Random Post 1: Milk

Why I like Milk

I needed some creative inspiration to come up with an idea for this random blog post, so I made a trip to a local coffee shop next to the Caruso Center called Ministry of Coffee. I ordered a bagel with cream cheese and a coffee. I almost always get some modification of the same drink. It’s usually a latte with skim milk, but today I was feeling a little adventurous, so I went with whole milk over skim. I was sitting at this table thinking about the milk that I put in my overpriced coffee, and I figured I would write about it. While milk might seem like a mundane topic, there is plenty to discuss. I’m going to write a little about milk, its different applications, and why I like certain types more than others. 

 

My History with Milk

The idea to write about milk admittedly came to me seconds before starting this blog post, but that doesn’t mean I’m not very prepared to give you my two cents on the topic. Like many people, I was a big milk proponent in my younger years. Many people consume less milk as they grow up, but going into junior-high and then high school, I started drinking more. In high school, I would get two of those small cartons for breakfast and two for lunch, and after getting home from practice, I would usually drain two glasses with dinner. There were a good number of days that I drank more 2% milk than water. 

At this point, I think you can tell that I’m a big fan. Yet, I know some people that would be physically unable to put down a glass of milk because they think it’s nasty. To those people, I would say two things;

 

1) Grow up. 

2) Try drinking low-fat or fat-free because it’s lighter.

 

MVP: Most Valuable Potable

I don’t just like drinking milk. Its different applications boost its value and make it an All-Star contender as far as food goes. If the food pyramid were the NBA and included beverages, milk would be Kawhi Leonard. Milk can’t hit a fadeaway 3 to send the Raptors to the finals, but, like Kawhi, it's versatile and goes with a lot of different foods and drinks. One of milk’s most popular combos is with cookies. If we’re sticking with NBA comparisons, milk and cookies are a combo of comparable quality to Shaq and Kobe. They’re very hard to beat. Milk also goes with foods like cereal, oatmeal, and tres leches cake and drinks like coffee, milkshakes, protein shakes, and tea. Its versatility makes it a first-team all-drink selection and my favorite.

 

Inferior Alternatives

In recent years, I’ve seen alternatives like almond, oat, and soy milk grow in popularity. To give my honest opinion on the matter, I don’t like them one bit and don’t think they should be allowed to boast the title of milk. I don’t understand why anyone who’s not lactose intolerant would choose them over the original for the taste. Also, using the descriptor of milk in their titles is misleading. Oat milk doesn’t taste even remotely similar to regular milk. 

I don’t have any research to back this claim up, but regular milk definitely has more nutrients that make us taller and stronger than the alternatives do. At the end of the day, I strongly believe milk is the best drink out there and can’t be replicated, especially not by these dairy-free doppelgängers.