What's wrong with American milk?

[StillThePrettiest 3]

bleah...instant coffee is an abomination and should be outlawed under all circumstances

If you have a Dutch Oven there's a wonderful no-knead bread recipe over at Mother Earth News. I made it and its absolutely delish! Nice crusty bread (which I will point out that my American husband and his family were all rather suspicious of until they bit into the bread! Yes, to them bread is suposed to be mushy ) It takes about 18 hours all told, but it is well worth it, and really for the time, its pretty effortless.

I agree re the instant coffee, but my mum promised to give us a cafetiere (French press, I think it's called here) for Christmas, so we don't want to buy one, and in the meantime instant is easy

no Dutch Oven... perhaps I should invest in one

though I rather like kneading bread... why is not kneading it supposed to be an advantage?

[abbynorm2 0]

I can remember my grandfather telling me that the pasteurization and homogenization ruined milk. He once found some raw milk at the local feed store and bought it and I think he drank the whole gallon that day. He said that raw milk had a fat content of 7 to 8% but what you buy in the store as while milk is only 4% so it must be getting thinned out. I don't know because I have never drank raw milk.

[Reba 2]

I've read recently of a small town farmer who is being charged by the state health dept. for selling raw milk. Seems its illegal in all US states to sell raw milk

I've had raw goat milk. My Aunt used to have a goat. I've considered getting one, but I dunno how the dogs would react to it!

As for not kneading bread, not all of us enjoy doing that, so having a knead free recipe is good. Some of us are just too lazy

[Marilyn. 340]

I've read recently of a small town farmer who is being charged by the state health dept. for selling raw milk. Seems its illegal in all US states to sell raw milk

I've had raw goat milk. My Aunt used to have a goat. I've considered getting one, but I dunno how the dogs would react to it!

As for not kneading bread, not all of us enjoy doing that, so having a knead free recipe is good. Some of us are just too lazy

that is what a bread machine is good for

[Ontarkie 14,175]

I don't drink milk at all, or that other stuff that is made. But my kids did notice right off when we moved here that the milk is different but they still drink it so i guess its not too bad.

I have a bread maker, but prefer making bread the old fashion way. But when i'm really lazy i use the bread maker on the dough only setting to kneed the dough and rise then i will put it in a bread pan to cook it in the oven. I think it taste better in the oven.

[Marilyn. 340]

I don't drink milk at all, or that other stuff that is made. But my kids did notice right off when we moved here that the milk is different but they still drink it so i guess its not too bad.

I have a bread maker, but prefer making bread the old fashion way. But when i'm really lazy i use the bread maker on the dough only setting to kneed the dough and rise then i will put it in a bread pan to cook it in the oven. I think it taste better in the oven.

yeah I do that too..

and I haven't noticed a difference in the milk.... it tastes the same to me...

[aidan80 9]

I do think the milk here is different than even back home.. I know a lot of the foods are. Bread is an excellent example.. I mean ####### are people putting in their food in this country? I shouldn't need a phd in chemistry just to figure out what the 50 "chemicals?" are in a loaf of plain white bread? Ok back home breads had some preservatives in them but not on this scale. I remember reading maybe a dozen things on the list not 30, 40 or 50!... Bread and milk are just the tip of the iceberg foodwise..

I feel like they'll put any old $hit in our food now just to make more from less and increase profit margins.. Just like the well published milk scare in China recently and the animal food scare not too long ago.

[bhajishah 4]

I dont keep my cows in barns ..... any wya..we have a major pasturizing and processing that occurs here. things added make it tasty in american eyes..and mouths.stillnot the same as getting it right from th cow.

[StillThePrettiest 3]

...I mean ####### are people putting in their food in this country?

The Evil, of course!

I completely agree with you re the profit margins... and as each generation gets used to things being crappier, they won't even make a fuss... it's worse than a shame; it's disgraceful

isn't it the pasteurisation/homogenisation laws that make the cheese here such a pale shadow of its former self, as well?

do any of you bread-makers know where to get whole grains to add to home-made bread? I'm a relative beginner - have so far only made bread from flour, water and yeast, with no additions, so any advice would be useful!

oh, and I don't have a bread machine, so it needs to be stuff I can do myself

[Laura+Tom 2]

I shall be buying a bread maker as soon as I get to the US. So I can make my own wholemeal bread, I love the stuff but didn't see any on sale when I was in the US couple months ago.

[bhajishah 4]

German Chocolate ROCKS!!!!

[Welshcookie 17]

...I mean ####### are people putting in their food in this country?

do any of you bread-makers know where to get whole grains to add to home-made bread? I'm a relative beginner - have so far only made bread from flour, water and yeast, with no additions, so any advice would be useful!

oh, and I don't have a bread machine, so it needs to be stuff I can do myself

I use a bread machine but I add grains to my wholemeal bread just before it proves.

[Jeraly 4]

You can get wholewheat bread but it isn't the same as the decent seeded stuff you can get in the UK - Hovis anyone!? Ohhh for some real bread Maybe I should get off my behind and make some

[maliciant 7]

I love milk... but I don't usually drink it... I had a gallon a day+ habit... but I will say that milk in the store has a variety of tastes even with the same brand, depending I guess on how well it was transported, sometimes it's incredibly delicious, and sometimes not. It could be a matter of the cow having a bad milk day, or the milk got too cold or too warm at some point before it got to you, or maybe sat on a loading dock too long while the store was stocking... but fresh off a farm milk is definitely different, I personally prefer the stores milk, ESPECIALLY if the cow on that farm found some onions or other strongly flavored weeds, bleck! Fresh milk isn't legal to sell for human consumption, it pretty much has to say something along the lines of for live stock only or pets or something like that, I forget the wording. Powder milk, is #######, as much as I loved milk when I was a kid I wouldn't drink the stuff, it was that bad (and I was far from a picky eater).

Onto the crystals in the coffee, those aren't just any crystals, they are flavor crystals, which is really short for flava-flave crystals, that's right, those crystals are actually diamonds for decorating your grill! Didn't folgers use to include a giant time piece in specially marked cans? I got curious about what they were (thinking probably sugar or salt or something that might just help keep the coffee grounds from becoming damp) and could only find this presumably top secret article.

Panera breads makes the kind of bread you foreigners might like... tough as nails, extra chewy, dip your coffee in it in hopes of making it possible to bite through... but only to find that bread is still tough as clint eastwood.... I don't know if Panera breads is a local chain or national though, but if you look around no doubt you can find a place that sells the kind of bread you foreigners like... the best kind of bread is fresh bread... but I'll take a can of biscuits any day (the flakey layers or golden wheat kind... apparently some places think of a can of biscuits means cookies). What about english muffins? They are common in stores, definitely different from the bulk of the bread isle, edible for those that don't like american bread? I like to toast english muffins, and eat them with some scrambled egg with those pre-cooked jimmy dean sausages chopped up and mixed in... and now I'm hungry.

[Krikit 1,164]

do any of you bread-makers know where to get whole grains to add to home-made bread? I'm a relative beginner - have so far only made bread from flour, water and yeast, with no additions, so any advice would be useful!

oh, and I don't have a bread machine, so it needs to be stuff I can do myself

You can find them in an organic grocers and in the baking/cereal/organic aisle of some supermarkets.

You can get wholewheat bread but it isn't the same as the decent seeded stuff you can get in the UK - Hovis anyone!? Ohhh for some real bread Maybe I should get off my behind and make some

See if your Walmart carries Arnold Natural Wheat Original Brownberry Recipe or some of the other Arnold Natural products. They're quite good.