# "Non-dairy milk" isn't milk! Argh **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481 "2010-12-17T05:33:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/1 "2010-12-17T05:33:10Z")
[This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=589421) asks the non-question “Best non dairy milk?”. I hate designating anything that didn’t come from a mammary gland as “milk” - if it came from a plant it’s juice, dammit. Soy juice, almond juice, coconut juice - what’s wrong with that? Just because it’s whitish doesn’t make it milk. And don’t get me started on “tea” that doesn’t come from a tea bush. ---
**Author:** ![Acorns.but\_not\_Bacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@Acorns.but\_not\_Bacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acorns.but_not_Bacon)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/2 "2010-12-17T05:43:37Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > [This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=589421) asks the non-question “Best non dairy milk?”. I hate designating anything that didn’t come from a mammary gland as “milk” - if it came from a plant it’s juice, dammit. Soy juice, almond juice, coconut juice - what’s wrong with that? Just because it’s whitish doesn’t make it milk. > > And don’t get me started on “tea” that doesn’t come from a tea bush. What if I dare? 😉 But yeah, the whole “milk” thing, for starters I really don’t like the dairy alternatives, I’m a vegetarian and I’m trying to become a vegan for ethical consumerism reasons and yeah soya milk is disgusting as is rice milk and oat milk because you see…they aren’t milk. But essentially, you can get the “milk” from any nut or bean you want, that sounds kind of dirty doesn’t it? I got over the whole calling it milk instead of juice thing because it doesn’t really bother me. And as for the tea thing, it’s the only name that works, what other name could it have? Leaf flavoured water? ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/3 "2010-12-17T05:47:41Z")
Just glad this isn’t Pit-worthy! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/4 "2010-12-17T08:49:40Z")
Coconut milk is very different than coconut juice. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/5 "2010-12-17T12:31:27Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > [This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=589421) asks the non-question “Best non dairy milk?”. I hate designating anything that didn’t come from a mammary gland as “milk” - if it came from a plant it’s juice, dammit. Soy juice, almond juice, coconut juice - what’s wrong with that? Just because it’s whitish doesn’t make it milk. > > And don’t get me started on “tea” that doesn’t come from a tea bush. This is the one advertising started thing that has always pissed me off. It’s not milk, it’s juice. Milk comes from animals. Juice comes from plants. ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/6 "2010-12-17T12:34:48Z")
And tofu burgers don’t deserve their name. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/7 "2010-12-17T12:48:49Z")
> [@Acorns.but\_not\_Bacon](#): > > And as for the tea thing, it’s the only name that works, what other name could it have? Leaf flavoured water? Well, if you were being pedantic, they are tisanes. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/8 "2010-12-17T13:55:10Z")
“Soy milk is _not_ milk! It’s _juice._ You know why? 'Cos there’s no soy _tit_!” -Lewis Black ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/9 "2010-12-17T14:03:58Z")
Meh. Words have more than one meaning, applying to different things that are, or are not similar. Whipped cream is not the same as cold cream is not the same as cream of tartar. Being white and milk-like _does_ make it appropriate to call it milk. That’s just how language works. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/10 "2010-12-17T14:13:16Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > [This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=589421) asks the non-question “Best non dairy milk?”. I hate designating anything that didn’t come from a mammary gland as “milk” - if it came from a plant it’s juice, dammit. Soy juice, almond juice, coconut juice - what’s wrong with that? Just because it’s whitish doesn’t make it milk. > > And don’t get me started on “tea” that doesn’t come from a tea bush. But they’re not juices. Juice is free flowing liquid that comes from a plant, right? Maybe you’ve got to squeeze it or pulverize it to get the liquid out of the cell walls, but the liquid was in the plant to start with. Coconut milk, almond milk and soy milk aren’t from liquid in the plant. You pulverize the plant part and then add water to it to get the milk. Don’t misuse “juice” because you don’t like the misuse of “milk.” I’ll allow the term “infusion” or, to be even more precise, “cold infusion”, because the pulverized bits of plant are strained out before consumption, so the resultant beverage is water infused with some of the plant constituents. It’s cold herbal tea\*, in other words. Good luck marketing that to the lactose intolerant. \*Now, can we start another rant that “tea” refers to a beverage made from _camellia sinensis_, the tea plant, not any old plant you like? Sure, have fun with that. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/11 "2010-12-18T10:35:28Z")
What about milk of magnesia? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/12 "2010-12-18T13:40:12Z")
Magnesias are hard to milk, I hear. They kick. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/13 "2010-12-18T15:09:12Z")
Magnesia Mammary = BAND NAME ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/14 "2010-12-18T17:30:25Z")
I hate it when people arbitrarily decide that words don’t mean what they mean. [QUOTE=Webster’s, 1828] MILK, n. 1. A white fluid or liquor, secreted by certain glands in female animals, and drawn from the breasts for the nourishment of their young. 2. The white juice of certain plants. 3. Emulsion made by bruising seeds. [/quote] ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/15 "2010-12-18T19:14:25Z")
Mylk? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/16 "2010-12-18T20:41:15Z")
“It’s so disgusting that even baby soy beans spit it up.” – A sick kid on a soy-milk diet, in a story I once read. ---
**Author:** ![Bewildebeest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bewildebeest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bewildebeest)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/17 "2010-12-19T17:01:05Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Mylk? Silt? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/18 "2010-12-19T17:38:24Z")
I just want to add that, yes, soy milk is usually horrible if taken straight. However, and here is where the magic happens, if you put it on cereal, in smoothies, in pancakes, in hot chocolate, basically put it into any kind of context, it suddenly becomes _wonderful_. No, I don’t know how that happens, but please, don’t let that initial yucky encounter keep you from enjoying the wonders of the bean. ---
**Author:** ![Bewildebeest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bewildebeest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bewildebeest)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/19 "2010-12-19T18:52:34Z")
Nope. It’s like you boiled green beans, threw away the beans and drank the cook water. ---
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481/20 "2010-12-19T19:06:00Z")
Well, I don’t know…I buy rice milk (and yes, perfectly fine to call it MILK, as has been established, so there) and it’s fine to me. My kids actually drink it as well as using it on cereal, but I just cook with it sometimes and have it over cereal now and then. But apparently, the brands vary a LOT. My kids only like the fortified vanilla Rice Dream. If I buy anything else, I end up having to come up with creative ways to use it in recipes or it drink it myself. Not a fan of soy milks…the only time I use that is when I make this creamy potato/veggie chowdery soup I do, and I go for one particular brand (Westsoy Unsweetened). Soy just tends to have this undertaste that can be unpleasant unless masked with something else (tofu CAN be prepared wonderfully, but MUST be seasoned correctly…I like to use it in place of cream cheese in chocolate or pumpkin desserts or have it well seasoned and stir-fried) As a kid, I used to drink cow’s milk, and then, when I was about 15, had my first taste of RAW cow’s milk from friends who got theirs in glass gallon jars from a neighbor with a small dairy (complete with the cream floating on top) and could never stomach the pasturized stuff again. The difference is astounding. When they stopped selling it altogether in my state, I stopped drinking animal milk altogether. SO, as far as I am concerned, the crap they sell in the supermarket isn’t “real milk” either. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-dairy-milk-isnt-milk-argh/564481.md?page=2)