Let’s talk about Whole Milk

Last Saturday, it was great to have the opportunity to join with Cherry Burton Fairtrade on their stall, to promote Cherry View Milk at the village show.

I was so pleased with the response from people who I met and spoke to about the milk, lots of whom were really excited about the launch of the milk vending business (less than two weeks to wait now…)

One thing that did become clear though as I proudly stood with my beautiful glass bottled litre of milk (unhomogenised remember, with the cream at the top) was the fact that the title whole milk conjures up images of a high fat product that we should perhaps steer clear of. As people questioned the fat content I realised that there are misconceptions around the milk that our beautiful ladies produce. So I decided to focus this week’s blog post on delicious whole milk.

Here’s the thing – whole milk, yes full fat milk, only contains 3.5 – 4% fat. To be precise, right now, our’s is 3.7% fat. That’s not much, I hear you cry.

It’s strange this thing we as a nation have about fat. How many of us have ordered/heard someone order a ‘skinny latte and a chocolate muffin’. The 60 calorie saving in the coffee obliterated by the 490 calorie muffin.

Luckily, the scientists are rapidly changing their minds about the fat in dairy products. Recent research shows consumption of full fat dairy products having a protective effect against some cancers while other work suggests that contrary to current popular belief, dairy may actually protect against coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Importantly, studies have found no difference between body weight and body fatness between children who eat whole milk dairy products and those who consume low fat dairy.

So there’s the science bit and hopefully I’ve allayed your fears on that count. Now let’s talk about the really good bit – taste. Very little to say on this other than whole milk can’t be beaten for its creamy taste. The beauty of Cherry View Milk is that if you really don’t enjoy creamy tasting milk you don’t have to have it. As our milk is not homogenised, the cream will always come to the top, so if you really don’t enjoy it, just pour it off or put it on your strawberries at dessert time.