Stealing the fat from our milk!

[Patrick]

I've had increasing difficulty these past couple of weeks getting the bedtime cup of tea down to a decent drinking temperature without white-ing it out! Normally a good splosh of the old full fat and you have a nice drinkable tea tasting drink for bed time. I notice that the Sainsbury's two pinter that I had earlier on this week boasts that it's only "4% fat Whole milk". Sorry, but that doesn't seem like whole milk to me! I'm getting a bit p'eed orf with these health concious nutters pigeonholing everything into stripped, stranded and labelled items. Once upon a time you had Gold top, Silver top, Red top and Green top and that was it. In fact, I think it stopped at Red Top and there wasn't another one? Plus you got a nice creamy wodge on top of your silver top - that's if the Blue Tits didn't get there first! Now, for all the designer label thickies out there we have milk with silly names, in pretty cartons with big slogans down the side - and what's more They're stealling our fat!!!

My theory is this - I think I've bored you written about it before probably - The fat globules in milk help to absorb the heat in a freshly poured cup of tea - So you cool it down without losing the flavour. The Globules also absorb some of the water like a sponge, so you don't need too much to top it up with. Try getting the same cup to become drinkable with a bit of semi skimmed and it's overflowing before it even starts cooling down. No fat globules see - so the milk just fills the cup up (frankly you might as well just add water for all the good it would do.)

So now I think they are trying to force us milk lovers into buying the Gold top because the ordinary milk no longer has the fat in it to keep it creamy! and it's not fair! Let the health faddy people buy their skimmed milks with no flavour and a faint green tinge - Just stop pinching the fat out of our silver/blue top!

Here Endeth the Lesson.

That was better out than in I can tell you!

[housesparrow]

Pat, are you sure you are right about that; cow's milk is about 4% fat, isn't it?

But having said that, I began using milk deliveries in the hope of getting a creamy top for cereals. For some reason, although the milk comes in bottles, the cream doesn't seem to rise to the top, as I remember it doing when I were a lass!

[jean]

The cream in my silver-top milk rises to the top, but I wouldn't dream of pouring it into tea because it goes all oily and disgusting.

[Weyland]

Mar 22, 2010 1:06:05 GMT Patrick said:

My theory is this - I think I've bored you written about it before probably - The fat globules in milk help to absorb the heat in a freshly poured cup of tea - So you cool it down without losing the flavour. The Globules also absorb some of the water like a sponge, so you don't need too much to top it up with. Try getting the same cup to become drinkable with a bit of semi skimmed and it's overflowing before it even starts cooling down. No fat globules see - so the milk just fills the cup up (frankly you might as well just add water for all the good it would do.)

I don't experience any such problem, and would no more put full-fat milk in tea than sugar. Both kill the taste of the tea. The milk must go in the cup first. of course.

Fat globules will absorb no water -- fat floats on water, as any cook knows. Which would also tend to make the cooling effect less, not more, on account of forming an insulating layer. So your theory seems to rest upon a sort of reverse placebo effect. You think the milk is not fatty enough, therefore your tea must be too hot. Purely subjective, I'd say.

Philosophy Department: We call low-fat milk semi-skimmed; the Dutch call the same low-fat milk half-full (halfvolle). I thought you should be told.

[Patrick]

Mar 22, 2010 8:47:45 GMT jean said:

The cream in my silver-top milk rises to the top, but I wouldn't dream of pouring it into tea because it goes all oily and disgusting.

It goes on your Shreddies instead!

[jean]

No - I don't eat any breakfast cereals!

I used to like it in coffee (but I don't any more, though I do like whole milk) When I'd left home and used to visit my parents, my mother would indulge me when I poured the top of the milk into my coffee - after all, she didn't see me very often.

If my father could get there first, he would always shake the bottle so I couldn't.

I think he was jealous.

[bonbonlarue]

I haven't had milk for over 4 years now....


black coffee = fine...black tea = blechhhhh

[Weyland]

Mar 22, 2010 17:08:46 GMT bonbonlarue said:

black coffee = fine...black tea = blechhhhh

Or, to put it another way . . .

. black coffee = white coffee = better than a poke in the eye with a pointy stick

. black tea = all the rage on the Continent = still better than the above

Proper Tea (with semi-skimmed milk) = Non-alcoholic Beverage of the Gods.

[bonbonlarue]

I only ever used to drink tea with a fry up....but then I gave up red meat & milk....no tea since...

[Weyland]

Mar 22, 2010 18:00:20 GMT bonbonlarue said:

I only ever used to drink tea with a fry up

Funny you should say that, BonBon.

Today is Fry-up Day at Castle Yutani. Usually I can't be bothered, but I just got some nice big eggs from the farm up the road, some special-offer bacon from Lidl, and I already had a stash of Nürnberger bratwurst in the freezer, and some local red potatoes just waiting to be fried. No black puddin', unfortunately, but I might indulge in some sauerkraut as well, and bugger the expense.

With a good mug of Rington's best tea, followed by an ice-cold Paulaner pils.

Crikey -- I need to have a lie-down just thinking of such rapture . . . . .

[aubrey]

The milk must go in the cup first. of course.

No no no. If you put it in second, you can gauge how much you're putting in. First, and you have to guess.

(This is what G Orwell says and I agree with him.)

(I once read that by putting the milk in first you stopped your bone china from shattering under the onslaught of the boiling water. Not that water would be boiling by that time; and it doesn't arise these days.)

Drink of the gods, though: yes.

[Weyland]

Mar 23, 2010 11:04:43 GMT aubrey said:

The milk must go in the cup first. of course.

No no no. If you put it in second, you can gauge how much you're putting in. First, and you have to guess.

(This is what G Orwell says and I agree with him.)

Possibly the only thing George got wrong.

There's no guesswork involved when I am preparing my tea. The milk goes in first because it tastes better that way. In the rare event that I forget to put the milk in first, it seems to taste somehow vaguely metallic. I love Marmite, by the way.

[Deleted]

Bedtime cup of tea? (Patrick mentioned this in he's original post) i carnt drink tea in the evening, it prevents me sleeping.. its worse than cwoffeee in that respect. i find rum or red wine are far more useful in that respect, with their sleep inducing abilities.

[aubrey]

I suppose if you make a lot of tea, and it's always the same, you can guage the milk ok. I don't, and sometimes I want it stronger than other times, and I have more milk when it's strong, to make it less dry. (I only have one, or sometimes two, cups a day. Fluid restrictions, else I would have a lot more.)

[everso]

I'm with Aubrey on this one. The milk MUST go in after the tea in my case because I put the tea bag in the cup and pour the boiling water on top. If there's milk in there then the tea won't brew properly because the cold milk immediately brings down the water temperature to below boiling point.

Yes, yes! I know that tea bags are anathema to you, Weyland, but I can't be arsed messing around with tea leaves, although I will admit that you most likely get a better cuppa.

[riotgrrl]

Tea (like coffee) should be drunk black.

If you want flavoured milk, then get flavoured milk, but stop with this putting stuff in tea nonsense.

[aubrey]

It's too dry without milk.

[Deleted]

Mar 23, 2010 19:36:44 GMT everso said:

I'm with Aubrey on this one. The milk MUST go in after the tea in my case because I put the tea bag in the cup and pour the boiling water on top. If there's milk in there then the tea won't brew properly because the cold milk immediately brings down the water temperature to below boiling point.

Yes, yes! I know that tea bags are anathema to you, Weyland, but I can't be arsed messing around with tea leaves, although I will admit that you most likely get a better cuppa.

im exactly the same as Everso. also havent we had this discussion before? and also can we have this discussion again tomorrow? please

[everso]

We certainly have had this discussion before and will probably do so again. Disagreements about the correct way to prepare food or drink are extremely pleasant.

I still have a few words to say to Trubbs about trifles.

[Deleted]

i look forward to it