# What's so special about Finnish milk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [April 8, 2023, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381 "2023-04-08T10:03:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/21 "2023-04-09T04:11:28Z")
If you buy some Jersey milk, even the UHT stuff is over 5%, so just the different cows make a lot of difference. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/22 "2023-04-09T05:28:58Z")
I wonder if white nights affects the amount of chlorophyll in plants, and therefore the amount consumed by cows, which then affects the taste of their milk? Hmm. Probably could Google that, but it’s almost 1:30am, and I need to try to get some more sleep. I recently bought some of that milk from 100% grass-fed (US) cows that costs more than regular milk, because the regular was sold out. It actually is pretty tasty-- like it just has _more_ taste, if that makes sense. Not gonna buy it on a regular basis, but kinda glad I tried it. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/23 "2023-04-09T07:46:37Z")
Interesting. I’m reminded of the time I crossed into East Berlin to visit the museums one wet November Sunday (almost exactly a year before they opened the Wall). When I started feeling hungry, the only place I could find for lunch was a sort of stand-up imitation MacDonalds that hadn’t been decorated since the late 60s, and all they were serving was a plain hamburger (which they called “galetta”) in a bun with tomato relish, which they didn’t exactly throw at you through a hole in the wall hatch (but not far off). And beer. The burger came wrapped in a small square of greaseproof paper, the tomato relish came from a chipped enamel bowl, the beer came in a chipped and scratched glass - BUT … everything tasted vividly authentic, flavourful and fresh . ---
**Author:** ![CRhode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crhode/32/10500_2.png) [@CRhode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRhode)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/24 "2023-04-09T15:49:15Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I think the ice cream may have been better because for some reason sugar in Russia was good, and plentiful. One word: Cuba. The same reason corn syrup is the universal sweetener in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/25 "2023-04-09T15:58:44Z")
Finnish milkmaids? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/26 "2023-04-09T16:36:36Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Although, I still don’t know what Was it the smell of ammonia? Some milk when it spoils, depending on what little beasties it has in it, can give off an ammonia odor when it goes off. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/27 "2023-04-09T16:40:01Z")
> [@CRhode](#): > > > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > > > I think the ice cream may have been better because for some reason sugar in Russia was good, and plentiful. > > One word: Cuba. The same reason corn syrup is the universal sweetener in the USA. To extend on that, Cuba basically grew sugar cane as a monocrop for the Soviet Union because there was nowhere else in Soviet territory when it could be cultivated. They did this in exchange for military guarantees and military aid, and is basically the only reason Cuba remains an independent country. Post-Soviet Union, Cuba had to massively diversify agricultural production and is actually a pretty good example of insular sustainable agriculture despite its multitude of economic, social, and industrial problems. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/28 "2023-04-09T18:47:18Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > The burger came wrapped in a small square of greaseproof paper, the tomato relish came from a chipped enamel bowl, the beer came in a chipped and scratched glass - BUT … everything tasted vividly authentic, flavourful and fresh . Of course. East Germans were still Germans, after all! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/29 "2023-04-11T02:29:07Z")
My one encounter with an allegedly Finnish dairy product was Muuna cottage cheese. It tasted OK, but had a very unpleasant texture. Other people said the same thing, and it wasn’t available for sale here very long (that I saw, anyway). > **[Muuna Cottage Cheese, Creamy Small Curd, 4% Milkfat, Classic Plain (16 oz)...](https://www.instacart.com/products/16349003-muuna-cottage-cheese-creamy-small-curd-4-milkfat-classic-plain-16-oz)** > > Get Muuna Cottage Cheese, Creamy Small Curd, 4% Milkfat, Classic Plain delivered to you in as fast as 1 hour via Instacart or choose curbside or in-store pickup. Contactless delivery and your first delivery or pickup order is free! Start shopping... I actually wondered if this was real until I saw the date. > **[Muuna® Launches First Ever Cannabis Cottage Cheese](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/muuna-launches-first-ever-cannabis-cottage-cheese-300815546.html)** > > /PRNewswire/ -- Muuna, an award-winning cottage cheese brand, fully embraces the plant-forward dairy trend by introducing its newest flavor, Muuna Cannabis... ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/30 "2023-04-11T03:04:49Z")
**What’s so special about Finnish milk?** Becuase it’s all about “FINISH YOUR MILK!” ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/31 "2023-04-11T11:32:27Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I wonder if white nights affects the amount of chlorophyll in plants, and therefore the amount consumed by cows, which then affects the taste of their milk? Hmm. Probably could Google that, but it’s almost 1:30am, and I need to try to get some more sleep. > > I recently bought some of that milk from 100% grass-fed (US) cows that costs more than regular milk, because the regular was sold out. It actually is pretty tasty-- like it just has _more_ taste, if that makes sense. Not gonna buy it on a regular basis, but kinda glad I tried it. Grass-fed definitely tastes better than regular milk, at least to me. When I lived in Japanese milk country (as I mentioned earlier) even the cheapest milk had a fresh grassy taste. The taste of grass alone is of course not pleasant, but in milk it fits wonderfully, gives it a pleasant field-fresh taste. We were at a relatively high latitude (about 47N) and one benefit is that plants grow vigoriously, both fast and big. So I imagine that grazing cattle is easier at that altitude, since the animals don’t need to be rotated between pastures so frequently. Less energy is spent moving to graze new pasture, more energy spent lactating (which probably means more fat content). More of their diet is fresh grass, less hay or corn. They’re almost certainly happier too. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/32 "2023-04-11T16:29:22Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > The taste of grass alone is of course not pleasant I actually like it; I’ll occasionally chew on a blade. (I would not recommend this if somebody’s been applying standard lawn chemicals.) Might depend on the species of grass, or we might have different tastebuds. > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > We were at a relatively high latitude (about 47N) and one benefit is that plants grow vigoriously, both fast and big. So I imagine that grazing cattle is easier at that altitude, since the animals don’t need to be rotated between pastures so frequently. Less energy is spent moving to graze new pasture, more energy spent lactating (which probably means more fat content). There are different styles of pasturing; but there are some benefits to frequent moving, and there’s a style in which the cattle are moved daily – each day they get fresh clean pasture without their own fresh shit on it, the pasture plants get to recover more normally inbetween grazings, and the cattle are less likely to eat the more favored plants so heavily as to wipe them out while leaving what they don’t like as much to grow past best nutritional stage. People using that style of pasturing generally these days use easily-movable temporary electrical fencing, and adjust to lushness of growth – little pastures in the fast-growing spring (with extra ground generally being cut for winter hay) and larger pastures at times of year or in weather conditions when growth is slower. I have no idea whether farmers in that area are using that technique, and that’s probably more than you wanted to know about it anyway! ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2023, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/33 "2023-04-15T20:46:36Z")
I haven’t been in Russia since 1995, and don’t plan to until the place is under new management. And the 1995 stay was in a mostly empty Siberian university town during the summer break, and the 1989 stay was mostly during cold weather, so my experience is both limited and pretty old at this point. I was a big fan of the other dairy products, though - I am not a milk drinker even at home, but I love me some sour cream, farmer cheese, etc. And in Leningrad, the LGU cafeteria did serve glasses of smetana sprinkled with sugar, and if we were lucky, a few tart berries, for breakfast. Health food, it wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/34 "2023-04-15T20:52:32Z")
I would definitely not be surprised to find out that industrial food handling practices in the late Soviet era were not the greatest. I will never forget picking up a bottle of mineral water from a crate on the supermarket floor, and nearly dropping it when I saw a WHOLE DEAD RAT INSIDE THE BOTTLE. I have wondered ever since how it got in there; it was definitely much bigger than the mouth of the bottle! ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/35 "2023-04-16T10:06:29Z")
You insert them with the masts flat and then raise them by pulling cotton threads. Once the mast is in place you simply burn the thread away. No, wait, that’s a ship in a bottle, not a rat. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381/36 "2023-04-16T20:13:06Z")
Burn? Sounds like a good way to lose the sails. What you do is pull on both ends of a thread making a U-turn around the mast then let go of one end and use the other to pull it free. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-special-about-finnish-milk/982381.md?page=1)