chocolate milk turned to pudding

[songbird]

a week ago we needed some milk and Mom is rather picky about
what she will drink, so if it isn't a certain brand store milk
(which store is further away) she will only drink chocolate milk
from the more local store.

eventually we get to the further store and stock up on milk.
we ended up with a partially used chocolate milk gallon and
another 2% milk that needed to be finished. we also needed room
in the refridgerator so i poured the 2% in with the chocolate
milk and shook it a bit to mix them together and drank some.

the next day i go to drink up some more of the chocolate milk
mix and it comes out like pudding. it didn't smell off at all
so i tasted it. it was fine. just thicker than it should have
been. reading the label there is carrageenan on the list of
ingredients so that is the likely culprit. had another cup
this morning for breakfast. it is still tasting ok but a bit
thicker.


songbird

[Cindy Hamilton]

Post by songbird
a week ago we needed some milk and Mom is rather picky about
what she will drink, so if it isn't a certain brand store milk
(which store is further away) she will only drink chocolate milk
from the more local store.
eventually we get to the further store and stock up on milk.
we ended up with a partially used chocolate milk gallon and
another 2% milk that needed to be finished. we also needed room
in the refridgerator so i poured the 2% in with the chocolate
milk and shook it a bit to mix them together and drank some.

It might have been the shaking.

[Ed P]

Post by songbird
a week ago we needed some milk and Mom is rather picky about
what she will drink, so if it isn't a certain brand store milk
(which store is further away) she will only drink chocolate milk
from the more local store.
eventually we get to the further store and stock up on milk.
we ended up with a partially used chocolate milk gallon and
another 2% milk that needed to be finished. we also needed room
in the refridgerator so i poured the 2% in with the chocolate
milk and shook it a bit to mix them together and drank some.
the next day i go to drink up some more of the chocolate milk
mix and it comes out like pudding. it didn't smell off at all
so i tasted it. it was fine. just thicker than it should have
been. reading the label there is carrageenan on the list of
ingredients so that is the likely culprit. had another cup
this morning for breakfast. it is still tasting ok but a bit
thicker.
songbird

Wow, never thought about how they can screw up milk. I've not had
chocolate milk since I was a kid and figured they just added chocolate
syrup. Nope.

Ingredients
Grade A Milk, Sugar, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Cornstarch, Salt,
Carrageenan, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Vitamin D3)

[Cindy Hamilton]

Post by Ed P

Post by songbird
a week ago we needed some milk and Mom is rather picky about
what she will drink, so if it isn't a certain brand store milk
(which store is further away) she will only drink chocolate milk
from the more local store.
eventually we get to the further store and stock up on milk.
we ended up with a partially used chocolate milk gallon and
another 2% milk that needed to be finished. we also needed room
in the refridgerator so i poured the 2% in with the chocolate
milk and shook it a bit to mix them together and drank some.
the next day i go to drink up some more of the chocolate milk
mix and it comes out like pudding. it didn't smell off at all
so i tasted it. it was fine. just thicker than it should have
been. reading the label there is carrageenan on the list of
ingredients so that is the likely culprit. had another cup
this morning for breakfast. it is still tasting ok but a bit
thicker.
songbird

Wow, never thought about how they can screw up milk. I've not had
chocolate milk since I was a kid and figured they just added chocolate
syrup. Nope.

I can tell you haven't looked at chocolate syrup ingredients lately.

The ingredients in Hershey's chocolate syrup include:
High fructose corn syrup
Corn syrup
Sugar
Water
Cocoa
2% or less of the following:
Potassium sorbate (preservative)
Salt
Mono- and diglycerides
Polysorbate 60
Xanthan gum
Vanillin (artificial flavor)

Post by Ed P
Ingredients
Grade A Milk, Sugar, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Cornstarch, Salt,
Carrageenan, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Vitamin D3)

The thickeners give it a nice, rich feel in the mouth. Some
of the "natural & artificial flavors" might be vanilla or vanillin.

This is a fairly clean ingredients list.

[songbird]

...

Post by Cindy Hamilton

Post by Ed P
Ingredients
Grade A Milk, Sugar, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Cornstarch, Salt,
Carrageenan, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Vitamin D3)

The thickeners give it a nice, rich feel in the mouth. Some
of the "natural & artificial flavors" might be vanilla or vanillin.
This is a fairly clean ingredients list.

a lot can be hidden under "Natural & Artificial Flavors"

and i give very poor marks for somethings using vanillin
compared to the complexity of real vanilla. however if
you are putting vanillin into something that has a lot
of other strong flavors you may not notice the lack of
depth and complexity.

as it turned out with the chocolate milk mixed with
regular milk this morning when i went to drink some it
did smell like it went off so i flushed it all and so i
was done with it at last - five days before the
expiration date. i hate wasting food/money and so i was
a bit irked.


songbird

[Peter Steele]

Post by songbird
...

Post by Cindy Hamilton

Post by Ed P
Ingredients
Grade A Milk, Sugar, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Cornstarch, Salt,
Carrageenan, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Vitamin D3)

The thickeners give it a nice, rich feel in the mouth. Some
of the "natural & artificial flavors" might be vanilla or vanillin.
This is a fairly clean ingredients list.

a lot can be hidden under "Natural & Artificial Flavors"
and i give very poor marks for somethings using vanillin
compared to the complexity of real vanilla. however if
you are putting vanillin into something that has a lot
of other strong flavors you may not notice the lack of
depth and complexity.
as it turned out with the chocolate milk mixed with
regular milk this morning when i went to drink some it
did smell like it went off so i flushed it all and so i
was done with it at last - five days before the
expiration date. i hate wasting food/money and so i was
a bit irked.

It's not always a waste to waste food. Tried reheating some fried rice
and it was ridiculous because the insides of the rice don't heat up at
all. Tossed two quart containers into the trash virtually untouched.
Basically it was a learning experience and I won't be ordering fried
rice en masse again. Also I won't waste my time experimenting to see if
nuking them makes the texture palatable. That's like 35 cents in an
outhouse and I'm not climbing in after it.

[Cindy Hamilton]

Post by songbird
...

Post by Cindy Hamilton

Post by Ed P
Ingredients
Grade A Milk, Sugar, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Cornstarch, Salt,
Carrageenan, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Vitamin D3)

The thickeners give it a nice, rich feel in the mouth. Some
of the "natural & artificial flavors" might be vanilla or vanillin.
This is a fairly clean ingredients list.

a lot can be hidden under "Natural & Artificial Flavors"
and i give very poor marks for somethings using vanillin
compared to the complexity of real vanilla.

Most people can't tell the difference. Even professionals
concluded that if a dish is cooked or there are other flavors,
vanillin is just as tasty as vanilla.

https://www.seriouseats.com/taste-test-is-better-vanilla-extract-worth-the-price
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/taste_tests/1924-vanilla

[Janet]

In article <vliv7t$259s3$***@dont-email.me>, chamilton5280
@invalid.com says...

Post by Cindy Hamilton

Post by songbird
...

Post by Cindy Hamilton

Post by Ed P
Ingredients
Grade A Milk, Sugar, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Cornstarch, Salt,
Carrageenan, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Vitamin D3)

The thickeners give it a nice, rich feel in the mouth. Some
of the "natural & artificial flavors" might be vanilla or vanillin.
This is a fairly clean ingredients list.

a lot can be hidden under "Natural & Artificial Flavors"
and i give very poor marks for somethings using vanillin
compared to the complexity of real vanilla.

Most people can't tell the difference.

perhaps this is true in USA.

Even professionals

Post by Cindy Hamilton
concluded that if a dish is cooked or there are other flavors,
vanillin is just as tasty as vanilla.
https://www.seriouseats.com/taste-test-is-better-vanilla-extract-worth-the-price
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/taste_tests/1924-vanilla

Nothing in the above indicates that any of the taste
testers were "professionals".

Still, the subject is a fun google for a snowy day.

<https://cooksvanilla.com/blogs/news/reading-vanilla-
labels>

explains the USA FDA standard of vanilla labelling.

EtO maximum residue level (MRL) for Vanilla Extracts in
the European Union is set at 0.1 mg/kg, which is
significantly lower than the 7 mg/kg (7 ppm) MRL set by
the Food and Drug Administration of the United States of
America.

That is why the EU suspended all imports of vanilla
extraxts from USA

https://vanillafair.com/european-regulation-on-vanilla-
challenges-and-opportunities-for-american-exporters/

I make my own vanilla extract, terribly easy and once
you've tasted the real thing you'll never want to buy
commercial products again.

Just vanilla beans (whole Madagascar pods, slit open with
a knife) and alcohol, nothing else. Stuff them in a small
glass bottle, fill to the brim with good quality alcohol
and seal. Put it in a dark place, ( cool pantry is
ideal) Shake once a week, ready in six months.


Janet UK

[Cindy Hamilton]

Post by Janet
I make my own vanilla extract, terribly easy and once
you've tasted the real thing you'll never want to buy
commercial products again.
Just vanilla beans (whole Madagascar pods, slit open with
a knife) and alcohol, nothing else. Stuff them in a small
glass bottle, fill to the brim with good quality alcohol
and seal. Put it in a dark place, ( cool pantry is
ideal) Shake once a week, ready in six months.

I make so little use of vanilla, I'm content to buy it.

I might have some alcohol in the basement. Pretty sure there's a fair
amount of tequila, possibly a little vodka, and maybe a mouthful
or two of bourbon. Oh, and some Jaegermeister that my husband
laid in when he was having some sort of phase. It will all
probably still be there when we're dead.

[Ed P]

Post by Janet
I make my own vanilla extract, terribly easy and once
you've tasted the real thing you'll never want to buy
commercial products again.
Just vanilla beans (whole Madagascar pods, slit open with
a knife) and alcohol, nothing else. Stuff them in a small
glass bottle, fill to the brim with good quality alcohol
and seal. Put it in a dark place, ( cool pantry is
ideal) Shake once a week, ready in six months.
Janet UK

Last July my granddaughter gave me a bottle she made for Christmas. I
took my first taste of it a couple of weeks ago. Good stuff. Next week
I'll start using it.

[songbird]

Janet wrote:
...

Post by Janet
EtO maximum residue level (MRL) for Vanilla Extracts in
the European Union is set at 0.1 mg/kg, which is
significantly lower than the 7 mg/kg (7 ppm) MRL set by
the Food and Drug Administration of the United States of
America.
That is why the EU suspended all imports of vanilla
extraxts from USA
https://vanillafair.com/european-regulation-on-vanilla-
challenges-and-opportunities-for-american-exporters/
I make my own vanilla extract, terribly easy and once
you've tasted the real thing you'll never want to buy
commercial products again.
Just vanilla beans (whole Madagascar pods, slit open with
a knife) and alcohol, nothing else. Stuff them in a small
glass bottle, fill to the brim with good quality alcohol
and seal. Put it in a dark place, ( cool pantry is
ideal) Shake once a week, ready in six months.

sometime try some pods from Mexico. it's a whole different
world of flavor.


songbird

[Michael Trew]

Post by Janet
@invalid.com says...
I make my own vanilla extract, terribly easy and once
you've tasted the real thing you'll never want to buy
commercial products again.
Just vanilla beans (whole Madagascar pods, slit open with
a knife) and alcohol, nothing else. Stuff them in a small
glass bottle, fill to the brim with good quality alcohol
and seal. Put it in a dark place, ( cool pantry is
ideal) Shake once a week, ready in six months.

I've been meaning to make homemade vanilla extract for years. My hang
up is the grocer charges $15+ for two whole Madagascar beans in a jar,
and I can't justify buying 5-6 jars. Do you buy the beans locally or
on-line? I was told to soak them in a litre of good vodka for months.

[Janet]

In article <67801b52$3$1895508
$***@reader.netnews.com>, ***@att.net
says...

Post by Michael Trew

Post by Janet
@invalid.com says...
I make my own vanilla extract, terribly easy and once
you've tasted the real thing you'll never want to buy
commercial products again.
Just vanilla beans (whole Madagascar pods, slit open with
a knife) and alcohol, nothing else. Stuff them in a small
glass bottle, fill to the brim with good quality alcohol
and seal. Put it in a dark place, ( cool pantry is
ideal) Shake once a week, ready in six months.

I've been meaning to make homemade vanilla extract for years. My hang
up is the grocer charges $15+ for two whole Madagascar beans in a jar,
and I can't justify buying 5-6 jars. Do you buy the beans locally or
on-line?

Locally. High-end supermarkets like Marks and Spencer
and Sainsbury) sell Madagascar pods in packs of two.

Post by Michael Trew
I was told to soak them in a litre of good vodka for

months.

How very American.

I'm aiming for quality not quantity.
The end result is going to be a lot more concentrated
than commercial products.

I use recycled small glass bottles with a screw top,
the kind that hold a single serve drink. (on airlines and
in hotel room minibars)


Two pods is plenty for one 20cl bottle. If the bottle is
short you'll need to cut the pods to length to fit them
all in.

The alcohol is usually the tail end of a bottle of
booze we've been drinking, and as we don't drink vodka ,
it's usually either brandy or sherry.



Janet UK

[Dave Smith]

Post by Janet
In article <67801b52$3$1895508
says...

Post by Michael Trew

Post by Janet
@invalid.com says...
I make my own vanilla extract, terribly easy and once
you've tasted the real thing you'll never want to buy
commercial products again.
Just vanilla beans (whole Madagascar pods, slit open with
a knife) and alcohol, nothing else. Stuff them in a small
glass bottle, fill to the brim with good quality alcohol
and seal. Put it in a dark place, ( cool pantry is
ideal) Shake once a week, ready in six months.

I've been meaning to make homemade vanilla extract for years. My hang
up is the grocer charges $15+ for two whole Madagascar beans in a jar,
and I can't justify buying 5-6 jars. Do you buy the beans locally or
on-line?

Locally. High-end supermarkets like Marks and Spencer
and Sainsbury) sell Madagascar pods in packs of two.

I have not bought vanilla pods since I quit making ice cream almost 15
years ago. At that time a tube with two pods was up to about $6. I had
not had to buy many because my nephew's wife had given us a bundle of
them, literally a bundle. They were living in Uganda at the time and she
had come home to birth her baby. She gave us a bundle about 4-5" in
diameter, a couple dozen pods. That was 1997. My ended up going over
there and working for his cousin.

Post by Janet

Post by Michael Trew
I was told to soak them in a litre of good vodka for

months.
How very American.
I'm aiming for quality not quantity.
The end result is going to be a lot more concentrated
than commercial products.
I use recycled small glass bottles with a screw top,
the kind that hold a single serve drink. (on airlines and
in hotel room minibars)
Two pods is plenty for one 20cl bottle. If the bottle is
short you'll need to cut the pods to length to fit them
all in.
The alcohol is usually the tail end of a bottle of
booze we've been drinking, and as we don't drink vodka ,
it's usually either brandy or sherry.
Janet UK

[Hank Rogers]

Post by Janet
In article <67801b52$3$1895508
says...

Post by Michael Trew

Post by Janet
@invalid.com says...
I make my own vanilla extract, terribly easy and once
you've tasted the real thing you'll never want to buy
commercial products again.
Just vanilla beans (whole Madagascar pods, slit open with
a knife) and alcohol, nothing else. Stuff them in a small
glass bottle, fill to the brim with good quality alcohol
and seal. Put it in a dark place, ( cool pantry is
ideal) Shake once a week, ready in six months.

I've been meaning to make homemade vanilla extract for years. My hang
up is the grocer charges $15+ for two whole Madagascar beans in a jar,
and I can't justify buying 5-6 jars. Do you buy the beans locally or
on-line?

Locally. High-end supermarkets like Marks and Spencer
and Sainsbury) sell Madagascar pods in packs of two.

Post by Michael Trew
I was told to soak them in a litre of good vodka for

months.
How very American.
I'm aiming for quality not quantity.
The end result is going to be a lot more concentrated
than commercial products.
I use recycled small glass bottles with a screw top,
the kind that hold a single serve drink. (on airlines and
in hotel room minibars)
Two pods is plenty for one 20cl bottle. If the bottle is
short you'll need to cut the pods to length to fit them
all in.
The alcohol is usually the tail end of a bottle of
booze we've been drinking, and as we don't drink vodka ,
it's usually either brandy or sherry.

How very british (upper class though) Kudos.

I also enjoy a good, well aged cognac.

[songbird]

Janet wrote:
...

Post by Janet
Two pods is plenty for one 20cl bottle. If the bottle is
short you'll need to cut the pods to length to fit them
all in.
The alcohol is usually the tail end of a bottle of
booze we've been drinking, and as we don't drink vodka ,
it's usually either brandy or sherry.

both of those have way more flavor of other things than
i want in my vanilla.


songbird

[Bruce]

Post by Ed P
Wow, never thought about how they can screw up milk. I've not had
chocolate milk since I was a kid and figured they just added chocolate
syrup. Nope.
Ingredients
Grade A Milk, Sugar, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Cornstarch, Salt,
Carrageenan, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Vitamin D3)

<Gary>
You can really tell that they went out of their way to make it taste
good for us. Natural AND artificial flavors, wow!
</Gary>

[BryanGSimmons]

Post by songbird
a week ago we needed some milk and Mom is rather picky about
what she will drink, so if it isn't a certain brand store milk
(which store is further away) she will only drink chocolate milk
from the more local store.
eventually we get to the further store and stock up on milk.
we ended up with a partially used chocolate milk gallon and
another 2% milk that needed to be finished. we also needed room
in the refridgerator so i poured the 2% in with the chocolate
milk and shook it a bit to mix them together and drank some.
the next day i go to drink up some more of the chocolate milk
mix and it comes out like pudding. it didn't smell off at all
so i tasted it. it was fine. just thicker than it should have
been. reading the label there is carrageenan on the list of
ingredients so that is the likely culprit. had another cup
this morning for breakfast. it is still tasting ok but a bit
thicker.

Your mother is seriously stupid. Likely as not, the milk was identical.
https://blogs.cornell.edu/agnewscenter/2018/03/20/where-is-your-milk-from/
At most grocery stores, they will have brand name milk and store brand
that are identical other than the brand label, and many stores have
identical milk. I'm glad that there are folks who are stupid when it
comes to milk, because the stupid people subsidize my buying power,
though in general, they filthy up the gene pool.

Post by songbird
songbird

[Bruce]

On Sun, 5 Jan 2025 15:39:32 -0600, BryanGSimmons

Post by BryanGSimmons

Post by songbird
a week ago we needed some milk and Mom is rather picky about
what she will drink, so if it isn't a certain brand store milk
(which store is further away) she will only drink chocolate milk
from the more local store.
eventually we get to the further store and stock up on milk.
we ended up with a partially used chocolate milk gallon and
another 2% milk that needed to be finished. we also needed room
in the refridgerator so i poured the 2% in with the chocolate
milk and shook it a bit to mix them together and drank some.
the next day i go to drink up some more of the chocolate milk
mix and it comes out like pudding. it didn't smell off at all
so i tasted it. it was fine. just thicker than it should have
been. reading the label there is carrageenan on the list of
ingredients so that is the likely culprit. had another cup
this morning for breakfast. it is still tasting ok but a bit
thicker.

Your mother is seriously stupid. Likely as not, the milk was identical.
https://blogs.cornell.edu/agnewscenter/2018/03/20/where-is-your-milk-from/
At most grocery stores, they will have brand name milk and store brand
that are identical other than the brand label, and many stores have
identical milk. I'm glad that there are folks who are stupid when it
comes to milk, because the stupid people subsidize my buying power,
though in general, they filthy up the gene pool.

But she GENErated Tweety Bird!