# Can you tell the difference between 1% and 2% milk? Why do you buy 1%?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 1, 2001, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313 "2001-09-01T18:35:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/1 "2001-09-01T18:35:32Z")
I’ve never knowingly tasted 1% milk. I can definitely taste a difference between 2% percent and _nonfat_ milk(“blue milk”), as 2% just has that special sweet milky taste to it.
Why do you buy 1%? Taste?
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### Author:  [@Tedster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tedster)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/2 "2001-09-01T18:39:55Z")
Milk is milk…
1%, 2%, low-fat, non-fat, etc., is absolutely horrid stuff.
These people would probably push their grandmother down stairs… Don’t get me started on Low-Fat Ice Cream, Fat-free peanut butter, margarine, or sugar-free anything.
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/3 "2001-09-01T18:40:41Z")
Fat. There is far less of a difference in taste between 1% and 2% as there is between whole and skim, or even 2% and whole, or 2% and skim. Since the taste is so similar, why drink 2% and consume more fat?
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### Author:  [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/4 "2001-09-01T18:43:54Z")
I drink skim milk. When I try and drink whole or 2% it tastes sour even when it’s prefectly good milk. 1% seems rather pointless and isn’t any different than skim. I certainly can’t taste the difference between them so I go that extra step to pick Skim.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/5 "2001-09-01T18:45:51Z")
I’m the only one in my family who drinks milk, and we usually get 1%, as my mother refuses skim-because she likes to cook with it. She prefers 2%, herself.
My uncle, on the other hand, will not drink anything other than whole milk. It’s all right for cereal, but way too thick for me.
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### Author:  [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/6 "2001-09-01T18:51:17Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Tedster \*
> **Don’t get me started on Low-Fat Ice Cream**
Talk about deceptive advertising. Low-fat ice cream isn’t even “low-fat”, it’s just not as_astronomically fattening as the “fat” variety._ A pint of Ben and Jerry’s low-fat ice cream still has over a thousand calories.
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### Author:  [@mblackwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mblackwell)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/7 "2001-09-01T19:17:45Z")
Skim milk? You might as well pour water over your cereal. Bleh. We usually get 2%, but 1% is ok.
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### Author:  [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/8 "2001-09-01T19:21:53Z")
I can tell the difference between 2% and 1%, but not between 1% and skim. I’ll drink 2% if it’s all there is (I prefer whole milk), but anything less is unspeakable.
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### Author:  [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/9 "2001-09-01T21:03:32Z")
I was raised on non-fat. I’ve always hated regular milk; tastes like crisco to me.
When I got married, my wife preferred the 1% stuff. Even that took some getting used to, but it’s the household milk nowadays.
I can definitely tell the difference between 1% and 2%.
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### Author:  [@toshirodragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toshirodragon)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/10 "2001-09-01T21:06:14Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by mblackwell \*
> \*\*Skim milk? You might as well pour water over your cereal. Bleh. We usually get 2%, but 1% is ok. \*\*
YES YES YES YES YES!!!
oh I agree! Even 1% is nasty to my mind… if yer worried about fat EXERCISE a little heheheheh how unamerican I am…
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### Author:  [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/11 "2001-09-01T21:21:57Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by wishbone \*
>
> \*\*Talk about deceptive advertising. Low-fat ice cream isn’t even “low-fat”, it’s just not as_astronomically fattening as the “fat” variety._ A pint of Ben and Jerry’s low-fat ice cream still has over a thousand calories. \*\*
“Fat” and “calories” are not the same thing. “Low fat” does **not** equal low calorie. It means that the product has less fat than regular ice cream. The amount of fat is regulated (in the U.S.) by the FDA, and manufacturers have been fined for using the term inappropriately.
Anyone who is trying to reduce caloric intake should look at calories and not fat content.
I can tell the difference between whole milk (far too rich for me), 2% (a little too rich for me, but useable in a pinch), skim milk (too watery for me), and 1% milk (just right).
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### Author:  [@Tedster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tedster)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/12 "2001-09-01T21:56:53Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by SpoilerVirgin \*
> [B “Fat” and “calories” are not the same thing. “Low fat” does **not** equal low calorie. It means that the product has less fat than regular ice cream. The amount of fat is regulated (in the U.S.) by the FDA, and manufacturers have been fined for using the term inappropriately.
> \*\*
Perhaps they should be fined for making a product that tastes like shit, as well. Some things just don’t translate well to low fat items, high fat items being one of them.
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### Author:  [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/13 "2001-09-01T22:31:30Z")
Maybe this should be a General Question…but why don’t they market 3% milk?
There’s no demographic that wants three-quarters of the fat of whole milk?
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### Author:  [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2001, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/14 "2001-09-01T23:38:06Z")
2% tastes better. In my house it’s either 2% or whole. If we have whole milk it’s probably because we sent one of the kids to the store. They don’t mind the 2%, but think it’s a real treat to get whole milk.
1% spoils in the 'fridge because no one in my house will drink it. What is the difference between skim and chalk water?
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2001, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/15 "2001-09-02T01:52:18Z")
3% is whole mike i thought. I hate 2%, despise 1% and you can imagine what I think of skim. My milks are whole, half&half, Light cream and heavy cream.
the lower the % of fat the higher the % of sugar so take from whatever end of the spectrum you wish - just remember that sugar can and will turn to fat anyway (w/ some metabolic excpetions).
Also Ice cream low fat or not has buttloads of sugar.
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### Author:  [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2001, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/16 "2001-09-02T03:21:00Z")
I think you can get used to anything. In my youth, we always had 2% in the house and I couldn’t stand skim. I switched to skim when I went on a diet and got used to it eventually, to the point where it just tastes like milk. But now 2% or whole milk tastes gross. (Same thing with diet soda actually.)
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### Author:  [@Nocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nocturne)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2001, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/17 "2001-09-02T03:25:20Z")
I’m a skim milk drinker. I can drink milk alone. I often drink skim milk after eating ice cream.
1% is okay, I can handle it. 2% is icky. Whole milk is ABSOLUTELY icky. Yuck yuck yuck.
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### Author:  [@mblackwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mblackwell)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2001, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/18 "2001-09-02T03:38:59Z")
Of course, the best milk is chocolate milk. The thicker the better. I don’t mean adding chocolate syrup or buying Nestle or Hershey brand milk. Store brand or a dairy brand is, by far, the best. I like it so much I drink a whole half-gallon in 5 minutes and roll around on the floor clutching my stomach later.
If fat and cost didn’t matter, I think I would use heavy cream on cereal.
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### Author:  [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2001, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/19 "2001-09-02T08:05:21Z")
I’m a 2%-er, very much so. So much to the point that anything other than 2% milk practically makes me retch. 1% milk tastes watered-down, and nonfat tastes like you dropped a gallon of milk in the pool (without the cap on) and fished it out after the two different liquids were thoroughly mixed.
Never tried whole milk, though. Don’t plan to. I only use milk on cereal, and anything other than 2%, to me, is a waste of good Apple Jacks.
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### Author:  [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2001, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-1-and-2-milk-why-do-you-buy-1/79313/20 "2001-09-02T21:24:01Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by k2dave \*
> **3% is whole mike i thought**
Nope. Whole milk is 4%. Hence my question.