mixing milk from two cartons?

gingernut79

You shouldn't mix milk from two cartons e.g in a cup of tea, on your cereal etc.

I've heard this a few times over the years and I think its nonsense with no scientific basis, yet when I do a web search I cant find anything to support or deny it.

as I see it, when you buy your milk its all come out of a huge tank in a dairy plant somewhere, so re-mixing a small amount at home makes no difference. I could see how perhaps pouring a small amount from one carton into another carton might affect the storage life if one was open a lot longer, but otherwise its shouldnt make a difference.

Has anyone else heard anything like this?

S.R.F.C.

No, sounds absolutely bizarre.

Lornen

I don't really know, but I was always told a milk jug was really unhygienic as people usually just topped up the milk again and again without washing it. I guess I could see why that might cause a problem.. But if I have a carton out and use the ends of it, still need more, I crack open the other carton and pour it over too.. Never got sick from it yet and it's a common occurance in my house..

Mellor

gingernut79 wrote: »

You shouldn't mix milk from two cartons e.g in a cup of tea, on your cereal etc.

I've never heard thia at all. and tbh, common sense tells you its nonsense.
How could it be in any way bad for you.

Lornen wrote: »

I don't really know, but I was always told a milk jug was really unhygienic as people usually just topped up the milk again and again without washing it. I guess I could see why that might cause a problem

Who the hel does that?
That's unbelievably stupid.

Well I can see how it would be a stupid thing to do if it was as the jug example Lornen pointed out, ie. that when you're near finished a carton you pour the ends of it into the next one. That would be extremely unhealthy.

But as for pouring the end of a carton into your coco pops and then topping it up with milk from the next carton, that's fine. There's no reason I can think of not to do it, in fact I do it all the time, and I'm fine except that I grew hooves at puberty.

Lornen

Mellor wrote: »

Who the hel does that?
That's unbelievably stupid.

Alot of diners or little greasy spoons usually have a milk jug at the table and who knows when they've put the milk in or if they've given it a wash. I was driving down to Limerick several years ago and we made a stop somewhere and it was like one of those pit stops. Garage with a diner thing. I felt like I was in some Hill Billy American movie where they had the scariest looking milk jugs with dried on milk down the side.. Quickly legged it! But yeah, you'd be surprised Mellor. Busy diner, busy cafe. I'm sure it's easy done for some people.
(Excuse the dodgey paragraphs, on my mobile.)

trad

Seeing as the milk in the carton is the combined output of many cows I don't see how mixing the cartons would make any diference.

rubadub

Lornen wrote: »

I don't really know, but I was always told a milk jug was really unhygienic as people usually just topped up the milk again and again without washing it.

I imagine this is it, lots of these "myths" do have some truth to them but it gets lost along the way and transformed like chinese whispers.

Mellor wrote: »

Who the hel does that?
That's unbelievably stupid.

Stupid people do it! as said I could imagine ignorant people in cafes etc doing it. I imagine many ketchup bottles would be refilled before going empty over and over again, though obviously milk will go off quicker.

It probably dates back years when people did not know much about bacteria. I expect if you put a few drops of sour milk into a large amount of fresh milk it will sour it a lot quicker, just like you add starter yeasts to big batches of beer to brew it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_stew

A perpetual stew is a pot into which whatever one can find is placed and cooked. The pot is never emptied all the way, as ingredients are replenished as necessary. The concept is often a common element in descriptions of medieval inns. Ripley's Believe It or Not! makes mention of stews in some Polynesian families which have been cooking for over one hundred years.

smallgarden

ive taught this to a class before and its definitely in relation to mixing them in a container eg milk jug without washing them,ie topping them up that theres an issue.thats what they mean by not mixing milk from different cartons

Mellor

rubadub wrote: »

Stupid people do it! as said I could imagine ignorant people in cafes etc doing it. I imagine many ketchup bottles would be refilled before going empty over and over again, though obviously milk will go off quicker.

I that's nail on the head alright.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_stew

Key difference is that its kept on the fire so bateria never starts to grow

gingernut79

Thanks all. Himself still says it was on Ray D'Arcy and loads of people said you shouldnt do it and that its taught in Home Ec. Losing battle here I fear, though my lingering doubts have been eradicated!

Lornen

gingernut79 wrote: »

Thanks all. Himself still says it was on Ray D'Arcy and loads of people said you shouldnt do it and that its taught in Home Ec. Losing battle here I fear, though my lingering doubts have been eradicated!

Thought that in Home Ec too. Think people nowadays will say anything to save their arses. If they tell you not to do it, you do, nothing happens. They win. If they tell you not to do it, you do, get sick. They win.

rubadub

Lornen wrote: »

Thought that in Home Ec too.

But what exactly were you taught? I doubt it was specifically this

gingernut79 wrote: »

You shouldn't mix milk from two cartons e.g in a cup of tea, on your cereal etc.

i.e. been drank/eaten straight away. So if people pour out milk in tea and find there is not enough do they really do without more and drink it darker than they like?

I could imagine them teaching about the jug filling situation, and then the real reasoning gets lost along the way.

smallgarden

as a home ec teacher. we teach not to top up milk jugs with more milk,thats what we mean by not mixing milk from different cartons. or if there is someone who pours remainder of one carton into another to save space in fridge. youd be surprised how silly people can be