the milk bag...
Paisley, this one's for you...
Yesterday, I blogged about a milk incident...and forgot that my American readers didn't have milk bags, but cartons. So, if you're curious about the milk up here in Canada, hope this helps dispel any confusion... ;)
In the dairy section of the grocery store, we have a choice of buying our milk in either cartons or bags. The cartons come in either 1L or 2L sizes, but if you drink a lot of milk, it's cheaper to buy milk in the 4L bags (4L equals 1 gallon). At the bottom of the picture you can see milk bags and inside each colored bag are three smaller bags of milk that fit into plastic milk pitchers. If we go to a convenient store we also have the option of buying milk in plastic jugs that can later be returned, but I don't find this very "convenient" and it's not a popular way for us Canadians to buy our milk. We can even buy chocolate milk in 4L bags now, although I don't drink enough of that to buy it...but it's nice to know I could ;)
This next picture shows what the smaller bags of milk look like...each bag of milk (pictured below) holds approx. 1.3L of milk and fits into the plastic jug so it can be poured easily. The date tag, shown at the bottom of the picture, is on every 4L bag of milk at the store closing it up and has the best before date stamped onto it (like the tag on a loaf of bread). If you're brave, you can throw this tag out when you buy your milk, and hope you drink it before it goes bad, or you can keep it...it fits onto the edge of the milk jug. As you can see, the milk bag doesn't close and remains open in the fridge, but I don't find that this has any negative effect on the taste of the milk. Bagged milk is convenient for families who drink a lot of milk and I've never had my milk go bad, only the milk for the kids occasionally gets outdated.
Yep, so that's probably more about milk in Canada than you ever cared to know, so that's all folks...
Yesterday, I blogged about a milk incident...and forgot that my American readers didn't have milk bags, but cartons. So, if you're curious about the milk up here in Canada, hope this helps dispel any confusion... ;)
In the dairy section of the grocery store, we have a choice of buying our milk in either cartons or bags. The cartons come in either 1L or 2L sizes, but if you drink a lot of milk, it's cheaper to buy milk in the 4L bags (4L equals 1 gallon). At the bottom of the picture you can see milk bags and inside each colored bag are three smaller bags of milk that fit into plastic milk pitchers. If we go to a convenient store we also have the option of buying milk in plastic jugs that can later be returned, but I don't find this very "convenient" and it's not a popular way for us Canadians to buy our milk. We can even buy chocolate milk in 4L bags now, although I don't drink enough of that to buy it...but it's nice to know I could ;)
This next picture shows what the smaller bags of milk look like...each bag of milk (pictured below) holds approx. 1.3L of milk and fits into the plastic jug so it can be poured easily. The date tag, shown at the bottom of the picture, is on every 4L bag of milk at the store closing it up and has the best before date stamped onto it (like the tag on a loaf of bread). If you're brave, you can throw this tag out when you buy your milk, and hope you drink it before it goes bad, or you can keep it...it fits onto the edge of the milk jug. As you can see, the milk bag doesn't close and remains open in the fridge, but I don't find that this has any negative effect on the taste of the milk. Bagged milk is convenient for families who drink a lot of milk and I've never had my milk go bad, only the milk for the kids occasionally gets outdated.
Yep, so that's probably more about milk in Canada than you ever cared to know, so that's all folks...
Labels: you wanted to know
posted by Kim @ 9:37 AM
28 Comments:
At 1:24 PM,
Paisley said…
Thanks! Wow, Canada is so much more advanced than the US. Most people just buy the huge plastic gallons and throw the container away. Actually, everyone throws the container away because it is either not recyclable and/or Americans suck at recycling. That's awesome that you can return yours. wow. Impressed. The milk bags seem to really reduce waste. Again, another way that Canada is superior to the US. oops - did I just say that? How about if I just say advanced rather than superior? will that save me some berating?
At 4:32 PM,
Kim said…
I guess the bags do reduce waste...I never really thought about it because we'd recycle the plastic jugs if we got those. I think the worse containers to get is the coated cardboard cartons because we can't recycle them here.
Don't worry...I won't tell anyone that you said Canada was "superior" to the states on the milk container front ;)
At 10:46 PM,
Janine said…
Hmmm... over in my neck of the woods I don't ever recall seeing a bag of milk in the store. I'll check tomorrow when I am there! I have heard of it, but don't recall it being as readily available.
At 9:28 PM,
Martelvonc said…
Well I'll be darned....
What will you Canadians think of next?
At 10:20 PM,
vina said…
not actually more than i needed to know. my american boyfriend told me about my crazy canadian milk bags... i didn't believe him. here in bc i've never once seen bagged milk. finding and showing me this page was the only way he could have convinced me short of a company site or sitting a bag of milk in front of me. as a side note, sorry about my lack of capitalization, my shift keys recently gave up the ghost.
At 1:36 AM,
BlueBerry Pick'n said…
have you SEEN the price of a 'pound' 454g of organic BUTTER in Toronto?
I was getting groceries today...
$9 CDN! swear!
I almost fell over.
BlueBerry Pick'n
ThisCanadian.com
"Silent Freedom is Freedom Silenced"
At 10:30 PM,
Anonymous said…
My Boyfriend told me about milk coming in bags from Canada at 1st I thought he was just pulling my leg since hes mean like that but once I saw it on 4chan.org I knew it was true.
At 9:39 PM,
Anonymous said…
Ah, Americans have milk in bags too. It's just that most of the population seems as blissfully unaware of this as they are of half the rest of the things that go on down here. We almost always buy our milk in bags because we can freeze the extra and not have to worry about running out.
At 2:41 AM,
Anonymous said…
Hey, I randomly came across this picture when I was looking to show an American friend exactly what I was talking about with the milk bags thing. Thanks for the spontaneous milk description!
At 4:18 PM,
Anonymous said…
As for milk in bags, I have not seen this since I moved to western Canada - so it's not in all of Canada. As for advanced tho - I know we had milk in bags even when I was a kid in the late 60's I think.
At 1:59 PM,
Peter said…
canada sucks
At 11:30 PM,
Anonymous said…
hmm,
I didn't realise that nobody knew bags of Milk existed. They have just always been there.
My family has baught our milk in bags all my life
(In Ontario, Canada)
At 8:56 AM,
Anonymous said…
WI has had them since at least 1990.
At 11:33 PM,
Anonymous said…
It's not a Canadian thing, it's an Ontario thing. I know you folks from the Centre of the Universe TM tend to forget they're not one and the same...
At 2:45 AM,
Anonymous said…
Where do I get one of those plastic pitchers?
At 12:03 PM,
Anonymous said…
Actually, milk jugs are recyclable and are even made from recycled plastic.
At 12:26 PM,
Anonymous said…
Thanks I needed some pictures of milk bags and your site helped. I want to know that I made a special little prayer for you today to thank you. I sent the pix to my friends in other countries -- you're a real lifesaver and a true net.hero!
At 10:44 AM,
Anonymous said…
Great pictures! I remember this from trips to Canada. Wish we had better alternatives like this in the south.
At 8:38 PM,
Anonymous said…
Interesting, though if the milk bag was left unsealed, I'd be afraid of the milk picking up fridge odors. You know like last nights leftover fish or some other stinky leftover. I think if I bought my milk in a bag I'd have to invest in some type of covered container to pour it into for storage rather then store it in the bag. Of course a gallon of milk in my house lasts a little over a week, and I would guess the quicker the milk is used the less chance of it picking up odors sitting in an unsealed bag.
Milk bags are definately a better idea then the waxed cardboard containers which are non-recyclable. Though plastic containers are recyclable, while the bags aren't. Are they? At least not where I live. vivi - usa
At 8:59 PM,
Anonymous said…
I grew up in South America and that is how I grew up with milk. The idea has been around for a long time!
At 5:23 PM,
Anonymous said…
Milk bags are recycled in a lot of communities, the bag opening is small and tends to close itself in the fridge or you can put a clip on it, and they have no BPA to contaminate the milk.
It isn't because they are new (I remember them from the 70s) so there must be something else going on. Is there a powerful Jug Lobby?
At 3:08 PM,
Winona said…
My parents fold the open corner over and put a clothes peg over it to keep the bag closed in the fridge. Not sure it helps significantly to keep the milk fresher, longer but that's what they do.
At 9:59 PM,
Anonymous said…
I have been using milk bags for 25
years and I have never tasted or smelt any odour in the milk from the fridge.
It could be that the hole you snip in the milk bag is small and the plastic helps keep odours out. Once you get over your fear of milk bags you will love them. I think the milk tastes better than in the carton and you can see what you are pouring. It also helps if you use a milk bag pitcher with a lid to keep the milk cooler and less exposed. There is a plastic milk bag pitcher now avaliable and works great.You can order them at
nevadaproducts@sympatico.ca.If you
use milk bags the pitcher is a must have.
At 10:27 PM,
Meredith said…
How do you keep the milk from going everywhere when you try to pour it? Even if you have a pitcher, it seems like it would get sloshed around a bit...wouldn't the weight of the milk tilt the bag forward? I realize the opening cut by consumers is small, but I just can't picture the physics of it. How fascinating though...now I want milk in a bag!
At 1:26 AM,
Anonymous said…
Contrary to the above post from the West Coaster,ALL of Canada, except BC and Alberta use Milk bags. Perhaps you ar ethe ones who think you ar ethe centre of the universe?
Apparently the makers in Alberta didn't seal them properly, so they often leaked. So they made a law to keep them off the shelves. No one else had a problem with them leaking, so the rest of us have had them forever and like it that way.
At 12:43 AM,
Anonymous said…
Bag of Milk is just an ontario and maybe quebec compared to the rest of the world not sure why? It not enviromental, becasue you can recycle and resuse the jugs, it must be a easier and more cost effective for manufactures.
At 6:50 PM,
Anonymous said…
ive never noticed bags of milk in WI before.. idk what you're talking about.... (anonymous at 8:56 AM..)Actually I was just at the store, like a couple of hours ago, no bags. lol, just sayin not all of WI has it i guess.
At 5:34 AM,
Rene Olivier said…
I stumled upon this while doing a search for milk jug. Yes, the milk bag has been around for some time as a cost effective packaging solution and lately it is re-introduced for carbon footprint reasons by saving 75% plastic. Liquid Living has developed a new product that makes the use of sachets so easy without spilling a drop and the milk stays fresher longer. The developed tap instantly seals with the wall of a sachet and the dispenser is very user friendly to put in your fridge or to even mount on a wall. See liquid living to see this milk jug.
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