What’s the Difference When it Comes to White Milk?
Milk choices … what the heck?! There are so many these days! It is not just the white milk or chocolate from our youth. I’ve had a lot of questions about them, so I figured this year I would dedicate some posts to the different kinds of milk out there. I have also done a few of these on Facebook and Instagram under #whatsinyourdairyaisle.
White Milk Types
Of course, we have to start with the basics – Whole Milk ❤️ 2% 💙 Skim 💗
Some stores might also sell 1% which I think is 💚 cap sometimes, but it follows the same trends as these three. There are also ultra filtered and organic white milks, but those will be addressed in a future post.
Nutrients in White Milk
ALL white milks have 13 essential nutrients, including 8g of protein! All of these nutrients are not listed on the gallon label because the processing plant would have to test each batch of milk that is bottled to test each component exactly since cows do make milk with slightly different components. This process would be time consuming and expensive. However, all the milk is mixed together from hundreds of farms, so overall they meet a pretty average standard. You can find these standards at the USDA website.
While there are trace amounts of other nutrients in milk, there are enough of these 13 nutrients for milk to be considered an excellent source for them.
Fat Content with Milk Types
Their biggest difference? Fat Content
Whole Milk – Is actually only 3.25% fat! The only additive is Vitamin D. Vitamin D was originally added to milk to help prevent rickets (a bone disorder) in children. But, it is also known to be good for immunity and absorption of calcium and phosphorus. It is also a fat soluble vitamin that pairs great with milk! Anyways – Whole milk has the highest calorie count of the three because of the fat. However, there are current studies showing correlations between whole milk drinkers and reduced risk of obesity.
2% Milk – Has had its fat content reduced to 2%. It is fortified with Vitamin A as well as Vitamin D because the reduction in fat has taken much of the natural Vitamin A out. It is less calories than Whole milk.
Skim Milk – has had all the fat content removed. It has been fortified with Vitamin A and D, like 2% milk. It has the least amount of calories.
Hot Labels
There are many different labels that you could see on a gallon of milk, so let’s break them down.
No Antibiotics – ALL milk is antibiotic free, whether the label says it or not. Farmers take antibiotics very seriously. Cows only get antibiotics if they are truly sick. When a cow is treated with antibiotics, her milk is dumped for the prescribed withdrawal period. If milk with antibiotic residues end up in the tank, there is a very hefty fine for the farmer. Milk is tested for antibiotics before it gets on the truck and before the truck is unloaded. If any milk tests positive, it is dumped down the drain.
rBST Free or rBGH Free – Both of these are synthetic hormones used by some farmers to increase milk production in cows. This was a popular treatment years ago and studies have shown that there is no difference in milk from cows treated with rBST or rBGH and cows that are not treated with these hormones. However, most processors will no longer purchase milk from farmers that use these because public opinion has shown they prefer to drink milk without these artificial hormones. Currently it is very difficult to find milk without the rBST Free or rBGH Free label because treating cows with these hormones has become a thing of the past.
Organic Milk – Organic milk comes from farms that have met all the requirements from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program. In summary, the cows have to be on pasture at least 120 days a year and 30% or more of their diet must come from pasture grasses. Organic milk has been found to have slightly higher Omega-3s than conventional milk because of the cows’ diet, but milk is still not considered a good source for Omega-3s.
Processing White Milk
White milk has gone through two standard processes: pasteurization and homogenization. Pasteurizing kills any harmful bacteria that may have been present and homogenization evenly distributes the fat globules so they don’t separate or stick to the side of your cup. There is no sugar or dye added to white milk. I don’t know what other claims have been made on social media lately, but nothing else is done to white milk. We will discuss ultra-filtration in a later post, as this is a process for some different milk brands like Fairlife.
What About Brands?
Speaking of brands, what about them?! – when it comes to your standard gallons of milk, brands don’t mean a whole lot. It’s all milk from cows! Most of the time they are even bottled in the same plant. Locally in my area, Hiland and Best Choice brands are the same. If you check the plant numbers stamped on the top of the jugs, you can see if different brands are from the same plant or not. You can learn more about where your milk is bottled and if you are drinking locally produced milk in one of my previous posts here!
If you’ve made it this far, great job! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments and tell me – What is your favorite milk to drink?! Around our house, Whole milk is our go to, but when it comes to flavors, chocolate is a favorite for everyone, but I love strawberry!
