Milk in Canada

Okay fellow bloggers your stories are cracking me up, you are like the Erma Bombecks of blogging. I do not feel that interesting or funny, what words of wittiness can I impart with you today? Anyhoo, in my own weird way I have to show you things that I find fascinating about living in Canada. When we first moved here and I ventured out for groceries only to discover that milk is not sold by the gallon but by the litre. I was overwhelmed because it came in a bag. Where was the plastic jug??? I could not wrap my brain around this. Eeewww, Milk. In. A. Bag!!! I tried to avoid it and got the smallest amount 1 litre which was in a cardboard container which felt more "normal". But my children proceeded to guzzle through this in mere hours. This simply would not do. So the next time I went to the store I stopped another shopper and proceeded to clarify how this milk in a bag thing worked. I even asked this stranger a really dumb question like "Aren't you worried about germs getting in the opening?" Helpful shopper's comment "No." Then I felt really dumb and proceeded to buy milk in a bag, paranoid that germs would come through the opening (at this point I must clarify, my professional background is in healthcare... I have a healthy respect for germs.) I mean really like there should have been some sort of Living in Canada guide that includes this when you move into the country. So to help you if you ever travel, move here or just want to teach your homeschooled young uns something quirky about Canucks here it is.

This is what four litres looks like.

There are three seperate pouches inside.

Thankfully the date is stamped on in case you forget the expiration date.

You will not need to forget because it lasts longer with this type of packaging....

You use each bag up quickly however it stays very fresh with this method of storage.

The stores carry this special pitcher meant to hold the bags of milk. You can buy a pitcher for around a dollar. They are in the dairy or houseware isles at most stores. Even the dollar store sells them here.

There will also be a snippit doohickey clipped on the side of the container that you can also place on your fridge. They put a magnet on the back, genius Canadian technology.

Do not clip too much off... or your milk will pour out really fast.

Action shot, this post brought to you based on the need for a sippy cup refill. Thank you for reading along. And now you know if you ever move or visit Canada how to handle the milk. One last parting thought, when we first moved here I was buying organic milk in Texas at 2.99 a gallon. Here 4 litres of organic is about 8.69. Needless to say we drink fine filtered which according to one of the Mums here is the same nutrionally as organic and it means the milk has no chemicals or preservatives. For fine filtered we pay 4.59 which as you can see is better on the ol' pocketbook. Now if you'll excuse me my brain feels really full, and I'm thirsty so I think I'll go get a glass of milk!

Okay one more parting thought, this whole post albeit useless facts about milk in a bag was to also point out that just because you are used to something one way doesn't mean that is the way the rest of the world does it. Maybe some still have milk in glass jars, or go milk their cow or mix a powdered milk. It is good to be exposed to differences and embrace them.