I confess. I was one of those confused, per the cartoon. I’m not into a lot of special diets or health foods or anything and I haven’t been a milk drinker since I was a kid. I only buy it for occasional cooking needs (and yes, that means I waste a lot of milk). So I’d not paid much attention to soy milk, almond milk, etc. I thought they sounded kind of weird, but I always assumed* they were some sort of dairy product (ie, made with milk). Milk comes from cows, goats, or other mammals. That means I agree with the government this time. Call it almond juice or soy purée or coconut smoothie or whatever it actually is, but don’t call it milk. It’s not milk.
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* Oooo, that’s where I went wrong. Never assume …, yada, yada
No, don’t change almond milk to almond juice! I can’t drink milk, but I can fool myself into thinking I’m having milk in my cereal—the name is an important piece of that!
I think “milk” is deceptive advertising. What if they came up with a really delicious sounding name that didn’t include the word “milk”? (I realize “Almond Joy” is taken, but surely the marketers could think of something.)
johnthecook…and there’s the rub,if it don’t come from the cow,it ain’t milk. The name is important! Why do you think no one names their child “Judas” or “Ichabod”…because the name is important!
Agreed. But as noted above, cow’s milk is not the only milk humans consume. Goats, yaks, reindeer, and camels, for example. But “the almond” is definitely not one of those mammals.
johnthecook…you are absolutely correct. There are some sea mammals that also produce milk’
I was only citing some of the mammals whose milk is consumed by humans. Don’t recall hearing of humans drinking seal milk, for example.
I’ve been trying to get that into my family’s head for yonks, trouble is our eldest daughter has gone round the twist, and being the “”smart”” one every one does as she says. A little education was a dangerous thing 2 uni degrees gone to waste
So my granddaughters don’t get meat they are given vegan rubbish and when I tell them that children need meat and fish I’m yelled down. Children need proper food. It might be fine for nutty daughter to be a vegan but it’s not fine that she push her ideas onto her sister and nieces. Makes me very angry. I’ll be slipping them some real meat when they come to stay for a few days
They forget I brought them up on good food and thats one reason they are all healthy now. Now the war office is thinking of switching to almond white stuff in her coffee. I’ll stick to full cream milk
In general I believe in a balanced diet, with moderation in all things. Humans are natural omnivores. Veganism is a choice. I’m not sure it’s a choice that should be forced on kids while they are developing their own tastes and preferences. It’s possible to get the protein you need from a vegan diet, but with kids often not liking vegetables … it seems problematic to me.
This is a good example of the value of government regulation. To many it might seem overkill but I can still remember a time when there was little of it. Anyone remember Hadacol? It was an OTC nostrum to pep you up. Turns out it was heavy on alcohol. Also opiate meds for kids that basically drugged them to sleep. There was no internet to advise of salmonella outbreaks and such, they were just part of life.
I remember the name Hadacol, but not what it was for. I just know a lot of “old timey” nostrums had high alcohol content. Proper labeling per government regulation is valuable. At least the consumer can read what the ingredients are. Had I been the least bit interested in trying soy or almond milk, I’d have first read the label and would have known there was no milk in either of them.
Here’s a tip if you waste milk when you buy it for cooking. Dried milk is now excellent stuff, and you use only what you need.
I’ve thought about that. Or maybe buying a pint of cream or half n half. I just need to remember to do it! (Old habits die hard.) Adding it to my shopping list right now.
johnthecook…the Military has been using dry or powdered milk for years,probably as early as the 1940.
And of course it’s in my powdered coffee creamer. I just never thought I’d get quite the same taste if I cooked with with anything other than the “real” thing.
Speaking of milk, everybody, do you remember evaporated milk? It was a staple in my childhood, always had a distinctive taste I wasn’t sure I liked. I recently discovered (the wife already knew) dried potato flakes. Constituting them requires water and milk. Since we don’t normally keep milk on hand I got some evaporated and found that when used on the flakes it makes perfect mashed potatoes, hot and ready to serve! It seems almost magical. Important to cut the evaporated milk by equal amount of water and measure the volumes precisely. Mollie says I have led a sheltered life.
Yep, evaporated and condensed milk have been around as long as I can remember and used primarily for cooking. Haven’t priced them in years, though. They’d be shelf stable, but would they be cheaper? I’ll probably waste some regardless because I seem to have a lot of calls for just 2-3 tablespoons.
I love the dried potato flakes. Used to always keep some on hand. These days I just buy the little microwavable single serving cups, for times when I might want just bit of potatoes on the side. Usually I just use either fresh bakers or some of the many good frozen options. As you might have guessed, I don’t spend much time and effort cooking.