No fresh milk in Belgium and France?
 

In October I spent about three weeks in Belgium and northern France.

I visited quite a few supermarkets, out of necessity and curiosity, but could not find any fresh milk: only the UHT milk.

Now I'm curious: is fresh milk no longer sold in those two countries? What about other European countries?

The UHT milk tasted fine, by the way.

Belgium agriculture is far more advanced: the cows give UHT milk. Do they still MOOOOO?

+You must have looked in small shops but not in the hypermarches everyone goes to - I regularly visit supermarkets in France and they all have lots of fresh milk. Fresh in the sense that our supermarkets have - in bottles but fresh. The only difference i see is that France has a whole lot more whole milk rather than skim or 2%; those they have these whole milk still rules the roost. You just weren't looking in the right places.

The EU has banned fresh milk. They have progressed far beyond such crude practices. However, there is a small secret underground movement that refuses to give up the old, arcane ways.

In the Dordogne we have to steal out in the dead of night and actually find a cow and milk it ourselves if we want fresh milk.....but seriously, I think PalQ is correct, you must have gone to small markets or something. Every Intermarché, Casino, Carrefour, Mammouth, LeClerc, Leader Price, etc., I've ever been to has, to my knowledge, has fresh milk. I prefer the stuff you don't have to refrigerate, actually. You can buy a six-pack and it lasts a good long time. Tastes great, too.

Vorkuta - What does UHT stand for?

StCirg - What is in the stuff that you don't have to refrigerate?

Thanks.
Sandy

How strange. We always found it.

UHT stands for Ultra High Temperature. It's a processing method for milk.

It's processed at higher temperatures to kill more germs so it doesn't need to be refrigerated.

Saves lots of energy and it's easier on the environment. Don't have to keep it in refrigerated warehouses, trucks, store shelves, etc.

David, David you know why I admire you. right on!

UHT stands for Ultra-High Temperature. The milk is sterilised at a temperature of 135C or thereabouts and packed in sterile containers. I can't stand the stuff, but each to their own.

I once read of a group of city kids who were taken to see a dairy farm. Having seen where milk came from several gave it up on the spot.

Hey cigale! It's odd to me how being "thrifty" can be environmentally responsible at the same time. Use less soap, turn your hot water heater down, turn off unused lights, lower your thermostat in winter, etc.

Oddly enough I dated a girl in college who was a dairy farmer's daughter from northern Indiana. That's closer to Wisconsin you know...

That was the first time I ever had "raw" or unpasteurized milk. It was a little freaky for me. They counted on the department of health to tell them if there was a problem. I thought that by the time the health department told you anything it would be too late.

I said that!! Indy? Are you sure?

Oops. I know you Mimi. I should have put a break between my Hey and the thrifty part.

I know that you know how to help the environment along a bit.

You've lost me now. you know me as to before?

Ah, yes! Unpasturized fresh whole milk! Brings back memories of a distant time at a small Ivy League University in New Jersey where the milk was "certified." That meant it was unpasturized from a herd that was certified disease free. This was the best-tasting milk I had ever had, although that may have been due to its being local, fresh, and delivered daily from the farm and served within 24 hours of milking. I doubt that this kind of milk is available anywhere in a store as it is far too perishable and costly for the modern day.

>I thought that by the time the health department told you anything it would be too late. <

Nope. The herds are inspected regularly and the milk is tested daily.

Our last trip to London we saw a milk wagon delivering unpasteurized milk one morning. Wasn't a horse-drawn wagon though.

In Belgium you can buy fresh (pasteurized) raw milk in every supermarket (brandname Campina). It is stored in the cool area and not where the UHT milk is. Because it's fresh milk, you can keep it in the fridge for max. 3/4 days. It comes in full cream and semi skimmed. When you don't shake the bottle of full cream milk too much, you will see the layer of milkfat on top of the milk. Yummie!!!
Not far from where I live there are a few farms that sell unpasteurized raw milk. Nothing can beat that, of course.

Thank you indytravel and Neil Oz for answering my question about UHT milk. My brother-in-law had some of the long life milk in the pantry on the shelf when we recently visited the UK - assume that is the same sort of stuff.

I have not seen here locally where I shop in the Midwest, USA. Is it available where you live?

Sandy

vorkuta- Are you sure it might not have been available, but in a different section, of at least some of the stores?

I ask this only because a couple times I had the same impression, but on further investigation did come across a refrigerator case with a small selection available. While the UHT boxes were definitely more common in use and stocked in much greater quantity.