Of Plastic Bags and Liquids!

Did you know that we do not all get our milk in the same manner?

Yes, technically, all animal milk comes from a mammal, whether it be a cow, a sheep, a goat or whichever animals live in your part of the world. What is different is the way that milk arrives in your kitchen!

A disclaimer, this is not an article about how plastic kills dolphins and turtles, even though you got to admit humans are responsible for quite a fair bit of pollution, and I hope you pay attention to how much plastic you use.

Back to the topic at hand!

It all started with a conversation between expat about cultural differences, which in turn led to milk. I know, a rather fascinating topic, right? I can see your raised eyebrow and doubtful expression, have a little faith people!

Growing up in France, most of the milk we drank was UHT (Ultra High Temperature) milk, meaning that it lasts forever and comes in bricks. In England, the US or Singapore, people tend to drink their milk “fresh” (non-UHT treated), and it usually comes in plastic bottles, even though cardboard cartons are also available. Having both experienced life in Canada, we reminisced about how we saw milk coming in plastic bags, and down a rabbit hole I went!

Canadian are known for few things, such as politeness or poutine. What they are not known for, is doing things just for the sake of being different, which means there must be a reason for the milk pouch!

It all started with Canada seeing the light and converting to the metric system in the 1970s. Until then, milk had come in reusable imperial unit glass milk bottles, cardboard cartons or plastic jugs. Applying the metric system meant changing the containers, and doing so with a plastic pouch was the most cost-efficient. In addition, a regulation in Ontario required retailers to collect a deposit on milk jugs, but not bags. As a nice side benefit, the plastic bag uses 75% less plastic than the average milk jug and is (it seems) easier to ship.

That being said, not all of Canada adopted the milk pouch. You won’t find them much in western Canada or Newfoundland for example, and they are most used in Ontario, Québec and the Maritimes.

And just when I was about to say ‘isn’t that fascinating’, I read that Canada was not the only country using a bag. My mind was blown!

You can find milk in pouch in South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay), Iran, Israel, some continental European countries (such as Hungary for example) and India. Some Baltic and Eastern European countries use similar bags for yogurt and kefir.

Israel introduced milk bags in the 1960s, and interestingly enough, the milk bag is a regulated product, meaning that the price is controlled by the state, which is not the case of other milk containers. Another random fact is the way the socioeconomic status of an area is measured based on the sales ratio of milk cartons versus bagged milk. The highest the milk cartons sales, the highest the status of the region.

Now, because one rabbit hole wasn’t enough, milk and bag led to coffee. Logical, right?

Did you know that if you ask for a coffee to go in Singapore, you have a fair chance of walking away with your coffee in a plastic bag? This is called a Kopitiam (coffee shop) da bao (takeaway).

My mind struggles a little bit with the concept of carrying my coffee in an actual plastic bag, and then drinking it. To be fair, the latter part only disturbs me because I am rather clumsy and seriously doubt I could drink said coffee without pouring half on myself.

A little side note in case you’re curious about what makes a Singaporean coffee special, apart from being transported in a plastic bag that is. The beans are no different from what we find in most other countries. What makes it typical of Singapore is the way the beans are roasted with butter or margarine (or lard!), and sometimes sugar, to lend them an especially rich, dark character. The shells turn oily and aromatic, caramelized and browned, but not burnt.

Part of me is curious to try and part of me is left raising an eyebrow. Only one way to know whether it is a good idea or not: try it!

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