Non Fat Milk…Round Two

I have come to the conclusion that milk may have different tastes depending on the butterfat. I believe the breed may also be a factor and the feed, however, of the 5 no fat milks I have tried, there is very little perceptible difference. Today I tried Lucerne milk from Safeway and their house brand O Organics. I used the Trader Joe’s brand as a comparison to the first 3 tested. Except for the O Organic milk which holds a bubble longer, there was no taste difference. I’m off to find Berkeley Farms and Clover as they are two local brands that I have always liked. I hope to find a difference with a higher quality, less generic milk. I also have a vague recollection of loving Strauss non fat milk, but perhaps it was the nostalgia of drinking milk straight from the bottle.

Non Fat Milk

The results of this test came as a complete surprise to me. For years I have sworn that some skim milk tastes richer than others, and looks richer too. As you can tell by the photo, all three brands tested do not have that blue ring we normally associate with non fat milk, nor the translucency. Going back and forth with sips, taking water in between to cleanse my palate, the only difference I discovered was that the brand on the left from Lucky Supermarket lacked a very slight sweetness that the Trader Joe's fat free milk had and it tasted identical to the TJ's Organic Fat Free Milk. It seems that organic feed and lack of hormones and whatever else they subject the herds to, does not make a difference in taste. This experience compels me to try other brands trying to find one that stands out in flavor.