As Cathy is dealing with party leftovers and my mother is buried somewhere under an avalanche of congratulatory cards (it’s not every day that one turns 90), I am back home in Brooklyn, jetlagged and hungry and not yet ready to venture to the Coop. Eating is going to take a bit of figuring out.
The yogurt left in the fridge looks suspect and the milk no better. But… aha! There’s a box of UHT (Ultra-high Temperature) milk in the cupboard and just enough granola to make for a hearty breakfast.
I thought you might like to know about UHT. It’s not all that popular in ‘The States’ (meaning here), and Britain is not as crazy about the stuff as France (where over 95% of milk consumed is UHT- yet another example of the famous cultural divide), but you still see more of this milk in the UK than here. Europe has long been a fan of boxed milk. By heating fresh milk at a very high temperature for a very short time and preventing the development of harmful spores, UHT does not need to be refrigerated until it’s opened (an unopened box of UHT milk can last for months at room temperature- once opened it should be consumed in about 5 days). Transportation and storage can take place without refrigeration and as a result, carbon emissions are significantly reduced before this box makes it to your home. Greener milk!
As demonstrated this morning, boxed milk is a very handy item to have around. It’s more expensive than regular milk, but as my mother would say (from underneath her pile of cards), ‘great in a pinch’.
At your garden variety grocery store in the U.S., look for Parmelat in the section of the store where they hide the fuit juice boxes (which you'll know if you have kids). The Parmelat milk will be not too far away from the chocolate drinks and Yoo-Hoo.
ReplyDeleteYes! The stuff I bought was organic and very drinkable... beware of all the extra sweet stuff!
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