About Milk

[Dark Wanderer]

Im quite confused with regards to what milk should I use in baking. The recipe said just milk but my question is what kind? Is whole milk the same as fresh milk? How about nonfat?

[bnemes3343]

Personally I would toss the recipe. Recipes that call for ingredients without being specific irritate me and make me wary that the end result won't be what I expected.(although I am certain they are assuming whole milk).

[Kelli2006]

I usually buy 2% milk but I will buy a qt of whole milk at the holidays for baking. The small amount of butterfat difference doesn't make that much difference unless you are making a custard or similar.

[paulj]

If there is other fat in the recipe (butter, oil, etc), don't worry about the fat content of your milk. The differences among 1, 2, and 4% are minor, relative to the amount of fat from other sources. Even egg yolks contribute fat to the recipe. Often you could use water instead of milk.

Since we don't drink much milk, I keep a container of powdered whole milk on hand (Nido or Klim brands are common in Asian groceries in the USA), and add a few table spoons of that to the dry ingredients when a recipe calls for milk. Another option is canned evaporated milk, which can be diluted to a consistency similar to milk. Evaporated milk has a cooked taste that is apparent when drunk alone, but isn't a problem in baked goods. Undiluted evaporated milk can often substitute for light cream.

Your fresh milk should be fine in almost any recipe. There may be a few, most likely custards, which would benefit from some more milk fat, which you could get from a small can of cream.

Another tropical option is coconut milk.

[greygarious]

Thanks, paulij, for mentioning powdered whole milk. I'll keep en eye out for it. I didn't know there was such a thing. My mother actually liked reconstituted non-fat dry milk so as a kid, it was a treat to get whole milk at friends' homes. I don't drink milk either, so for baking I use buttermilk powder, or I dilute evaporated or half-and-half. In a pinch, I'll dilute plain or vanilla yogurt. When I was out of half-and-half I remembered that a friend's parents prefer evaporated milk in their coffee, and was surprised that it tasted close to half-and-half. So there's always a can in the cupboard. Once opened, it freezes well, and I also use it for Mac&cheese since it prevents the cheese from turning grainy.
Other than for custards or puddings, it's safe to freely substitute other dairy equivalents for milk.

[jayt90]

I can get powdered whole milk at a nearby bulk food store. It is a good product, and I can mix it slightly extra strong so that it works well in coffee.
It is difficult to mix, however, not a bit like instant skim milk powder. I have to mix it up in a blender or food processor. Does anyone know of an instant brand?

[paulj]

Nido and Klim are not bad when it comes to mixing, but not perfect. It works better to add the powder to water than the other way, though you could also try making a slurry first. For small cooking amounts I don't bother with mixing further; for drinking I can see using the immersion blender.

Another option in the US is a brand of non-fat that has 'a touch of cream'. It's richer tasting than regular non-fat. In 1 quart pouches it is particularly popular with backpackers.

[Karl S]

Normally, you should use whole fresh milk unless otherwise specified. In many applications, you can use lowfat or skim milk, but not all - in some recipes, the fat content of whole milk is necessary.

If you don't drink whole milk, you can always have some cream to add skim milk. I've provided a conversion chart in other posts on this board.

[jayt90]

Whole milk from a cow will yield 4% butterfat, and the cream will rise to the top.
When dairies introduced homogenized milk, they also reduced the bf content of homo to 3.25%.
If I want to use whole milk in a recipe, I use homo with a bit of cream added, or else light 5% coffee cream.

[Dark Wanderer]

Well the recipe doesnt specify what type of milk should I use but I did post some questions here before and they do suggest whole milk. The only thing is, whole milk is not that common in our country. When I go to the dairy section, most of the available milks are fresh and the likes.

[Non Cognomina]

DW, you are in the PI, but where did you get the recipe that you are trying to bake? What is described as "whole milk" in the PI is not necessarily the same as "whole milk" in the US or Europe or elsewhere. The origin of the recipe may help clarify what milk product would be best to use.

[Dark Wanderer]

I did get the recipe on the web based in US. Im just a beginner with regards to baking that's why im very much in particular with the ingredients. I once tried baking peanut butter cookie but got messed up since the peanut butter I used at that time was a home-made one, peanut butter here in the philippines are too oily so the cookie do not came up to be as hard as it gets.

What about whole milk? If were about to use that, should I dilute it with water as well?

[paulj]

Think of milk as containing three things - water, milk solids (proteins, sugars), butterfat.

By let milk sit, or using a centrifuge, the less dense butterfat (cream) rises to the top, and can be removed and used for other purposes. Skim (nonfat) milk has most of the butterfat removed, but most of the milk solids remain. In fact some brands of nonfat milk have some non-powdered milk added to improve flavor. As others have written, milk straight from the cow is around 4% butterfat, though that can vary. I don't have numbers to show this, but I suspect that in the US most milk is sold as 2% butterfat. Most US cooks do not worry whether the baking recipe calls for 4% or 2%, they just use what's on hand.

I'd say, use your regular milk, whether it is called whole, fresh, or just milk. In most cases the exact % of butterfat does not matter. If in doubt, you could summarize the recipe, and we could give our opinions; for example is a cake, quick bread, cookie, etc. The amount of milk is also relevant (1/4c, 2c etc).

Diluting whole milk (i.e. milk without any adjustments to the butterfat) dilutes the milk solids as well as the butterfat. There's not much point in doing that. Diluting evaporated milk is a different matter.

[DGresh]

I don't know what the most "popular" milk in the US is, thus what "most milk sold" is, but it's always clearly labelled: whole (or plain "milk") is (from what I read )3.5% or so, "reduced fat" is 2%, "low fat" is 1% and non-fat or skim is close to zero. But as I said above I use skim for nearly everything unless specifically told to use whole (or unless I suppose I was making some kind of custard where it would seem to matter more).

[Non Cognomina]

DW, in the US, "whole milk" is fresh milk from a cow--to be labeled "whole milk" in the US, it has to meet a federally mandated standard of identity. Typically, "whole milk" in the PI refers to a dried milk product. Since your recipe was from a US based website, I would suggest using a liquid milk product if it is available to you. The dried "whole milk" that is common in the PI will not work very well, even if you add water to reconstitute it. If you are near Manilla, you should be able to find fresh whole cow milk in the food market. If not, try UHT milk. Mabuting kapalaran sa iyo.

[paulj]

What seems to be the problem with the PI dried whole milk? I've used the stuff made by Nestle in Mexico without problems, usually adding it directly to the dry ingredients, and using water for the liquid.

My Klim can ('milk' backwards, a long running brand name) is labeled 'Instant Dry Whole Milk' (and the equivalent in Spanish).

I've also used it in custards, pastry cream, and puddings where it does need to be mixed with water.

[Dark Wanderer]

I think I saw one of those UHT whole milk while shopping, though im quite hesitated since im very specific at that time. I'll try baking using other kinds of milk and see the difference for myself.

I didn't know that you're a pinay Mina. Kumusta naman dyan? =)

[jazzy77]

I use whatever milk is in my fridge, generally whole or 2%. Fresh milk is the stuff you drink from the carton while standing in front of the fridge. Other types of canned, boxed, or ultrapasturized milks (evaporated, sweetened condensed, powdered or Paramlat) are not considered fresh. If the recipe specifies for a particular milk product, then you'll need to use that, but otherwise generally whatever you would drink is fine - except sometimes skim, which lacks the fat that the recipe-writer intended to be in the recipe.

[DGresh]

since we don't keep anything but skim in the house, I use that unless the recipe specifies whole. I've never noticed an issue with it. I've done this with cornbread, cake frosting, even Marcella's bolognese sauce.

[jazzy77]

That's why I said sometimes skim, because skim is generally very good for baking (in fact, some people swear by powdered milk mixed with water). The cake frosting thing is interesting though, because I would think a higher fat milk would affect the flavor or unctuousness of it....however, it may be because you're used to the flavor of using skim milk as well. Others who drink whole milk can find skim milk to be lacking, and some people who prefer skim think whole milk is gross....

[swsidejim]

I use whole milk in all cooking applications when milk is called for. I have not been happy with items I have tried made with the low fat alternatives.

[Morganna]

In baked goods, I have seldom noticed a significant difference when cooking with 2% or even skim.

In other dishes it is notable, like in puddings it's very clear there's a difference. If you want a lower fat version, though, there's ways of making up for that.

[masha]

We only keep skim in the house. I use it in baked goods without noticing any difference, but I'm not that accomplished or frequent a baker. More often, we use it in other types of recipes -- such as mashed potatoes, cheese sauces, scalloped potatoes -- in which other forms of dairy fat are also used. By adding more butter or cheese, you essentially compensate for the fact that you are using skim rather than whole milk.

[jaykayen]

Whole milk.

Not sure what fresh milk is...unless you mean raw?

[Candy]

I think fresh as opposed to dry milk. I generally use whole milk. In a pinch
I'll use 2%