# Ask the people who buy milk in bags... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 7, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033 "2010-02-07T16:11:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![spoike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@spoike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spoike)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/41 "2010-02-08T03:45:43Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Oddly enough, you cannot get bagged milk here in Alberta. So the bag pitcher we brought with us when we moved from Ontario is now used as a scoop for cat kibble. The pitcher is perfect for getting a scoopful of kibble from the sack, and pouring the kibble into the cats’ food bowls. You used to be able to get it in Alberta. When I was growing up, the bags were the only way we got our milk, and we got them from the Alpha milkman, although the Palm milkman brought bagged milk too. I’m pretty sure buttermilk came in bags as well. When Alpha and Palm went away, so too went the bagged milk. 'Twas a sad day. For reference, I’m 37. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/42 "2010-02-08T03:58:36Z")
> [@spoike](#): > > You used to be able to get it in Alberta. When I was growing up, the bags were the only way we got our milk, and we got them from the Alpha milkman, although the Palm milkman brought bagged milk too. I’m pretty sure buttermilk came in bags as well. When Alpha and Palm went away, so too went the bagged milk. 'Twas a sad day. > > For reference, I’m 37. In terms of recycling, Alberta seems bound and determined to make things as inconvenient as possible for its populace. No handy bagged milk, and now they’ve put a deposit on milk cartons. Yeah, like I’m going to keep milk cartons around until I can get to taking them to the bottle depot. And I don’t care how many times you rinse them, they still eventually stink of sour milk. You want me to recycle beverage containers, Alberta, you can bloody well pick them up at the curbside once a week, like all civilized places do. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/43 "2010-02-08T04:07:42Z")
OK, I just went to the story and bought bread in a toothpaste tube, so I guess the whole “milk in a bag” thing isn’t so odd anymore. Also, “milk in a bag” reminds of: “Step 1, cut a whole in the box . . .” ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/44 "2010-02-08T04:15:06Z")
You said milk used to only come in jugs…how hard was the transition? Was there much community resistance to the idea? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/45 "2010-02-08T06:54:29Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > OK, I just went to the story and bought bread in a toothpaste tube, so I guess the whole “milk in a bag” thing isn’t so odd anymore. My local store has a lot of imported food, and I’ve never understood the whole idea of mayonnaise in a toothpaste style tube. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/46 "2010-02-08T08:31:36Z")
Is the outer bag opaque? I recall that plastic jugs were said to allow light to alter the milk and so it tasted different than milk in waxed paper cartons. The glass milk jugs are clear, but I don’t know if they filter the wavelengths that alter the milk any better than the plastic does. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/47 "2010-02-08T08:50:01Z")
Just as an anecdote – we still have them in Israel (1 liter bags), alongside 1- and 2-liter tetrapacks (and one case of 2-liter jugs). 1-liter milk containers are price-controlled, and bags cost 20% less than the tetrapack – which we (personally) still buy for the convenience – although growing up I always had bags because there was nothing else on the market (until at least sometime in the 80’s? Early 90’s? Don’t remember…) Interestingly, 2-liter containers are **not** price controlled, and thus almost always cost **more** per liter than 1-liter containers… :smack: [/minor hijack] To address one of the questions above – whether your pinky fits in the hole depends on how large you cut the hole… 😃 (seriously, some people who use bags cut **huge** holes - like a triangle with 1" sides! :eek: I never got the reasoning behind that…) And also – IME in general, bags are used by high-volume consumers (think cafes and other food establishments, offices, or large families,) so keeping the bag in the fridge with the corner cut open is a minor to non-issue for them – in some cases the newly-opened bag never **makes** it to the refrigerator… ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/48 "2010-02-08T10:11:44Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > By the way - do you also have “H” milk there? In Germany there was milk that came in a sealed container (like a big juice box) and the milk was not even stored cold, and could safely be put in your pantry for months before chilling and drinking. It had a weird after-taste and I never really bought it much, but it was OK for cooking and using in recipes. That’s UHT milk and I’ve bought it in Miami, Orlando, San Francisco and Philadelphia. I figure it’s obtainable in Lands Between as well 🙂 We used milk-in-a-bag when I was little… back then there was only one brand in all of Spain that sold Tetrapacks of UHT, it was a brand which worked only in Barcelona province, and the Tetrapacks were tetrahedrons. Grandma refused to believe that you could take them outside of the fridge, so we got yelled at more than once for using them to build pyramids of 5 packs. Now most of the milk sold in Spain is UHT and comes in Tetrabricks, which are easier to carry around but not as much fun for the kids. ---
**Author:** ![maisoui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@maisoui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maisoui)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/49 "2010-02-08T12:36:00Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > You said milk used to only come in jugs…how hard was the transition? Was there much community resistance to the idea? I was young, I don’t remember. I’ll have to call my mom when she’s home and get back to you… ---
**Author:** ![maisoui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@maisoui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maisoui)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/50 "2010-02-08T12:40:18Z")
> [@lee](#): > > Is the outer bag opaque? I recall that plastic jugs were said to allow light to alter the milk and so it tasted different than milk in waxed paper cartons. The glass milk jugs are clear, but I don’t know if they filter the wavelengths that alter the milk any better than the plastic does. The outer bags ARE opaque. Some manufacturers tint their inner bags blue (still not opaque) to help keep light out. I think in general, though, people who are buying milk 4 L at a time are going through it at a rate that doesn’t allow for much deterioration… ---
**Author:** ![maisoui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@maisoui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maisoui)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/51 "2010-02-08T13:19:28Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > Anyway milk in a bag seems pretty dang fiddly compared to a simply plastic jug as is common here in NY (waxed cardboard boxes are the other common form) - the jug is it’s own pitcher, and no need to buy a separate holder or cut with a scissor (or your teeth) at an exact angle as demostrated in that ‘pincstuff’ video from the other thread… Probably, but I don’t know any differently. It just is what it is… Where it might be helpful is that those bags of milk fit pretty much anywhere in the fridge. Lay them down, lean them up, stack them on top of one another when you have to buy more than one at a time. When the fridge is really full, take the individual bags and squeeze them in wherever. I understand the packaging is easier/cheaper for the manufacturer to produce and transport, and for the seller to store, so maybe we get our milk for 2 cents cheaper… It’s not much, but it’s all I’ve got. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![maisoui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@maisoui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maisoui)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/52 "2010-02-08T13:29:18Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > Seriously? I’m paying that much for milk by the 2L carton(I’m in Ontario). I could be wrong about the 2L carton price. I haven’t looked at it in a while. It is the 4L bags that are discounted, presumably to get the larger families into the store where they will hopefully then do all of their shopping. Milk, eggs, butter, bread, and diapers (I think, it’s been a long time since I was looking at diapers) are all price-matched by many of the stores around here, so they would all have to raise the price at the same time. There are stores that charge over 5.00 for 4L of plain old regular milk, but that still has to be less than they are paying for it. I’m near Hamilton. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/53 "2010-02-08T14:32:33Z")
I’ve drank milk in bags! In India. I didn’t like any of the other milk. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/54 "2010-02-08T14:47:28Z")
Obligatory [link to milk-in-bags video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTPgd4HUk4w). And [Toronto Star story](http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/760654--so-we-drink-milk-from-bags-does-that-make-us-weird). ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/55 "2010-02-08T15:28:34Z")
> [@runcible\_spoon](#): > > As a side note, when I was in Hong Kong, fresh milk was vastly more expensive than the tetra-pak on-the-shelf variety, so I got used to it. It’s not as good, but better than soy for cereal and whatnot. I believe it was called ultrapasteurized - is that the same as the aforementioned ‘H milk’? Ultrapasteurized milk just has a super-long shelf life, but needs to stay refrigerated. It lasts about twice as long or so as regularly-pasteurized milk, and tends to cost more from what I’ve seen. You can find it in the US. H/UHT milk can be found in “juice box”-style packaging, unrefrigerated, on store shelves. I’ve seen soymilk packaged up this way as well, both in single serving containers and in big liter-or-so-sized cartons with a screw-top opening. ---
**Author:** ![maisoui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@maisoui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maisoui)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/56 "2010-02-08T19:14:59Z")
Had root canal this morning so I had to go to the pharmacy in Walmart for antibiotics. I took the opportunity to check the price of milk there. 4L was $4.17, and 2L was\*\*\* $3.77!!\*\*\* 40 cents for two more liters of milk… ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/57 "2010-02-08T20:03:38Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > That’s UHT milk and I’ve bought it in Miami, Orlando, San Francisco and Philadelphia. I figure it’s obtainable in Lands Between as well 🙂 > > We used milk-in-a-bag when I was little… back then there was only one brand in all of Spain that sold Tetrapacks of UHT, it was a brand which worked only in Barcelona province, and the Tetrapacks were tetrahedrons. Grandma refused to believe that you could take them outside of the fridge, so we got yelled at more than once for using them to build pyramids of 5 packs. Now most of the milk sold in Spain is UHT and comes in Tetrabricks, which are easier to carry around but not as much fun for the kids. Yeah, what is with the boxed milk in Spain? Used to drive me crazy because I am a big milk drinker, and that stuff was only suitable for cereal or cooking. The rumor was that it stemmed from America providing assistance to Spain in the 1950’s. The Americans shipped over large quantities of shelf-stable milk, and Spaniards have been drinking it ever since. Sounds a bit like an urban legend, though. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/58 "2010-02-08T23:34:00Z")
> [@maisoui](#): > > I could be wrong about the 2L carton price. I haven’t looked at it in a while. It is the 4L bags that are discounted, presumably to get the larger families into the store where they will hopefully then do all of their shopping. Milk, eggs, butter, bread, and diapers (I think, it’s been a long time since I was looking at diapers) are all price-matched by many of the stores around here, so they would all have to raise the price at the same time. There are stores that charge over 5.00 for 4L of plain old regular milk, but that still has to be less than they are paying for it. > > I’m near Hamilton. Damn, I’m paying $6.99 for 4L here in Nova Scotia. Why won’t you other Canadians share your cheap milk with us! ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/59 "2010-02-09T05:12:24Z")
We used to get milk in bags, exactly as shown in the pictures, when I lived in Montreal in the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![maisoui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@maisoui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maisoui)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033/60 "2010-02-09T12:32:47Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > Damn, I’m paying $6.99 for 4L here in Nova Scotia. Why won’t you other Canadians share your cheap milk with us! I’d mail you some, but that might not work out so well… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-people-who-buy-milk-in-bags/528033.md?page=4)