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Are you just talking about normal milk in Ireland like this?

https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/en-IE/products/250005606

It's essentially identical to whole milk in the US. Nutritionally, compositionally, and flavor-wise.

I really can't imagine what you're talking about "tasting like water" unless you switched to skim milk or 2% in the US without realizing it?



Nope. American milk is pasteurized to a much higher temp. It lasts way longer. Irish goes off in days, US milk will last a month in the fridge. The extra pasteurization effects the taste and flavor.


I can't find any evidence to support that.

High-Temperature, Short-Time (HSTS) Pasteurization appears to be the standard in both Ireland [1] and the US [2] -- 71.7°C / 161°F for 15 seconds.

And I can tell you from personal experience that US milk goes bad in days as well, and has for decades. I don't know where you're getting the idea that it lasts a month in the fridge.

There are real differences in some foods between the US and Europe, e.g. American eggs are washed while European ones aren't. But fresh milk from the supermarket appears to be very much identical.

[1] https://ndc.ie/accordion/what-is-pasteurisation/

[2] https://www.usdairy.com/news-articles/why-is-milk-pasteurize...


I also looked into this and couldn't find any reliable information on what pasteurisation method was actually used in the UK.

I did find that US allows the use of hormones to increase milk production. Possibly that's a factor? But very difficult to tell.


I can say in my personal experience that fresh whole milk in Europe and the US tastes the same.

I really don't know why the original poster claimed otherwise. Maybe it's just an urban legend in parts of Europe or something.


I live in the US but grew up on a dairy farm in Ireland. In my personal experience the two milks are very different.




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