# What is milk called when it's poured on cereal **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [November 11, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371 "2010-11-11T23:47:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/101 "2010-11-14T14:13:05Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I have never called it, or heard anybody call it, anything but milk. Maybe, just maybe, one could argue that it is technically functioning as a sauce in these circumstances, but nobody “calls” it that. > > It is not a beverage, because it is not primarily there to be drunk (just as gravy or other sauces are not there to be drunk, just because they are liquids), and by no stretch of the imagination can milk, in itself, be a broth. What about New England clam chowder? Now, I’m not saying that more doesn’t go i there, but most of the “broth” is milk. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/102 "2010-11-15T02:42:38Z")
I agree with the other 124 respondants before me; it’s still milk. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/103 "2010-11-15T03:18:51Z")
I don’t know if people are being obtuse and not answering the question on purpose or if they’re simply misunderstanding the purpose of the question. Yes, it’s still milk. Yes, you might still call it milk. Like how burnt bits of meat on the bottom of a pan are still burnt bits of meat on the bottom of a pan although they are also known as _sucs_ when making a sauce, or like how burnt bits of meat on the bottom of a pan deglazed with a liquid are still burnt bits of meat on the bottom of a pan deglazed with a liquid although they are also known as _fond_. Just calling it “milk” doesn’t differentiate it from the carton of milk you have in your fridge, or the milk in your coffee (although you might call THAT creamer), or the milk you add to your milquetoast (which you might call gravy, I suppose). If there is no other term, then the answer would be “there is no specific technical term for it, colloquially it’s known as cereal milk”, but “WTF it’s milk” appears to misunderstand the question. For the record, I don’t have any specific identifier or categorisation for the milk leftover from cereal. I ususally called it the “leftover milk”. “Cereal milk” sounds like a good candidate. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/104 "2010-11-15T08:08:28Z")
Nope, those fancy terms apply to leftovers from the cooking process. Cereal milk is leftovers from _food that has been eaten_. I can’t think of a single thing served as part of a meal that if you don’t finish it, it gets a special name. For context, it’s like asking what you call ice cubes still in your glass after you finish your drink. Unless someone can come up with a single example of any other half-eaten food that gets a special name, I call shenanigans on the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/105 "2010-11-15T08:42:55Z")
I quote the OP (and the title of the poll) > [@](#): > > What is milk called when it’s poured on cereal > > * * * > > My brother just asked me on Facebook what you would call the milk that you pour onto cereal. I told him I’d get back to him on it; thus, I put it to the Dope. Nothing to do with leftovers. Is there any term for milk, which is used for pouring over cereal. A sprig of parsley, when placed on my plate of roast beef, is a garnish. Chopped up into melted butter, sauce. Chopped up and rubbed into the meat before roasting, rub (or if with liquid, marinade). For this particular question (milk, to be used with cereal), sauce, broth, and beverage have all been suggested in the poll. I don’t think that any of them really apply, but someone might know. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/106 "2010-11-15T10:16:00Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Eucha-Crisp-the cereal of Christ. Man, I think I ate a whole leg of Christ just this week. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/107 "2010-11-15T10:40:06Z")
The closest I can come to forcing a noun onto it would be to call it an “ingredient”. If forced you might want to call it a topping, but ingredient sounds more appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/108 "2010-11-15T12:34:17Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > Nothing to do with leftovers. Is there any term for milk, which is used for pouring over cereal. > > A sprig of parsley, when placed on my plate of roast beef, is a garnish. Chopped up into melted butter, sauce. Chopped up and rubbed into the meat before roasting, rub (or if with liquid, marinade). I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/109 "2010-11-15T12:44:26Z")
Moo juice. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/110 "2010-11-15T15:20:28Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > I quote the OP (and the title of the poll) > > Nothing to do with leftovers. Is there any term for milk, which is used for pouring over cereal. > > A sprig of parsley, when placed on my plate of roast beef, is a garnish. Chopped up into melted butter, sauce. Chopped up and rubbed into the meat before roasting, rub (or if with liquid, marinade). > > For this particular question (milk, to be used with cereal), sauce, broth, and beverage have all been suggested in the poll. I don’t think that any of them really apply, but someone might know. I think the basic question is “What is the word for the role the milk plays in the dish?” I still like “medium”. Is there a gastronomic term for that? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/111 "2010-11-15T15:36:17Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Unless I’m in polite company (when I wouldn’t be eating cereal anyway) I always pick up my bowl and drink the milk once all the cereal is gone. Anyone else do that? If the company is polite, then by Jove they _will_ drink their leftover milk as well :mad: My house, my rules! Now seriously, what the frack else would you do, toss it? Anybody who throws away either the leftover broth after eating the solid bits in a soup or the milk after eating the soaked cereal will not be invited into my house again. And if we’re in their house and my spooning the broth/drinking the milk bothers them, well then, I guess I won’t be coming by for meals again! ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/112 "2010-11-15T16:44:25Z")
“Ingredient” is the best noun. The dish is “a bowl of cereal”, which typically is understood to mean “a bowl of cereal in milk”. “What do you call the gin in a gin and tonic?” An ingredient, gin. “What do you call the bacon in a BLT?” An ingredient, the meat, bacon. There does not appear to be an exact parallel case - I cannot think of another example of food that you pour a beverage on and then eat. Certainly nothing where the beverage remains distinct, as opposed to getting mixed in to form a single liquid mixture. Pouring milk on your oatmeal, then mixing the milk in to the oatmeal, does not leave oatmeal and milk, just oatmeal. Pouring milk on your macaroni, then blending in the cheese packet (yes, I’m talking instant, deal with it) does not leave macaroni and milk, it leaves macaroni in cheese sauce. Yep, keep coming back to “ingredient”. Or just “milk” - possibly “cereal milk” for the milk after the cereal has been in it for a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/113 "2010-11-15T16:51:26Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > There does not appear to be an exact parallel case - I cannot think of another example of food that you pour a beverage on and then eat. [Ochazuke](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochazuke) - hot tea poured over rice, seaweed, pickled vegetables, and fish. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/114 "2010-11-16T00:52:10Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Spum. > [@njtt](#): > > I have never called it, or heard anybody call it, anything but milk. Maybe, just maybe, one could argue that it is technically functioning as a sauce in these circumstances, but nobody “calls” it that. > > It is not a beverage, because it is not primarily there to be drunk (just as gravy or other sauces are not there to be drunk, just because they are liquids), and by no stretch of the imagination can milk, in itself, be a broth. > [@TruCelt](#): > > What about New England clam chowder? Now, I’m not saying that more doesn’t go i there, but most of the “broth” is milk. Milkbroth is/was a popular base for many dishes throughout history, perhaps most famously outlawed through the Kashrut Laws of Judaism prohibiting the boiling of a kid in its Mother’s Milk. I argue that in modern gastronomic terms flavored and frothed Dairy has come into a renaissance in nouvelle cuisine as Spuma. I think that Spuma would best describe a flavored medium of milk. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/115 "2010-11-16T01:06:07Z")
Of course, I drink it out of the bowl… so it would still be a beverage. Just as broth and sauce could be a beverage if you choose to drink them. I have drunk hot broth out of a cup when sick… does that change the inherent quality of broth and also make it a beverage? I don’t like the poll chooices because they are not consistently logical. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/116 "2010-11-16T04:49:34Z")
Ya know… [spume](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spume). As in “cereal spume”… spuma (L,Fr,It,Sp,gastro.) ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/117 "2010-11-16T04:52:59Z")
I suppose in brewing terms, one might consider it the [wort](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wort). ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/118 "2010-11-16T05:30:11Z")
If you’re trying to be clever and hyper-literal then I suppose it is a condiment or compliment to your cereal… so, none of the above. When you pour it, it is an aquaeaous protein and lipid solution in hydrokinesis. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/119 "2010-11-16T05:39:13Z")
complement to your cereal. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371/120 "2010-11-16T06:07:26Z")
Cappy, you so _fine_… and crunchy… 😃 Isn’t spume the foam though, like the foam you get on some frou frou amuse bouche, or something? I don’t think the purpose of milk on cereal is foam. How about base? Like using chicken stock, consomme, or water as a base for a soup. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-milk-called-when-its-poured-on-cereal/560371.md?page=7)