See also: Cows; Dairy Cattle; Cream; Homogenized; Buttermilk etc
MILK TRIVIA & FACTS
U.S. Per Capita milk consumption*:
1985: 241 pounds
1990: 233 pounds
1995: 221 pounds
2000: 210 pounds
2005: 206 pounds
2010: 204 pounds (*includes milk and cream)
Since the 1930s, the price of milk in the U.S. has been set by the federal government and is partially tied to the value of a 40 pound block of Cheddar cheese sold on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Wisconsin and California account for more than 1/3 of total U.S. milk production. (2010)
Evidence for milk processing dating as far back as the 7th millennium BC has recently been discovered in ceramic jars in the Near East and the Balkans. (2010)
The record milk production for a single cow in a year is 55,660 pounds of milk.
The average annual milk production per dairy cow in the U.S. is over 12,000 pounds.
2,500 gallons of blood must flow through a cow's udder each day to maintain a production of about 6 gallons of milk per day. That's 10 tons of blood to produce 50 pounds of milk.
It takes about 350 squirts for each gallon of milk from a cow.
A gallon of milk weighs 8.59 lbs.
Straight from the cow, the temperature of cow’s milk is about 97 degrees Fahrenheit.
California produces about 21 percent of U.S. milk production each year, more than any other state.
U.S. chocolate manufacturers use about 3.5 million pounds of whole milk every day to make chocolate.
More than 1/3 of the milk produced in the U.S. each year goes into manufacturing cheese.
Starbucks uses 2 percent of the nation's milk in their growing coffee drink business.
- 1 lb. of Butter takes about 21.2 lbs. whole milk
- 1 lb. of Condensed Milk takes about 2.3 lbs. whole milk
- 1 lb. of Cottage Cheese takes about 6.25 lbs. skim milk
- 1 lb. of Evaporated Milk takes about 2.1 lbs. whole milk
- 1 lb. of Ice Cream (1 gal.) takes about 12.0 lbs. whole milk
- 1 lb. of Nonfat Dry Milk takes about 11.0 lbs. skim milk
- 1 lb. of Plain Yogurt takes about 1 lb. whole milk
- 1 lb. of Whole Milk Cheese takes about 10.0 lbs. whole milk
- 1 lb. of Whole Milk Powder takes about 7.4 lbs. whole milk
• One gallon of milk weighs 8.6 lbs.
• One quart of milk weighs 2.15 lbs.
• 46.5 quarts of milk equals 100 lbs.
Cheese takes up about 1/10 the volume of the milk it was made from.
It takes 3 to 3 1/2 cups of broccoli to equal the calcium in one cup of milk.
Archaeological evidence indicates that Britons were milking cows at least 6,000 years ago.
Almost every species of livestock has been milked, including horses, donkeys, goats, sheep, camels, buffaloes, reindeer, and yaks. The only exception is the pig, although nutritionally its milk is close to that of human beings.
The milk of a female ass comes closest to human milk than any other domestic animal.
The ancient Greeks and Romans referred to barbarians as "milk drinkers."
Poppea, the wife of Domitius Nero always traveled with 500 nursing asses so she could take milk baths to keep her skin smooth and supple.
Plastic milk bottles were introduced in 1967.
Most of the calcium in milk is not bound up in the fat globules that are removed when 'skimming' the milk, but rather in the water content of the milk. Removing the part of the milk (the milk fat) with a lower percentage of calcium, increases the relative percentage of calcium in the remaining milk
State Beverage & State Drink:
• Milk is both the State Beverage and State Drink of Oklahoma.
•Milk is the Official State Beverage of: Arkansas (1985)); Delaware (1983); Mississippi (1984); Nebraska (1998); New York (1981); North Carolina (1987); North Dakota (1983); Oregon (1997); Pennsylvania (1982); South Carolina (1984); Tennessee (2009); Vermont 1983); Virginia (1982); Wisconsin (1987).
•Milk is the Official State Drink of: Kentucky (2005); Louisiana (1983); Maryland (1998); Minnesota (1984); and South Dakota (1986).
Top Milk (cows) producing countries: (2000)
Composition of various animals milk:
• Camel's milk is about 5.5% milkfat, 7.5% milk solids & 87% water.
• Cow's milk is about 3.5% milkfat, 8.5% milk solids & 88% water
• Ewe's milk is about 8% milkfat, 11.5% milk solids & 80.5% water.
• Mare's Milk is about 1% milkfat, 8.5% milk solids & 90.5% water.
• Reindeer's milk is about 22.5% milkfat, 14.5% milk solids and 63% water.
• Water Buffalo milk is about 7.5% milkfat, 10.5% milk solids and 82% water.
Most people that are allergic to cow milk products and some who are lactose intolerant can use goat and sheep milk products. The lactose or protein in the milk is what usually causes the allergic reaction or intolerance. Goat & sheep milk both have lactose and protein but it is of a different make up that doesn't bother many people.
The proteins in cow's milk are huge, fit for an animal that will one day weigh in over 500 lbs. The proteins in humans, sheep, and goats, are very short, which is why babies (the infirm, and arthritics) will often thrive on goat's milk, and raw goat's milk also is loaded with the enzymes that enable the metabolizing of the calcium.
The protein in almonds is more like the proteins in human breast milk of all the seeds and nuts, which is why it is the choice of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine as the base for its baby formula.