All about Milk

Whether gulped by the glass or added to your favourite recipes, Canadian milk is a nutritious and delicious staple. See how Canadian milk you love makes its way from the farm to your local grocery store.

Nutritious and delicious, milk has been one of the most essential foods in our daily lives for centuries. It’s also the key ingredient in so many of the foods we love, from butter and cream to cheese, yogurt, and ice cream.

Read on to find out more about the different types of milk, its nutritional value, and everything you can use milk for to make your meals taste that much better, from cooking to baking to heating it up for hot chocolate. Plus, we’ve got dozens of recipes featuring milk! From your morning coffee or smoothie, to a chilled glass with dessert, milk is enjoyable from the start of the day to the end.

All kinds of Milk

Whole milk

At 3.25% milk fat, this velvety-smooth barista favourite tastes lighter than cream, but more full-bodied than skim milk.
Partly skimmed milk

This type includes 1% or 2% milk depending on the quantity of milk fat. Both are equally delicious for sipping straight or incorporating into an array of dishes.
Skim milk

With only about 0.1% milk fat, this virtually fat-free variety is as thirst-quenching as it is delicious.
Chocolate milk

As a morning boost or after-dinner treat, chocolate milk is a perfect way to get all the same essential nutrients as white milk in a silky sweet sip.
Filtered milk

Microfiltered or ultrafiltered milk is sifted through extra fine filters to remove residual microorganisms. This process helps this delicious milk stay fresh longer.
Lactose-free milk

Thanks to a process that breaks down lactose, the sugar naturally found in milk, people with lactose intolerance can still enjoy the nutritious and delicious benefits of milk without any discomfort.
Organic milk

Equally safe and delicious as its regular counterpart, organic milk comes from cows fed an organic diet on certified organic farms.
Buttermilk

The perfect addition to soups, salads, and baked goods, buttermilk gets its unique tangy flavour by adding a bacterial culture to fresh milk.
Lots more

From evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk, to UHT (ultra-high temperature) milk, powdered milk, and more, there’s a variety of Canadian milk for every occasion and every recipe.

How to make the most of it

Sweet dreams

A comforting way to relax before bed is with a warm glass of milk. Heat milk gently and slowly for a smooth consistency.

A cup of creamy goodness

For a more luxurious-tasting hot chocolate with a boost of nutrients, blend the mix with milk instead of water.

Keep it cool

At the grocery store, place the carton of milk in your shopping cart last and, at the cash, pack it up in an insulated reusable bag to keep it cool and fresh.

Keeping it cool

As cows are milked, the milk is carried from the milker through a pipeline and stored directly in refrigerated stainless steel tanks to reduce bacterial growth and maximize freshness.

Put to the test

A certified milk grader collects milk at the farm. Milk is sampled and evaluated before it’s onloaded onto the truck and tested again before it’s offloaded at the plant. Only high-quality milk that’s free of antibiotics can enter the plant.

All kinds of delicious

Cream is separated from the non-fat milk by a centrifugal machine, then adjusted in standard proportion to create the 4 varieties of milk Canadians know and love: 3.25% (whole milk), 1% and 2% (partly-skimmed milk), and 0% (skim milk).

Ready to enjoy

Milk is pasteurized to eliminate bacteria, homogenized for an even texture, and finally vitamins are added (vitamin D to all varieties, and vitamin A to partly-skimmed and skim milk). It’s then packaged and shipped to your local grocery store, where it’s ready for you.