A couple weeks ago I was downstairs in the newsroom (that’s what I call my apartment building’s exercise room—it has a large Roku tv on the wall that streams the news 24 hours a day) and on the treadmill, when I saw a very charming story on CBS News.
A dairy farm in Lehigh Valley, PA was being interviewed about their success in the milk delivery service. While it’s been in operation for several years—delivering milk, eggs, juice, yogurt, sour cream & bread to homes in the area, they saw business climb greatly during the pandemic.
And now, with the pandemic over for the most part, business was still up. Nice!
(It occurred to me, this is in my state. I’d later google their dairy farm to see where Lehigh Valley was— 300 miles east, the other side of Pennsylvania. I’m probably a little out of their delivery zone.)
When the reporter asked the woman at Cow Belle if it was a nostalgia thing, she said probably for some at the start, but people had grown accustomed to the convenience. And then she said something that made me stop treading and take notice.
“People either don’t know or don’t remember that milk stored in glass milk bottles will stay fresh twice as long as milk stored in plastic or cardboard containers.”
WHAAAAAAAT?! For real?? This has been a problem of mine for as long as I can remember. I don’t drink a lot of milk, but I like having it on hand to put on cereal 3-4 days a week. So I’ll buy a quart every week or so, but either run out too soon, or get another quart and it will start to sour when I’m only halfway through.
As soon as I finished my workout and came upstairs, I went on Amazon.com and did a search for “glass milk bottles”. There were dozens of them, but as I began reading reviews I saw a lot of negative comments about the glass being too thin, bottles shattering easily, the caps rusting or not being reusable, etc.
I finally found what I wanted from The Dairy Shoppe (click on the name to visit product page) and ordered a set. Here they are.
They come in sets of 4 quart bottles for $19.98. I only wanted 2 bottles, but didn’t have that option. But I thought it was nice they included a postcard that said “If one or more bottles are broken, call this number and the entire order will be replaced free of charge. You will NOT have to return any broken bottle(s).”
It didn’t just contain 4 white reusable caps (they both screw on or pop on & off), but a bagful of them. It also included a snap on yellow/red rubber spout for a thin stream pour.
But these bottles… you can’t tell from my photo, but the glass is VERY dense. With a slight indentation on the sides, they’re easy to grasp and I love how they feel. Using a funnel, I poured 3/4 quart of fresh milk into one of the bottles, and several days later the milk in my plastic jug has gotten a slight “taste” but the bottled milk is ICY cold and still fresh!
Glass—what an amazing invention for storing milk! What will these scientists think of next?
Thanks for the heads up. I have heard people say milk from a glass bottle tasted better but never that it stayed fresh longer. We aren't big milk consumers in my family either and usually toss part of a half gallon away because it goes bad. You have me thinking about doing the same thing. Would you be willing to sell me two of the bottles you don't want and some caps?
ReplyDeleteTHAT is interesting, Dug. I think many people have enjoyed the 'convenience' of online shopping and delivery that exploded during the pandemic. I know we've continued with our curb-side pickup at Central Market - mainly because the service is so friendly and they go above and beyond to help you. And that note about glass bottles keeping your milk fresher longer is something I too would be interested in. And I have to comment also that your words, "And now, with the pandemic over for the most part..." are the first I've heard that stated this belief (even though most of us are praying that this is true). Uplifting!
ReplyDeleteYou're very kind, thank you Rian. I hope I wasn't being too optimistic about the pandemic, I do think so but that was just a quote from that dairy farm woman. But I do love these glass bottles. I keep two quarts in the fridge and haven't had any issues yet, milk is always fresh 👍🙂
DeleteWell I sure didn't know that. I certainly remember the delivery man. It was hugely convenient.
ReplyDeleteI drink a lot of almost milk (unsweetened cashew milk)--with every meal-- so mine never has a chance to sour or if cashews even do go bad.
Glad you now have a glass alternative.
Thanks Patti. I think I'm at the age where I should look into that almost milk of yours, but for now I'm in fresh milk heaven! ☺️☺️
DeleteI remember the milkman, (and the Fuller Brush man,) who delivered in the '50s and '60s.
ReplyDeleteLiving by myself now in a complex for older folks, one 92-year-old lady told me a trick: to buy those small plastic bottles of milk, use a little, then freeze the rest in the original bottle. When you run out of one little bottle, it doesn't take much time to thaw the frozen one in a bowl of hot water. That's kept me from running to the store or having yucky-smelling milk.
We have lots of glass bottled milk in our Kansas stores. I have trouble just looking at the oddly-flavored milks. We even have one dairy that makes red milk when the KC Chiefs win. It's supposed to be red velvet cake flavor.
Have fun with the old-timey glass bottles. I always thought it was the amount of air left in the container that caused milk to sour quickly. Linda in Kansas, where we still have plain cows.
Linda, I can't tell you how many times I have frozen milk after letting some out of the carton first because it swells the container. Yes it does make it last longer but it never tastes right. The cream and the water in the milk separate no matter how hard you shake it back up! So you really remember the Fuller brush man? 🙂
DeleteWell that's a bummer Mr Dug: my frozen milks haven't misbehaved. Yep, my Mom would let Mr. Fuller Brush Man in sometimes, but she mostly looked through his little book and bought stuff she maybe didn't need by leaving the order on the porch, just like the milk order sheet that was stuffed into an empty glass milk jug. I think Fuller still exists online. I'd best not look. Linda in Kansas
DeleteLinda I never tried freezing milk in the little bottles or thawing it in hot water, that probably would be better than freezing the entire quart jug--but I just got tired of that stuff. I am much happier with my 2 chilled glass bottles! And you're right, the Fuller man is online :^)
DeleteThank you for sharing this! I didn't know (or remember) that glass keeps things fresh longer but it does make sense. When I was a child almost everything came in glass and much of it was regularly recycled such as pop bottles and milk bottles. It's actually better for the environment to use glass as it is easier to recycle than plastic. I may give this a try because I'm picky about my milk being fresh. This makes me think it probably would keep other things fresh longer too. Thanks Doug and enjoy your milk heaven!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bonnie, I don't remember milk in glass bottles but I sure miss bottled pop! We were always lugging those empty Pepsi or Coke bottles back to the store, but it was worth it. And it had to be better for the environment! Well I've been using these for a couple weeks now and I love 'em. Let me know if you get these and what you think 🙂
DeleteShoot, my previous comment must have gotten lost in the internet ether. I was basically volunteering to purchase the other two bottles and caps from you plus postage and time if you are interested. I have always heard people say milk tasted better from a glass but never thought about it staying fresh longer.
ReplyDeleteAw Ed, that was very kind of you to offer but I wound up giving the two spare away to a couple of my elderly neighbors! I really am sorry, I would have preferred to give them to you. I hope you still get a couple, I'm sure you will like using them!
DeleteNot a problem. I’ll just order some myself. I can find another use for the extra bottles.
DeleteThat is amazing. It would not have occurred to me that it would keep longer. Thanks Dug! Ps. Looks like Ed has solved your problem. Pro tip: sour milk can be used for baking. Great for pancakes and cornbread.
ReplyDeleteThanks Debby, I'm just sorry I didn't see Ed's comment sooner. Well now we both learned something today, as I had no idea you could use soured milk! 🙂👍
Deletehttps://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/how-to-make-sour-cream/ I see that you are a sour cream fan. You can use that milk that begins to have that off flavor by making your own sour cream.
DeleteOk, this is pretty interesting! Thank you Debby! Talk about making lemonade from lemons this is even better 😋❤️
DeleteMilk used to come in glass bottles which makes sense because we had to keep it longer. None of that fancy ultra pasteurized last for two months stuff. When I had kids at home (and my milk loving husband), I always had delivery from the local dairy.
ReplyDeleteThere was a milk that lasted for 2 months?? Well Margaret, our farmhouse was around 2 miles from Pellegrini's dairy farm but with six kids we drank the supermarket stuff it was cheaper!
DeleteThe ultra pasteurized stuff that I buy does. Although with my mocha habit, I usually don't keep it around that long. :)
DeleteI'm wondering now if this is why milk was switched to plastic and cardboard, so people would have to buy it more often. Now I'm going to google and see if glass bottles are available to buy here in Australia. I used to work in a dairy factory and took my turns at running the huge bottle washing machine as well as the bottling machine that filled the bottles with milk and then placed the foil caps on them.
ReplyDeleteWow, you're full of surprises River. Very interesting you did that! 🙂
DeleteThere is one thing that concerns me though. Buying milk, in a cardboard carton then transferring it to glass bottles, means I still have the cardboard cartons to get rid of in the recycling bin. Also, I have smallish glass jars with screw top lids, perhaps I can use those instead of buying new bottles.
ReplyDeleteI would think the glass bottles density has something to do with keeping it fresh, but it's worth a go... 🧐
DeleteThat's interesting, I didn't realise milk stayed fresher longer in a glass bottle either. I'll have to try it out now!
ReplyDeleteThis was exactly the response I was looking for, thank you Joey! 🙂👍
DeleteHi Doug, I love this post! For most of my childhood we had milk delivered to our house. At the side of our house there was even a compartment built right in for the milkman to put the milk. It was usually my job every morning to get the milk. I vaguely remember it coming in glass jugs but mostly opaque plastic. I will check out the link you provided for glass jars. I must check at our supermarkets too to see if milk is available in glass jars here.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the rest of the week Doug!❤️
Hi Robin, thanks so much for this lovely comment! I'm envious you got to experience the milk delivery thing, that's interesting they eventually delivered it in plastic. I just assumed it was always glass until it fell out of fashion. Keep me posted about your own glass pursuit, we can't have the 70s back but at least we can have this! Hope you have a good week too ❤️🙂
DeleteWhen I was a kid, the milkman always delivered glass bottles of milk to our back door. We used to collect the pogs and play with them. Pogs are those things under the bottle caps. David drinks a lot of milk.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great tip, Doug! Along with fresher milk, the bottles look so much nicer than cartons. And your 'newsroom' has more than fitness as a benefit. Great post!
ReplyDeleteFlorence, thanks so much--and I think you're right, they do look a lot nicer in the fridge! I like what you said about The newsroom too, haha so true! 👍🙂
DeleteSome brands of my favorite Milk come in the Glass Bottles, you can either return them for a Deposit or Keep them. I sometimes Sell mine in the Showroom at the Antique Mall as people buy them all the time that don't ever buy those brands of Bottled Milk. I didn't actually know the Milk kept longer in them... thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Bohemian, this honestly surprised me. I've never seen milk sold in glass bottles but I'm going to keep my eyes open for it now. 👍🙂
DeleteBack to the future!
ReplyDeleteHa! Well said, Joared 🙂
DeleteDavid drinks a lot of milk. it goes quickly.
ReplyDeleteI guess you don't need to bother with this then. 🙂
DeleteNot only do I remember milk being delivered in bottles, but I’m old enough to remember milk being delivered in bulk. You’d put your pail out with a note - one pint or two (or whatever).
ReplyDeleteThis was in a small country town (about 2,500 people) and the milkman used a horse and buggy. This was superior to a motorized vehicle as the horse just plodded along, as he knew the route, and the milky would run back and forth to the cart.
Those bottles sound like a good idea. I wonder if we have them here.
Peter my good man, just the image of that in the early hours dropped my blood pressure a couple points. That is a great memory, thank you for sharing. I'm sure there's glass bottles must be available in your corner of the world I really do love them. 🙂
DeleteThis was a very fun read, the post and all the comments! I drink soy milk myself.
ReplyDeleteHi DJan, thanks for the very nice comment! Well, these milk bottles aren't labeled for dairy only, so I'm sure they would chill your hippie milk just fine. 😉 (Seriously though, I'm not familiar with soy milk; is it like almond? I'm going to have to Google this!)
DeleteNo kidding? This is just so cool. I can't drink regular milk because I'm lactose intolerant. I can't drink soy because it interferes with my synthroid (thyroid), so I drink almond milk. But for you, this is just plain awesome! Aaahhhh.. so your taste is totally back now.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kay, and geez I didn't know you were lactose intolerant too! Well, I've been thinking of switching to almond milk (trying it at least). As for my taste, it still shuts on & off, I don't understand why?? But yes, at least I got it back... I wish you could get yours fixed.
DeleteIt's not your imagination or a myth: Organic milk really does last longer than regular milk. As MyRecipes reports, the expiration dates indicate that organic milk can last up to a month before it's opened, while regular milk usually only has about a week to 10 days. But the longer shelf life is completely unrelated to the organic label.
ReplyDeleteRead More: https://www.mashed.com/274644/the-real-reason-organic-milk-lasts-longer-than-regular-milk/?utm_campaign=clip
I have bought organic milk for several years now and while it is more expensive, it certainly last longer and I believe taste better. Hopefully more healthy. It is more expensive but to me it is worth it. I don't waste it this way. Sherry
Very interesting, thanks for taking the time to share this Sherry. And thank you for the link! 🙂👍
DeleteI rarely drink milk "straight" as an adult but I do use it as an ingredient sometimes (mashed potatoes, etc.). So I buy packs of 8 ounce shelf-stable milk boxes. I well remember milkmen and my mom's occasional issues with them and how much my childhood dog hated them ;-)
ReplyDeleteHaha--thanks for sharing, kayak woman 🙂👍
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