# Milk ..........milk



## Thecatlinux

After many a jug of stretching milk to try and perfect the process and get it right , I have noticed that each 4 pint bottle i buy has different characteristics , The four pint semi skimmed from the co op I was using yesterday was more difficult to work with than the tesco one i opened up today .

After learning to stretch the milk from skimmed, semi skimmed and full fat . I have found that semi skimmed seems to be the easiest to work with . And I was totally suprised how much dense foam you can get from skimmed milk although I found this doesn't bring enough sweetness to a milk drink.

so my conclusion is Semi skimmed is the best milk to use , but beware each bottle of milk is not the same .


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## 4085

Milk is made from what cows eat. At different times of the year, their diet changes. A cow grazing on pasture in Cornwall will probably produce a different milk to one grazing in Teeside. Thats why some people prefer to use filtered milk like Cravendale


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## gman147

Mmm Cravendale


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## seeq

Milk does differ, not only from supermarket to supermarket (although it's worth noting tesco and sainsburys do (or at least used to) come from the same dairy. But from season and farm. After all, milk is made from whatever cows eat and that is dependent on so many variables. Cravendale is seen by many to be the ideal milk, although I find tesco milk works pretty well.

I wrote an article a while back on milk foaming. It explains why skimmed milk is easier. Your ideal milk for coffee is full fat, more to do with the creaminess and mouth feel. I use semi skimmed for 'not getting fat' reasons. It's a personal thing though. http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4141


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## Thecatlinux

I must confess i haven't tried stretching craven dale but I will put it on the shopping list, do they do a semi skimmed ?


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## Glenn

Yes, Cravendale is available in Green Top


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## 4085

Cavendale do skimmed, semi and full fat. tesco do a good version of it as well. I use them all. the semi is great, the full fat works well and if you do not mind the taste, the skimmed textures fine as well. But, they are consistent throughout the year


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## Thecatlinux

Glad to hear that others had noticed there was a difference, the semi skimmed i have at the moment from tesco is so easy to use. Shame I cant pour it correctly .


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## gman147

Graham's Gold is seriously seriously good. Not cheap though


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## Burnzy

I used tesco "pure" which is there version of cravendale i guess.. Seemed as good to me, but generally i use cravendale blue, with no issues apart from me.

My mate swears by some elite jersey gold top of some kind, can never seem to find it tho..


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## Mrboots2u

I'm use Rachel's organic at the moment , blue top , creamy and hits the sweet spot at the right temp . I just can't face semi skimmed anymore


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## Thecatlinux

Wheres all my milk gone?


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## espressotechno

It's the protein content of the milk which affects the ease / difficulty of foaming.

If the cows are grumpy that day, their milk characteristics will change. So it can be worthwhile having an alternative brand available locally for a temporary switch for a few days.


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## Thecatlinux

We need more happy cows then .


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## johnealey

Wife prefers Cravendale Green semi skimmed saying it tastes the same as ordinary blue supermarket milk. Personally I prefer blue full fat Cravendale for the sweetness it adds to the cup, horses for courses i suppose. Do definately notice the difference when can't get any and resort to standard milk though ( red skimmed milk however not to our personal taste)

John


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## Charliej

I've swapped to using milk from a local shop which they get from a dairy about 5 miles away and so far the results have been excellent so it may be worth looking in your local small shops, I just wish there was somewhere very locally that sold raw milk as I'd love to give that whirl.


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## Burnzy

Thecatlinux said:


> Wheres all my milk gone?


Dam!! she is hot :-o


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## hotmetal

I think I might know where her milk is.


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## AlexB

Mrboots2u said:


> I'm use Rachel's organic at the moment , blue top , creamy and hits the sweet spot at the right temp . I just can't face semi skimmed anymore


I've been getting good results from Rachel's as well. Daylesford Organic's whole milk has produced the best results for me, but it is

a) a bugger to source, unless you do your weekly shop from Selfridges

and

b) bloody expensive.


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## Thecatlinux

Well couldn't source any of Rachel's milk so I have bought in the aid of research some cravendale, I am hoping to give this a go and see if its easier to stretch/foam than the ordinary milk i have been using.

nearly twice the price , so I hope not !!


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## Mrboots2u

Is this forum turning into zoo and nuts now?


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## Thecatlinux

No you said about Rachel's milk . Plus as the other picture was appreciated i thought I would post another.

oh cravendale wasn't any easier to get wrong .


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## froggystyle

I appreciated your picture Cat


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## jeebsy

More like a carry on film


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## Orangertange

gman147 said:


> Graham's Gold is seriously seriously good. Not cheap though


it's my preferred nowadays, but please don't post any pictures of a graham

that or some organic

used to use cravendale but think it tastes a bit fake


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## Scotford

Orangertange said:


> used to use cravendale but think it tastes a bit fake


Actually, I get this. Cravendale to me tastes like it's been treated with something plasticcy.


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## Thecatlinux

Well didn't see any difference with the cravendale , now experimenting with different quantity of milk, eg steaming a bigger quantity to allow more time to 'stretch' the milk , so far the more milk makes things a little easier but is wasteful .


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## destcc

Cravendale for me


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## aphelion

Yeo Yalley whole - better than cravendale for me


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## jeebsy

Caffeine mag did a feature on milk a while ago. Will see if I can dig it out.


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## destcc

Maybe I should try Yeo valley on next purchase


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## aphelion

destcc said:


> Maybe I should try Yeo valley on next purchase


I was recommendated by someone at taylor st. baristas in brighton.

They did a big milk showdown with about 50 different types...

Apparently Yeo Yalley Organic Whole came out miles ahead.

Tastes good to me anyway


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## spune

aphelion said:


> Yeo Yalley whole - better than cravendale for me


Goodwood is also available around us, aphelion!


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## Thecatlinux

aphelion said:


> I was recommendated by someone at taylor st. baristas in brighton.
> 
> They did a big milk showdown with about 50 different types...
> 
> Apparently Yeo Yalley Organic Whole came out miles ahead.
> 
> Tastes good to me anyway


yeo valley next on my hit list then , just finished a four pint asda semi skimmed which was a dream to stretch .


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## Orangertange

Even try the asda organic if you get a chance, think it taste better than yeo. But guess different supermarkets are probably supplied by different local farms,


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## aphelion

spune said:


> Goodwood is also available around us, aphelion!


Yep, i think they only get it on certain days in the shop...tried it once, it was good

Isn't it raw or something??


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## Thecatlinux

Orangertange said:


> Even try the asda organic if you get a chance, think it taste better than yeo. But guess different supermarkets are probably supplied by different local farms,


if that haven't got the yeo I will do , been tempted to have a play with some jersey gold as well.


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## aphelion

Thecatlinux said:


> if that haven't got the yeo I will do , been tempted to have a play with some jersey gold as well.


That'll be pretty rich i reckon..

Nice though!


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## glevum

Thecatlinux said:


> yeo valley next on my hit list then , just finished a four pint asda semi skimmed which was a dream to stretch .


I use Asda ss milk. Makes great microfoam, but so does Tesco, Sainsburys, co op & Morrisons. I dont see any difference .


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## spune

Yeah I believe so.

There is a place up just past Bury Hill called Southview farm that sells their own raw milk too.

Raw milk is lovely


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## Thecatlinux

spune said:


> Yeah I believe so.
> 
> There is a place up just past Bury Hill called Southview farm that sells their own raw milk too.
> 
> Raw milk is lovely


Be careful consuming unpasteurised milk,! unpasteurized milk can carry dangerous bacteria


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## jeebsy

Thecatlinux said:


> Be careful consuming unpasteurised milk,! unpasteurized milk can carry dangerous bacteria


Unless you've got health problems it's fine. I've been riding roughshod through all sorts of regulations recently - cooking my chicken to 60 etc.


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## Thecatlinux

jeebsy said:


> Unless you've got health problems it's fine. I've been riding roughshod through all sorts of regulations recently - cooking my chicken to 60 etc.


I know what you mean about the nanny culture but there is a valid reason for pasteurisation of milk such as Salmonella , E. coli and Listeria .


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## Mrboots2u

Cooking your chicken Til it's 69 .....

Dare Jeebsy to defy health law

Drink mercury

Eat Re heated rice

Spend the week eating stuff past it s best before date


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## Charliej

I think its always worthwhile checking your local smaller shops and even some butchers to see if they sell local milk, I swapped over to milk sold in a local corner shop which comes from a dairy only 5 miles away and always tastes great and produces great results.


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## jeebsy

Re heated rice is a myth, i'll take that one on. Same with best before dates - if it looks alright and smells alright it is alright


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## Charliej

jeebsy said:


> Re heated rice is a myth, i'll take that one on. Same with best before dates - if it looks alright and smells alright it is alright


Re-heated rice isn't a myth as such it all depends on how the rice has been treated before packaging and how it was cooled before re-heating, plenty of medical and scientific studies document this.

Raw milk is fine I grew up drinking it as did a lot of our grandparents and it's certainly not caused me any harm over the years, plus the regulations concerning the sale of raw milk in this country are that tight it's not likely to cause any harm either. Raw milk makes some of the best tasting cheeses that exist a proper farmhouse cheddar made with raw milk exhibits far more flavour than one made with pasteurised milk.


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## jeebsy

As long as rice is cooled quickly after cooking it's fine to reheat. Keeping it at room temperature is what causes problems as the spores develop and reheating doesn't kill them.


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## hotmetal

It's not the actual spores in poorly kept cooked rice that you have to worry about. It's the toxins that result from them. Heat doesn't denature the toxins once present, even if it kills off the stuff that created said toxins. I've been freezing and reheating rice for years, but you do have to do it properly, i.e. cover and fast freeze.


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## Daren

Back to milk... Duchy organic always gives my consistently good results.


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## Thecatlinux

yes back to milk, i have had the misfortune of having to work in the miking pit of dairy during milking time, lets just say it is not just milk that comes out of the cow when its milked . And if you look at the anatomy of your basic dairy cow you will notice it is not that far apart.


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## Thecatlinux

Daren said:


> Back to milk... Duchy organic always gives my consistently good results.


i will see what my local asdecoburys has got , and report back.


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## Daren

Thecatlinux said:


> i will see what my local asdecoburys has got , and report back.


I've only seen it in Waitrose


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## Daren

Thecatlinux said:


> yes back to milk, i have had the misfortune of having to work in the miking pit of dairy during milking time, lets just say it is not just milk that comes out of the cow when its milked . And if you look at the anatomy of your basic dairy cow you will notice it is not that far apart.


They are bulls?!

Don't fancy making a flat white with that


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## Thecatlinux

Daren said:


> They are bulls?!
> 
> Don't fancy making a flat white with that


YUK

tip from the country: never take your eye off the bull, they move a lot faster than you think


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## jeebsy

Daren said:


> I've only seen it in Waitrose


It's a Waitrose only brand. Very nice milk it is too.


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## Thecatlinux

jeebsy said:


> It's a Waitrose only brand. Very nice milk it is too.


dont even know where my waitrose is ...norwich i think


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## Mrboots2u

Manchester for me ...( 40-50 miles away ..)


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## The Systemic Kid

Even nearer Boots - one in Preston


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## Mrboots2u

The Systemic Kid said:


> Even nearer Boots - one in Preston


There's one In preston...l call my flabber ghasted


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## Daren

2 Waitrose within 5 minutes of my gaff - I'll post you some 2nd class boots


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## gman147

Any filtered milk really. The 7 days fresh stuff. Tesco whole filtered is superb.


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