“Where’s the milk?” I asked Vincent as I looked inside the refrigerator. I was hungry and ready to eat my morning granola cereal.
“In the cupboard,” he responded.
“Ugh! Seriously, who drinks lukewarm milk?”
Then, I remembered. I was no longer in the U.S., I was in Europe. You know you’re back in Europe when—milk doesn’t have to be refrigerated.
In Europe, you can find fresh milk that needs to be refrigerated, but who buys it? It’s more expensive, and it spoils quickly.
Most people buy the milk in “boxes.”
We typically buy 3 packs of 6 “boxes” a week. The milk “boxes” contain one liter each, so we go through about 18 liters of milk a week.
A liter in Spain averages 57-63 centimos (64-71 US cents), depending on if you buy skim, 2%, or whole milk.
I just did the conversion. There are 3.79 liters in a gallon, so we pay about $2.44 US for a gallon of milk here. That’s super cheap!
While in the U.S., milk was one of our major grocery budget items. With four boys, we go through tons of cereal and milk. As Americans, sometimes, we drink cold glasses of milk—especially when eating cookies!
I love the story, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie . . .” What will happen?
“He’s going to ask for a glass of milk!”
Milk is a beverage for us—sometimes with a meal. This is very strange to people in many parts of the world. My French mother-in-law, for example, can’t understand how I could possibly DRINK a glass of milk.
But the milk has to be COLD! There is nothing worse than drinking lukewarm milk from a box.
The key is keeping it cold. I have tried to put ice cubes in my lukewarm milk from a box. It’s not ideal, but it works in the case of an emergency.
Our family rule is to have TWO liters of milk in the fridge at a time. When someone empties a liter, they have to replace it with a new box of milk from the cupboard—that way we are always sure to have a box of COLD milk in the fridge!
“Not Better, Not Worse, Just Different.”
With a gallon of milk costing around $4 US—sometimes more—we spent a lot of money on milk each week while living in America. Our refrigerator was also always full—of plastic jugs full of fresh milk!
Our favorite place to buy fresh milk in Pennsylvania was “Moo Echo.” We enjoyed delicious, organic milk straight from an Amish family farm—and so much cheaper!
We can’t find fresh Amish milk in Europe. Rather, we buy our 18 liters of milk at the grocery store and put it in the cupboard. It doesn’t need to be refrigerated, because it is “UHT,” meaning it has been pasteurized at “Ultra High Temperatures” and placed in special sterilized “boxes.”
“In many European nations, UHT milk is the norm. This milk is heated to double the temperature—140 degrees C—for a mere three seconds. The high heat does its work almost instantly, killing all bacteria and most of the bacterial spores that can stand up to lesser temperatures. Because it’s nearly sterile, as long as it is packaged in a container that’s aseptic, it will last and last. No bacteria means no spoilage, at least as long as the package is closed.”
BBC
Here are some interesting articles I found about UHT milk if you want to understand the process more.
“The Milk that Lasts For Months”
“Save the World: Buy This Weird Milk in a Box”
UHT milk also lasts forever. The milk boxes we just purchased at the local grocery store this week have an expiration date of April 20, 2020. That’s nine months away!
That all sounds great . . . until you wake up as an American—happy and ready to eat your cereal with COLD milk.
Until this happens . . .
“Where’s the milk?” I asked Vincent as I looked inside the refrigerator. I was hungry and ready to eat my morning granola cereal.
“In the cupboard,” he responded.
“Ugh! Seriously, who drinks lukewarm milk?”
If you forget to put the UHT milk “box” in the refrigerator, you have no choice but to drink it lukewarm . . . or you find an alternative.
That morning, I sadly poured my granola back in the cereal box and toasted some bread instead. Cereal with lukewarm milk . . . you know what happens . . . and who likes soggy cereal?
(Note: After writing this story, I was craving a glass of COLD milk. Thankfully, I had some in the fridge. And, if you give this American gal a glass of milk, she’s going to ask for a cookie to go with it! I am so happy that Oreo cookies have made it across the Atlantic Ocean! Yum!)
—The Cultural Story-Weaver
Let’s Weave Cultures!
Have you ever traveled to a country where they only had UHT milk in a box? What did you think of it? Did it taste differently to you than fresh milk?
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures”! Write about them in the comment box below.
