I Miss Milk

One of the things that we have really missed from home is good milk. Prior to coming to Guatemala, we each drank about a gallon a week so it has been a huge adjustment to go to not drinking any at all. There is milk here, I just have a difficult time drinking it. Guatemalan milk comes in boxes that sit unrefrigerated on the grocery store shelves. Supposedly, the milk is processed using a creative "long-life" process that does not require refrigeration until after the box is opened. It also allows it to keep longer. For instance, look at the expiration date on the box that is currently in our refrigerator. It doesn't expire until the end of September! Something just doesn't seem right about that! Plus, it tastes like weird butter to me so it is hard to drink a glass. I don't mind wetting my cereal with it though.

When my parents visited in January, they brought us a huge container of dry milk. When you get past the lumps that float to the top and never seem to completely mix in, it is not too bad. It still has an odd flavor but it does beat the odd butter taste. The powdered milk has more of a chlorine flavor -- of course, that might be due to our filtered water.

I thought the slogan for the powdered milk was funny. Look at the picture below. The slogan is "just one step away from fresh." That is not exactly how I would describe it, but I guess it is good for advertising! When I abandoned a pitcher of it in our refrigerator for two weeks and it turned green and slimy, Daniel commented that it was now two steps away from fresh.