National Dairy Day - Raise a Cup

Today is National Milk Day. Raise a cup and clink your glasses.

It’s believed drinking milk by humans began when animals became domesticated in the Middle East around 4000BC.

Dairy cows were brought to the United States in the 1600s. Around 1795, breeds such as Holsteins and others were imported that were better suited for milk production.

Here is a video that explains milk production that you may find interesting. While we don’t do everything exactly the way they do, it is a good source of information.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kIbVwE5zb1Y

I remember when I was a young girl (really young) that we had a milk box on our front porch and had milk delivered in bottles. I was too young to know how often and how much was delivered but I do remember that time frame.

When milk was first delivered door to door the milk would be dipped from a large metal milk can that was brought to the door.

Now milk is a highly guarded safe product. Our milk goes through several filters and is tested at the farm and the dairy before it ever arrives on your shelf.

Now there is also UHT milk. This is shelf stable milk that needs no refrigeration.

This blog site explains it well: http://www.outnumbered3-1.com/2013/01/shelf-stable-milk.html

Here is part of the blog:

Shelf Stable Milk or Ultra High Temperature milk (UHT) is not new, in fact, this type of milk has been around since the 1960's. It's widely popular in Europe as well as in other parts of the world where there is are less than ideal chilled distribution chains or are pron to power outages. Raw milk is flash-heated at a higher temperature to eliminate bacteria and then put into Tetra Pak shelf safe cartons. These cartons were created in 1951 and keep the milk safe from air, light, and other contaminates. This means the milk requires no refrigeration or preservatives for six to nine months. Once the package is open, it will need to be refrigerated.

I personally like my milk cold. It would take some getting used to having warm milk, but as she states in her blog it is a convenience.

Why drink milk? Because it does the body good. Here is a list of what you are receiving in the glass of milk:

	Milk (1 cup)
	Nutrient	Nonfat	Lowfat 1%	Reduced 2%	Whole	1% Choc
	Kilocalories	83	102	122	149	158
	Protein (g)	8	8	8	8	8
	Carbohydrate (g)	12	12	12	12	26
	Sugars (g)	12	13	12	12	25
	Fiber (g)	0	0	0	0	1
	Total Fat (g)	0	2.4	4.8	7.9	2.5
	Calories from Fat	0	22	43	71	23
	Saturated Fat (g)	0	1.5	3.1	4.6	1.5
	Cholesterol	5	12	20	24	8
	Cholesterol (%DV)	2%	4%	7%	8%	3%
	Sodium (mg)	103	107	115	105	152
	Sodium (%DV)	4%	5%	5%	4%	6%
	Potassium (mg)	382	366	342	322	425
	Potassium (%DV)	11%	11%	10%	9%	12%
	Vitamin A (IU)	500	478	464	395	490
	Vitamin A (%DV)	10%	10%	13%	11%	14%
	Vitamin B12 (ug)	1.2	1	1.3	1.1	0.8
	Vitamin B12 (DV)	20%	17%	22%	18%	13%
	Vitamin C (mg)	0	0	1	0	2.2
	Vitamin C (%DV)	0%	0%	2%	0%	4%
	Vitamin D (IU)	115	117	120	124	108
	Vitamin D (DV)	29%	30%	30%	31%	27%
	Calcium (mg)	299	305	293	276	290
	Calcium (%DV)	30%	31%	29%	28%	29%
	Folate (ug)	12	12	12	12	12
	Folate (%DV)	3%	3%	3%	3%	3%
	Iron (mg)	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.7
	Iron (%DV)	1%	1%	1%	1%	4%
	Magnesium (mg)	27	27	27	24	32
	Magnesium (% DV)	7%	7%	7%	6%	8%
	Phosphorus (mg)	247	232	224	205	258
	Phosphorus (%DV)	25%	23%	22%	21%	26%
	Thiamin (mg)	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
	Thiamin (%DV)	7%	7%	7%	7%	7%
	Riboflavin (mg)	0.45	0.45	0.45	0.41	0.42
	Riboflavin (%DV)	26%	26%	26%	24%	25%
	Niacin (mg)	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3
	Niacin (%DV)	1%	1%	1%	1%	2%
Source of all nutrient values: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ Vitamin D fortified dairy products can be an excellent source of vitamin D, however, levels vary considerably. Read the food label or contact manufacturer for specific levels. The sugars listed on the Nutrition Facts label include naturally occurring sugars (like those in fruit and milk) as well as those added to a food or drink. % DV = Daily Value, based on energy and nutrient recommendations for a general 2000-calorie diet.