Date Posted: 10/18/21
NCP Blog: We All Love Milk!
We all love milk!
Who doesn’t love a glass of ice-cold milk? Well, at least if you’re not lactose intolerant! (But even then, there are alternatives; see below!) My family and I are big milk drinkers. It seems I’m always running out to the store to restock!
Milk drinking has been around for a long time. According to finedininglovers.com, the habit of drinking milk first became popular 10,000 years ago, when the first animals were domesticated, initially in Afghanistan and Iran, and later in Turkey and Africa. Cows first arrived in the United States in the 1600s.
Get To Know Milk
Here are some other fun facts about milk that you may not know about:
– The average American consumes between 18 gallons and 25 gallons of milk in a year.
– Milk is white because of its fat content. Although milk is composed of approximately 87% water, which is colorless, the fat and protein molecules floating inside it reflect all light wavelengths, making it appear white.
– Milk is the only food that you can survive wholly on. No single vegetable, legume, or type of carbohydrate contains all nine essential amino acids that humans require to build proteins, and a meat-only diet lacks the necessary Vitamin C. Milk, however, contains every nutrient we need—even as adults.
– Milk has 9 essential nutrients for human health: calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B 12, riboflavin and vitamin D.
– Thanks to 19th century French biologist, Louis Pasteur, the milk we drink today contains little or no harmful bacteria. Pasteur initially applied his bacteria-killing technique, known as pasteurization, to beer.
– Milk will stay fresher if you add salt. Adding a pinch of salt or baking soda to each carton as soon as you open it will keep milk fresh for over a week past its expiration date. The active ingredients preserve the milk, keeping it from spoiling so quickly.
Related Link
Plant-Based Protein Product Sales Are Growing (September 15, 2021)