Branded vs own brand milk: who gets the premium price?

L1011

smelly sock wrote: »

Are milk men still a thing?

Nearly every urban/suburban area in/around Dublin has a Glanbia milkman. They're contractors not staff these days (actually I think they were always contractors in my area).

Quite significantly dearer than the shops but it means we never run out; and we ran out a lot when we had to remember to get it.

odyssey06

I am guessing the OP may want to shield this knowledge of the milkman though as it may hurt his argument, as milkman will supply branded milk...

Graces7

smelly sock wrote: »

Are milk men still a thing?

Oh yes here in Mayo. There is online an ad inviting you to quote your post code so they could direct to their nearest milkman. I did so out of … well I did so; I live on a small offshore island where we have no milkmen! and very little else.

Had a reply apologising. lol.. That they had no milkman in that area.

odyssey06

Graces7 wrote: »

Oh yes here in Mayo. There is online an ad inviting you to quote your post code so they could direct to their nearest milkman. I did so out of … well I did so; I live on a small offshore island where we have no milkmen! and very little else.
Had a reply apologising. lol.. That they had no milkman in that area.

Island must not be Craggy enough.

whelan2

odyssey06 wrote: »

My parents are glad to pay the extra cents. During snowmageddon there were no bin collections, sometimes no buses etc but milkman still did the rounds

Glanbia in Drogheda had no milk left in stock during the snow. They didnt collect milk for 5 days from farms. Strathroy were able to come down from the north and stock the shops.

Graces7

I use dried milk as backup . It is so much better than it used to be. Does not go clumpy etc.

Marcusm

Muahahaha wrote: »

"Milk goes sour you know"



Seriously I only use milk for tea and coffee so cant notice any discernible difference in taste when it is mixed at a 1:10 ratio. Would be different if you ate cereals, remember as a kid Avonmore was the business whereas Premier Dairies was awful muck.

That’s a Kilkenny v Waterford thing! They’re all Glanbia now but I will still pick up Premier in preference to Avonmore!

the beer revolu

As a kid we used to get Dawn milk (no own brand milk then) and if for some reason we got CMP milk, it tasted like cat's piss to us because we were so used to the taste of one dairy.

Different dairy do taste different to each other but I don't believe one is any better than the other. People are just creatures of habit and get accustomed to a particular flavour profile.
Guinness drinkers are another example of this kind of behaviour.

colm_mcm

odyssey06 wrote: »

I find LIDL & ALDI milk tastes ok, but doesn't seem to last as long as branded versions.

An ex used to work in a milk factory, apparently there are different pasteurization processes depending on how long the milk is expected to be in stock, or last or whatever, she said the stuff going to Tesco (not Tesco own brand) was different to the milk delivered to smaller shops, and that coming up to Christmas they made all the milk longer life regardless of where it was going.

smelly sock

colm_mcm wrote: »

An ex used to work in a milk factory, apparently there are different pasteurization processes depending on how long the milk is expected to be in stock, or last or whatever, she said the stuff going to Tesco (not Tesco own brand) was different to the milk delivered to smaller shops, and that coming up to Christmas they made all the milk longer life regardless of where it was going.

Lucky you. A girlfriend who was a expert in milking.

whelan2

colm_mcm wrote: »

An ex used to work in a milk factory, apparently there are different pasteurization processes depending on how long the milk is expected to be in stock, or last or whatever, she said the stuff going to Tesco (not Tesco own brand) was different to the milk delivered to smaller shops, and that coming up to Christmas they made all the milk longer life regardless of where it was going.

A lot is to do with how the milk is stored before going on the shelf in the shop.

boombang

whelan2 wrote: »

A lot is to do with how the milk is stored before going on the shelf in the shop.

My local Tesco seems to let it all go warm in the cadges before it goes in the fridges quite regularly.

newbie85

What about the organic milk? Dya reckon that's actually organic? Have just been buying that lately.

the beer revolu

newbie85 wrote: »

What about the organic milk? Dya reckon that's actually organic? Have just been buying that lately.

Yes

kirving

I refuse to buy own-brand milk. The only difference is the packaging, but the cheaper packaging has leaked a few times on me despite the lid being on correctly.

Not worth the hassle of trying to clean milk out of a car seat or fridge.

odyssey06

Kevin Irving wrote: »

I refuse to buy own-brand milk. The only difference is the packaging, but the cheaper packaging has leaked a few times on me despite the lid being on correctly.
Not worth the hassle of trying to clean milk out of a car seat or fridge.

This has happened to me with Supervalu own brand in plastic bottles. But tetrapak own brands seem to have more secure closure.

Princess Calla

I always bought own brand milk, I only ever used it for tea and breakfast.

However when I got pregnant I could only stomach drinking milk and I did notice a difference in taste between brands especially after sugar was cut from my diet.

You can also notice the difference in a glass, some leave a "milky" residue on the walls of the glass others don't, so I presume the cream/fat content may be different.

I buy avonmore now as I'm giving it to the children as a drink. For the above mentioned reasons.

If it was for tea and breakfast own brand would be fine.

dhaughton99

I always buy Lidl whole milk just because it’s handy for where I live. I noticed over the past 2 months, it no longer froths when I use an electric frother or the steamer on my coffee machine. I tried tesco and premier and froths up nicely.

LJ3103

Where are people buying cartons of UHT milk. Was only thinking the other day of trying to buy some for an elderly relative to have in the press for emergency use in the event of a spell of bad weather during the winter months.

odyssey06

LJ3103 wrote: »

Where are people buying cartons of UHT milk. Was only thinking the other day of trying to buy some for an elderly relative to have in the press for emergency use in the event of a spell of bad weather during the winter months.

LIDL usually have it in fridge. All red carton. But doesnt need to be kept in fridge til opened. Might be a little too soon to stock up for winter though.

Muahahaha

dhaughton99 wrote: »

I always buy Lidl whole milk just because it’s handy for where I live. I noticed over the past 2 months, it no longer froths when I use an electric frother or the steamer on my coffee machine. I tried tesco and premier and froths up nicely.

Noticed that before with trying to froth certain types of milk and it was discussed on the coffee forum at the time. Some milks are next to useless for frothing while others get really frothy and full of air bubbles. You can also get certain times of the year that no milk will froth properly either for some reason.

rubadub

Muahahaha wrote: »

You can also get certain times of the year that no milk will froth properly either for some reason.

I heard the cows change the feed which affects it. Might be protein levels changing or something. You can also get cappuccino milk.

Graces7

odyssey06 wrote: »

LIDL usually have it in fridge. All red carton. But doesnt need to be kept in fridge til opened. Might be a little too soon to stock up for winter though.

Apparently LIDL used to shelf it out of the fridge and sales went down!

Not too soon to stock for winter. Given autumn storms.. wish I could get to LIDL but the dried milk these days is a good standby. Does not clump as it used to.

Pinch Flat

Each dairy has a unique number on the packet - aldi also source milk of from the north (UK NI 224m EC) is the clonbawn own brand. I’m sure Lidl milk is sourced from NI as well.

I’d hazard a guess that some of the other own brand milks (Tesco, supervalu, Dunnes etc) are Produced by avonmore etc - quick comparison of the diary numbers would reveal this.

Car99

Our little girl as a 2 year old could tell the difference between Avonmore and Aldi milk after 1 sip . Aldi milk is like water she says. Avonmore is definitely creamier to taste and lasts longer in the hot weather.

NewbridgeIR

My wife buys own brand milk but if I do the shopping I get Avonmore or Premier. Lidl milk is rotten and goes off quickly.
I find that milk from tetrapacks tastes way better than the stuff from a plastic bottle. Two-litre plastic milk just seems a bit off.

When I go home to my parents in Wexford, I always buy Snowcream. My kids love it too.

u140acro3xs7dm

NewbridgeIR wrote: »

My wife buys own brand milk but if I do the shopping I get Avonmore or Premier. Lidl milk is rotten and goes off quickly.
I find that milk from tetrapacks tastes way better than the stuff from a plastic bottle. Two-litre plastic milk just seems a bit off.

When I go home to my parents in Wexford, I always buy Snowcream. My kids love it too.

Snowcream, now there is a brand I haven't seen in years, i may have a look the next time I'm in Wexford.

I have worked in a few different food factories (meat, veg, bread etc.) and generally the Tesco stuff was inferior. While it was usually the same recipe, someone would go through the stock and pick out the best ones for premium packaging, and the leftovers went to Tesco. On a good day there would be little difference, but some days there it was obvious that the Tesco or Dunnes product wasn't to the same standard.

pigtail33

A quick check of what's currently in my fridge...

Premier Dairies Low Fat milk. 1l tetra pak IE 1403 EC
Tesco Low Fat milk. 1l tetra pak IE 1439 EC
Clonbawn (Aldi) Buttermilk 1l tetra pak IE 1439 EC

So it looks like this batch of Tesco and Aldi are the same anyway

The Tesco one states 'Produced in the Republic of Ireland using milk from Republic of Ireland'.

L1011

1403 = Glanbia Athy
1439 = Arrabawn Kilconnell

ellejay

Geuze wrote: »

Yes, I know a guy who used to manage the production of thousands of tonnes of butter.

He confirmed that Kerrygold and unbranded butter were exactly the same in his plant, until packaging.

Now, recently all Kerrygold production was centralised in one plant in Cork, with cream being sent there by various dairies.

I'm not sure how true that is.
The Tesco own brand butter is very greasy and not as "buttery" as say the LIDL brand.I find it closer in taste to low low spreadable (if it even exists anymore)

Avonmore Milk tastes way creamier than any of the own branded milks, I can't drink it.
I understand the for the own branded milk, the fat and proteins are stripped from the milk and then added back in.
How or why I don't know but that's why it'll always taste exactly the same and have the same fat content.