Milk in a bag

[Mushrooshi]

US: Milk is usually in rigid plastic containers, or waxed cardboard.

Canada: Often sould in 3 to 4 litre bags.

Topic: Which is better? Bagged, Boxed, Bottles, or Other?

It is a simple topic, but it can lead to innovations.

It is also a forum of differences between the US and its northern neighbor, Canada and its southern neighbor.

[I3eXa]

first time I had milk in a bag was in china, and boy did it seem weird. Almost like drinking a capri sun. Health wise, I'd assume the bag is better than the wax in a cardboard half-gallon. Money wise, it might be cheaper to produce the bag than the plastic milk 'jug' gallon....just my $0.02

[.Andy]

I get soy milk in wax cardboard cartons in Australia. The cartons are recyclable but I must admit I've not given it much to the environmental impact of the raw materials or their initial manufacture.

[glocke12]

I grew up in, and live in Eastern PA. Growing up, that part of PA was all pretty much rural/farmland. I recall going to a place called "the milk house" with my parents and getting milk in clear plastic bags (maybe 2 qaurts each).

Anyway, Id say that from an environmental aspect the cardboard is better (maybe more recyclable?)?

[macgruder]

Canada: Often sould in 3 to 4 litre bags.


Is sould to sold what neighbour is to neighbor :D

[iJohnHenry]

Actually, it's three 1.333 litre bags, in a 4 litre "sack". ;)

And everyone using same has a hard plastic "pitcher" designed to hold one 1.333 litre bag.

[mkrishnan]

We had bagged milk briefly in the cafeteria at my school.

Does the bagged milk in Canada need to be refrigerated before opening, or can it be stored at room temperature? (Boxed) milk stored at room temperature seems like the best option to me (although I'm not sure of the environmental impact of this pasteurization process) as it reduces the environmental impact of presale refrigeration.

I'm not sure that the cardboard containers can actually be recycled -- they contain a fair amount of plastic, don't they? The milk jugs get recycled, although there's an underdemand for the recycled product, AFAIK.

Right now, though, I generally buy soymilk. I tried it in the past to try to go vegan, but right now I'm just using it to balance soy protein sources with (milk-derived) cheese.

[iJohnHenry]

Yes, you buy and store it refrigerated. It's not "irradiated", that I know of. :eek:

There is a plastic tab on the outer sack to indicate the best-before date.

BTW, one place I hang out at while waiting does have the irradiated boxed milk for coffee. Lasts almost forever unopened, but when opened we have to refrigerate it.

[mkrishnan]

BTW, one place I hang out at while waiting does have the irradiated boxed milk for coffee. Lasts almost forever unopened, but when opened we have to refrigerate it.

I've used it several times. In the United States, it's almost universally available in grocery stores, although always with a refrigerated milk section also. It is usually somewhat more expensive, though. Again, I'm not sure if that increased expense correlates to an economy of scale issue or to increased environmental impact of the production process.

[iJohnHenry]

Again, I'm not sure if that increased expense correlates to an economy of scale issue or to increased environmental impact of the production process.

I believe they are also charging for the convenience factor, to some extent, but I also have no data on that subject.

[furcalchick]

the cafeteria at my college had bagged milk they put into the milk dispenser. so yeah, it's used in commercial business in south florida. but it tasted kinda off...

[iJohnHenry]

Yes, now you are getting into the commercial-grade of milk bag.

The really large ones have a tube, that fits into the dispenser's "valve" arrangement, and the smaller ones have a built-in valve.

[SMM]

We have some ultra-pasteurized, boxed milk that we keep for emergency use. We live in a very secluded area, in the Cascade Mountain foothills of WA State. There have been times when it is virtually impossible to get off the mountain (Tiger) and into town. So, it is necessary to be self-sustaining for an unknown period of time. I tried the boxed milk before investing in a quantity of it. It is OK, although I would not seek it out for normal use. It is certainly better than trying to drink condensed, or dry milk :eek:. As others have said, it is more expensive.

[lancestraz]

I like glass bottles. They don't make the milk taste funny and they can be reused.

[Eidorian]

Mexico called and said it uses milk bags like its far northern friend.

[ucfgrad93]

I like glass bottles. They don't make the milk taste funny and they can be reused.

Wow, where do you get those? I haven't seen one since I was about 7 or so, 30+ years ago.

[SMM]

Wow, where do you get those? I haven't seen one since I was about 7 or so, 30+ years ago.

You can still get them in places like Milk Barn, which acts as a coop outlet for producers. Most areas have them, although they may be rare in large East Coast metropolitan areas. Also, believe it or not, they still have milkmen in many places and glass containers are often optional. Sometimes there is a small deposit for the bottle.

[solvs]

I too prefer glass, or at least what's in them (seems to be better quality, and less hormones in the stuff I get) but my Mom's school has the bagged stuff. Guess it's cheaper. Makes a bit of a mess sometimes though. We used to have the tiny cartons. I liked those.

[Jack Flash]

I don't drink milk. If you think about it, most (if not all) non-infant mammals also do not drink milk.

[LethalWolfe]

I don't drink milk. If you think about it, most (if not all) non-infant mammals also do not drink milk.
They also don't cook their food or use in door plumbing but that doesn't mean I'm gonna start eating raw meat and craping on the sidewalk.:D


Lethal

[iMacZealot]

Wow, where do you get those? I haven't seen one since I was about 7 or so, 30+ years ago.

Here in Colorado (where I see you are also from), most people I know still get their milk from the local dairy. It's good milk and always tastes better than from the grocery store. I remember it coming in glass bottles when I was little (10-15 years ago), but other than that, it comes in these plastic bottles, which are then rinsed and returned:

http://www.royalcrestdairy.com/images/2005/Gallon%20milk_sm.jpg

[balofagus]

We drink our milk out of the 1.33 L bags. I work at a convenience store and we sell milk in all types of containers (plastic jugs, bags, and cartons). I can't make myself drink white milk from a carton... I just think its weird. Chocolate milk on the other hand is fine out of a carton. It's obvious that its just me that's weird :p.

[scotthayes]

Growing up we always had milk delivered in a bottle, but now it's mainly in plastic bottles from the supermarket

[tringo]

Growing up we always had milk delivered in a bottle, but now it's mainly in plastic bottles from the supermarket

Aw, those were the days.....Kinda makes me think of those cartoons where you see the big stalk birds deliver babies to people's doorsteps. Every morning you're just like "WOW, how great is this!"

[sreedy]

Growing up we always had milk delivered in a bottle, but now it's mainly in plastic bottles from the supermarket

I still get mine delivered to the door every morning in a glass bottle, by Dairy Crest (http://www.milkdeliveries.co.uk/doorstep/)

[lancestraz]

Wow, where do you get those? I haven't seen one since I was about 7 or so, 30+ years ago.
The milkman.

[nbs2]

I used to buy the UHT boxes when I lived in Chile. They were surprising at first, as I couldn't figure out how non-refrigerated could be sanitary. Then I figured out what UHT was all about. If I remember right, they were cheaper than buying "regular" milk.

I think the difference in the US is that the usage of UHT milk is somewhat novel. Parmalat is the only company that I see, except for the mini-Horizons. The lack of competition and the perceived convenience drive prices really high. It is easier to carry the little juice box sized whole milks than try and find whole milk at restaurants or buy a pint of whole that my daughter is going to drink half of and my wife and I won't touch. Next year, I expect we will be less reliant as most places restaurants carry 2% and I'll be able to drink whatever she can't finish in the pint.

[Raid]

They also don't cook their food or use in door plumbing but that doesn't mean I'm gonna start eating raw meat and craping on the sidewalk.:D


Lethal Post of the day! ;)

I don't get what the big deal is about what container your milk comes in... when I was growing up I remember 1L waxpaper cartons, then it was the big 3L jugs, then the 1L bags (sold 3 at a time). As far as I'm concerned it didn't change the taste, but I do recall the smell of the plastic jugs...

Besides you can still get 1L of milk cartons here, it's just that they're not as popular or have a huge variety. The 3L jugs kind of died out though I remember them being hailed as recyclable, but I guess the less material used in bags won out with the manufacturers.

[Ugg]

Growing up, 30+ years ago, we got our milk from family friends who had two milk cows. We would get it in large gallon jars, sometimes it would still be warm! I hated it when the cows would get out of the pasture and into the weedy areas. The milk tasted really rank then. The milk was of course, unpasteurized.

I rarely drink milk these days. It just seems sort of gross and I'm constantly blowing my nose afterwards.

[karenflower]

I still get milk delivered in glass bottles. In fact, this is the first time I've ever heard about milk being sold in bags! It's quite amusing. :p

Never drink milk though, I don't like it. . or even looking at it. Touching it is *gross*. Slight milk phobia maybe? :confused:

[killmoms]

Plastic jugs! Bags of milk are weird and Canadian. :eek:

Still love 2% milk and drink about a gallon a week. So good. :D

[faintember]

I never knew milk could come in bags until I read this thread. I will now travel the world to improve my knowledge of milk containment systems.;)

Seriously, I've always preferred plastic jugs or glass bottles and generally avoided the cardboard cartons as they seemed to not keep the milk as fresh and I would sometimes notice a bit of cardboard from the mouth of the box in the milk itself. I don't care for cardboard in my milk, as I already get plenty of fiber.

Bags of milk seems just as weird as boxes (bags) of wine. Though drinking directly from the bags of wine was always fun during my younger days as a undergrad. We even had a mini-holiday amongst friends, "Franzia day", where we would consume Franzia in mass quantities.

[Thomas Veil]

In the United States, it's almost universally available in grocery stores...Not around here (Ohio), or anywhere near that I know of. Bagged milk was given a tryout here a long time ago...I'm thinking thirty years or more...and never "took".

[mkrishnan]

Not around here (Ohio), or anywhere near that I know of. Bagged milk was given a tryout here a long time ago...I'm thinking thirty years or more...and never "took".

Sorry, that was in reference to boxed, non-refrigerated milk, not bagged milk.

[Leareth]

I havent seen bagged milk anywhere in Vancouver.
Very common in Eurpoe though. tastes weird to me. so do the cardboard ones.
I get my milk in glass bottles, organic whole non-homo milk. I make my own butter.

[mkrishnan]

I get my milk in glass bottles, organic whole non-homo milk.

On behalf of all lesbian cows, I am udderly disappointed in you.

Oh, come on, some Demi had to say it. :o

[danny_w]

Milk is mostly in plastic jugs around here (Austin, TX), but you can get the glass bottles in the grocery stores (it is super expensive though...).

[iJohnHenry]

Off topic, but I miss the honour system of my youth.

You put a note in an empty milk bottle, with a bill or two, and in the morning you had your order, with your change in said bottle.

Better times.

[mikeyredk]

In India they sell milk in bags and its quite popular. Now trying to bring bags into the US your crazy don't get me wrong it will work but trying to convince distributers and the general public to switch to bagged milk will the difficult.

OT: Anyone know where I can find unpasteurized milk my moms was trying to find some

[PlaceofDis]

Wow, where do you get those? I haven't seen one since I was about 7 or so, 30+ years ago.

http://www.oberweisdairy.com/web/default.asp

at least by me you can find them in grocery stores

[tobefirst]

http://www.oberweisdairy.com/web/default.asp

at least by me you can find them in grocery stores

I less than three Oberweis chocolate milk...it's practically a shake it's so thick.

[PlaceofDis]

I less than three Oberweis chocolate milk...it's practically a shake it's so thick.

it is great. their lemonade is fantastic too.