The really white stuff (Cravendale Milk)

Member Name: jo@145

Product:	Cravendale Milk
Date:	24/05/09 (162 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pure and fresh milk that lasts longer

Disadvantages: More expensive

Milk according to Wikipedia is "an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals." It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digest other types of food and a great source of food for all ages.

I like milk in coffee but rarely drink it on its own, this dates back to having a free bottle at school, which in the winter was frozen and it was placed on the big iron fire that heated the room, sometimes it was decidely off and I always felt sick drinking it so eventually was allowed not to have to drink it.

I won't drink full cream milk as it still turns my stomach but a cream dessert is fine! I always check the date of milk and if it should have the slightest smell I will throw it out or use it to make scones, as it helps in the raising when it has soured.

Where is this getting me you might wonder, but there are reasons for my ramblings. Namely the length of time the milk stays fresh and the waste, which adds up to money, and we all know that we have to watch the pennies these days.

I had received 2 vouchers for Cravendale milk, one for 50p off and another for 30p off for a different date, so I had popped them in my bag when I went shopping. I had noticed Cravendale milk, but I couldn't see why it was more expensive apart from the nice white container it was in, so hadn't tried it.

I prefer semi-skimmed milk, although it took my husband a while to get used to it, so purchased a 2 litre bottle and a 2 litre of Tesco semi-skimmed too. I used the Tesco milk first as it had a shorter shelf life, the Cravendale said June 6th and this was bought on May 14th , so I was interested to see whether it lasted. It does say on the label that it will remain fresh for 7 days after opening provided it is used by the date on the bottle.

The white bottle is said to keep the milk fresher as it protects the milk from UV light, it is also recyclable. The label is a lovley bright green picture of grass, and the name Cravendale in white letters on a blue oval , with a daisy at the corner. The nutritional information is almost identical to tesco semi skimmed milk, and there are no additives or preservatives. So what makes it different? It is filtered for purity, they not only pasteurise it but finely filter it removing more of the bacteria that turns milk sour and that helps keep it fresher.

I was pleased to see the little Red tractor sign of Assured Food Standards and that the milk is produced in the UK.

I was interested to see if it tasted different, but I was a coward and choose to drink fruit tea and got my husband to try it first in his coffee. He said it tasted the same, so I tried it out steamed and frothed in my after dinner coffee and it tasted fine. I also had it on cereal for breakfast and there was no strong flavour to put me off.

The price is perhaps one quibble as it is more expensive but it does last longer, so avoiding throwing milk away that is out of date or the cream has separated and little bits float on your tea, smething that sends me into a state and I drink black tea and coffee then! It costs £1.65 in Tesco, but they currently have an offer for 2 for £3.00. I used my voucher and got mine for £1.15. There are smaller 1 litre cartons too. I think for people on their own, it is a great idea as the milk keeps fresh for a whole week, so they can take advantage of the larger size bottle which saves money.

Drinking 250mls a day gives you 38.2% of your recommended daily allowance of calcium for strong healthy bones, add some cheese and yogurt and you are well on your way to protecting yourself from problems as you get older.

Will I buy it again? Yes I will, I was impressed, a good thing to have in the fridge especially over times like Christmas when you buy milk to last for a while, and it tasted good too!

Summary: Filtered milk