In England our milk was always delivered to the house aboard an electric milk float, and the one-pint glass bottles placed on the doorstep at about 5.30am each morning. The milkman was paid every two weeks.
Then 40 years ago, when we first moved to France, I bought our milk from my friend José's father's farm, about 400 metres away. I fetched it each morning in a small, aluminium, one litre, churn; direct from the milking parlour.
Now I buy at the supermarket. Semi-skimmed, in half-litre plastic-bottled six-packs that, if unopened, would last for months. The six-pack above cost €5,46 (£4,80).
I suppose that's progress. How do you buy yours?
Ours is bought at the supermarket these days,they come in 3,2,and 1 litre plastic bottles, I cannot even tell you how many different types there are, Full Cream,Lite,2% fat,semi skim, skim,and the list goes on you could spend half hour in front of the milk section, then we go to the section that has milk like yours again many choices...at the moment there is a price war between all the big supermarkets and they are selling it for $1 a litre... half the normal price, Bob has banned me from buying the cheap milk as he says the Dairy Farmers will pay the ultimate price if it keeps up, they are getting less and less even now, most dairies are very large the smaller man edged out years ago,very sad...The only really good thing about cheap milk is families with children can have much more as it it usually so expensive..all things good for you costs a lot ,all the rubbish is cheap...we were taught if you eat well you keep well,so we try to keep to that.
ReplyDeleteQuite right Carole. The last time I bought milk in the UK, it was about 50 pence a pint. Personally I'd be perfectly happy to pay TWICE that if it meant less farmers going bust. The supermarkets have a lot to answer for.
ReplyDeleteWhen I go to visit an old friend in Notting HIll, she buys unpasteurised milk from one of two farmers selling it on their stalls. The frist time we went there, I was so surprised it's still legal here! That was a few years back but the farmers still come along every week and no milk police drag them away. I am surprised though that you're stuck with the supermarkets, assuming that France was more likely to stick its fingers up at Euro dictats than Britain is? Maybe there are little markets where farmers sell their lovely fresh wares, but I guess you'd have found them if so! Me, I use soya "milk" !!
ReplyDeleteLiving within spitting distance of a Waitrose, I get the milk from there. There are two types of 'organically' produced food that you can really taste the difference - farmed salmon and milk. Waitrose organic milk in Bath is pretty much exclusively 'Duchy' brand, which means that our beloved Prince of Wales must get up very early in the morning to milk all those cows of his - worth the extra.
ReplyDeleteMilk used to come to the door in glass quart and pint bottles. Now we have to go fetch at the grocery store and it comes in waxed cartons in the 1 litre size (and smaller). I'd be a little concerned about any milk product guaranteed to last for 4 months and stored in plastic.
ReplyDeleteSally. It's the prevalence of Brucellosis that stops us now from buying fresh milk. What milk I do drink (not that much), I like to be as safe as possible. Buying 'Bio' is my only concession.
ReplyDeleteCarole's reply pretty much sums up what I would say.
ReplyDeleteI tried farm fresh milk once as a child and it was so thick and buttery I just couldn't drink it. I know . . . strange. Most people love fresh milk. I'm just not one of them.
We buy ours in 2 litre plastic bottles from the supermarket and buy enough to last us a week. Just heard on the news that radiation has now been found in some milk in Japan. Scary!
ReplyDeleteSurprised you buy that long life stuff but it does seem popular in France. Even there we always buy the fresh milk cartons. All the local milk from farms near our Normandy cottage is taken straight to the big dairies. There used to be a local cremerie but it closed and I think Nestle ( Allah destroy) has taken over everything except Isigny. But the local farmers are urging us all to boycott Isigny products ( incl 'President' butter and cheese) because of unfair practices. Back in England, Waitrose have introduced Gold Top from Jersey and Guernsey cows. My 91year old mother loves it. Personally I rarely touch the stuff.
ReplyDeleteAs far as 'taste' is concerned, the above is probably France's closest to the English milk I am used to. There is a particularly unpleasant taste about most European milk which would make your morning muesli or rice crispies inedible.
ReplyDeleteI buy skim milk by the gallon, in plastic containers with a molded handle and small screw top. Just under $2.00.
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