.