The Taste of Milk Abroad

[Tresbien]

Right now I am in Vietnam, and I noticed, somewhat bizarrely, that although people here hardly drink milk, that the milk here is absolutely delicious. Compared with what is available in the US, it tastes like sweet cream or whipped butter. It reminds of the milk I had as a kid when I was Germany. Anyone else traveling that has taken a break from the booze tasted the milk in other countries besides his or her own?

[Blake]

The milk, bread and cheese served in the US is so sweet and sugary as to be disgusting IMO. Serious sugar overload.

[TeenLift]

. . . Seriously Blake? The milk tastes like crap in my opinion. And it depends on what kind of bread/cheese you get, though I do agree if you're talking about the Stop&Shop generic brands and such.

And to me, all milk tastes the same, though I should probably try it more often when I'm abroad.

[americanadian]

I'm pretty sure you won't find "sugar" listed as an ingredient under the Nutritional Information on most US milk cartons. Perhaps there's a different way to pasturize it? Same with cheese.

Milk in Japan was lactose free or low and tasted funny. Milk in the Caribbean tastes normal- richer if anything (more fat).

Eat different bread.

[atypical1]

Right now I am in Vietnam, and I noticed, somewhat bizarrely, that although people here hardly drink milk, that the milk here is absolutely delicious. Compared with what is available in the US, it tastes like sweet cream or whipped butter. It reminds of the milk I had as a kid when I was Germany. Anyone else traveling that has taken a break from the booze tasted the milk in other countries besides his or her own?

Part of it is probably the diet of the cow and part of it is going to be the fat content. The cows are fed crap in the US for the most part so the milk isn't as good as it could be. We buy a lot of organic milk and have noticed the difference.

Food in every country tastes different to me. Even something as simple as wine that should taste the same regardless of where you buy the bottle tends to be slightly different.

james

[shade]

I'm pretty sure you won't find "sugar" listed as an ingredient under the Nutritional Information on most US milk cartons. Perhaps there's a different way to pasturize it? Same with cheese.

I don't know how it is they process milk over there but some manufacturers who make low-lactose milk break down the lactose into simpler forms of sugar, giving it that sweet taste. They do it so it'll be easier on those poor people who are lactose intolerant.

[amaeland]

I've lived in Thailand and England and must say the milk there is pretty shit compared to what we've got here in Norway

[Dada]

I also liked the milk in Germany better than the states. Not sure what it is but probably a combination of hormones being used and different paturization processes. Although I usually only drink organic milk so I guess the hormone theory is out.