Thread: Drinkable Milk?

I like milk in the US, and so far can't stand to drink a glass here. Is there a brand that anyone has tried that is good to drink? (Like milk from the States.)

Also, WHY is it so gross tasting?!?

My 8 yo drinks milk like it is water.
We have tried various brands here in Panama and we conclude that the skimmed version(2%, 1.5%, non fat, etc) don't taste good.
We are used to 2% in US, but he now thinks whole milk from Bonlac (spelling? the one with cow patches all over) is acceptable.

We use the Bonlac milk too.

I was told the reason the milk taste funny to us was they fed fish to the cows as a feed supplement. I was lucky there was still a Canal Zone when I lived there and we got US dairy products on base. Try baking a cake with that milk, forget-about-it. Mexico has the same problem, so they import US dairy products for the gringo's and charge twice as much.

I would pay twice as much if they imported US milk for sure!

Dos Pinos IMO is the most drinkable, just wish it didn't only come in whole.

You get used to it. You might try to mix in some powdered milk. We used to do that and it helped....

if you dont live in the city , find a local dairy farmer and buy whole milk from him , i have been doing this for the last 2 years , it is like heaven on earth to be able to drink real milk again , and when the cream rises to the top , it is just super for your coffee , i have a plastic thurmos i leave on my gate at night and when i rise in the morning i have about 1 1/2 quarts of fresh milk , i pay him a buck for it . strain it through a paper coffee filter just to be sure nothing is in it .

Since we are at the topic of food, I think there are stuff here that are nicer than the US versions. Eg, eggs, some herbs are tastier, and my son commented that even the french fries have real potato taste! Maybe they don't GMO that much here.

Originally Posted by Liont

Since we are at the topic of food, I think there are stuff here that are nicer than the US versions. Eg, eggs, some herbs are tastier, and my son commented that even the french fries have real potato taste! Maybe they don't GMO that much here.

we can only prey they dont start GMO here ,

I would agree, food is really good here. Milk taste like feet though.

I would guess that the milk tastes bad because it is ultra pasteurized - unlike in the US.

Originally Posted by Liont

Since we are at the topic of food, I think there are stuff here that are nicer than the US versions. Eg, eggs, some herbs are tastier, and my son commented that even the french fries have real potato taste! Maybe they don't GMO that much here.

The chicken tastes like I remember it tasting when I was a child. Here in the States, the chicken doesn't really taste like anything.

Originally Posted by ebs964

The chicken tastes like I remember it tasting when I was a child. Here in the States, the chicken doesn't really taste like anything.

oh come on , can you not taste all the growth hormones LOL , from egg to your BBQ - 6 weeks , i do not know about chickens sold in the city but if you can buy free range out in the country they taste sooooo good , the same with fresh eggs , if you crack them in a frying pan and the yoke is real tall , that is the sign of a fresh egg , add a glass of whole milk and you are set .

Oh, I just came back from Mercado Marisco and the old CHinatown, and I saw they have a chicken shop that sells Gallina de patio. Down side is that you have to kill it yourself!

Originally Posted by Liont

Oh, I just came back from Mercado Marisco and the old CHinatown, and I saw they have a chicken shop that sells Gallina de patio. Down side is that you have to kill it yourself!

and the up side is they dont get any fresher . LOL. be sure you kill it before it becomes a family pet , i would guess they might be hard to house train LOl

When you travel outside of the US it is inevitable that food products will taste different and it takes some getting used to. On the bright side, the diet in Panama is healthier on average because the food is less processed. You are right, the milk tastes different. I buy that long shelf life milk that you don't have to keep cold until you open it. The beef here is different and nothing to brag about. The veggies here are smaller and mostly of poor quality. Rice here is of a very poor quality. They don't sell diet soda out here in the country. However, as mentioned there are some foods that are of superior quality. Fish for example is plentiful, fresh and cheap. You have to adapt and overcome. I do like the fresher eggs and patio chicken that is available. In Panama, I eat to live. There are plenty of places to visit in this world that has much better food.

Originally Posted by Pollerkeeper

When you travel outside of the US it is inevitable that food products will taste different and it takes some getting used to. On the bright side, the diet in Panama is healthier on average because the food is less processed. You are right, the milk tastes different. I buy that long shelf life milk that you don't have to keep cold until you open it. The beef here is different and nothing to brag about. The veggies here are smaller and mostly of poor quality. Rice here is of a very poor quality. They don't sell diet soda out here in the country. However, as mentioned there are some foods that are of superior quality. Fish for example is plentiful, fresh and cheap. You have to adapt and overcome. I do like the fresher eggs and patio chicken that is available. In Panama, I eat to live. There are plenty of places to visit in this world that has much better food.

Excellent summary.

Just out of curiousty, I heard beef from Argentina is good. Are they sold in Panama City?

Originally Posted by Pollerkeeper

When you travel outside of the US it is inevitable that food products will taste different and it takes some getting used to. On the bright side, the diet in Panama is healthier on average because the food is less processed. You are right, the milk tastes different. I buy that long shelf life milk that you don't have to keep cold until you open it. The beef here is different and nothing to brag about. The veggies here are smaller and mostly of poor quality. Rice here is of a very poor quality. They don't sell diet soda out here in the country. However, as mentioned there are some foods that are of superior quality. Fish for example is plentiful, fresh and cheap. You have to adapt and overcome. I do like the fresher eggs and patio chicken that is available. In Panama, I eat to live. There are plenty of places to visit in this world that has much better food.

hi poller , just a couple of questions , that long shelf life milk , is it really milk? just hard to imagine that milk could sit on the shelf for a year and be anything more than chemicals , years ago they used little coffee creamers everywhere that was just a oil product , no cream what so ever , do you think that the veggies are smaller because they dont pour tons of chemicals on them ? and thank your luck stars about diet soda , aspertane is a killer , plain and simple , in fact if you went to get aspertane approved today it would not happen , with what they know about it now , but dick chaney got it done when he was the boss of the chemical company that has the rights to it ,and you are right , the fish is great

I wasn't complainin, just explainin. The veggies are of poor quality because the soil is poor here and they don't have the money to pour those chemicals on them. The beef is of poor quality because they grass feed the cattle and do not give them corn or expensive feed to fatten them up. Free range chicken is popular because the chickens eat insects and grass and not expensive feed. The rice sold here is dirty because it costs more to clean and polish the rice and of course the soil is poor here. Other than that I like the food. And the milk? Who cares about milk? The coffee is pretty good and that makes up for it. Cheers!

Yeay the coffee is great!

Originally Posted by Pollerkeeper

And the milk? Who cares about milk?

I do, which is why this thread was started about milk.

Shelf stable milk is called UHT milk (Ultra High Temperature or somethng). It means the milk is heated to a certain temperature to kill germs, then sealed off. That is why it is shelf stable until you open it. As a result of the high temperature, some sugar in the milk caramelized. That is why UHT milk is darker, and sweeter. I dont like UHT. I hate it when they add it in coffee. My son doesn't drink UHT, unless it is chocolate flavored.
But some people like it - personal taste.
So, unless we find a more suitable one, we are sticking to Bonlac fresh whole milk.

Originally Posted by Liont

Just out of curiousty, I heard beef from Argentina is good. Are they sold in Panama City?

i have also heard there beef is good , i have never seen any for sale that says it is from argentina in panama , but it might be here , funny thing is , one of the best steaks i have even eaten in my life was at lenos and carbon in the albrook mall , every time i have had a steak there you could cut it with your fork , would love to know where they get there meat . the reason beef in panama is tough is that it is not aged like in north america ,it is very health beef just tough , the ageing process as we know it is to hang the beef just above freezing for 14-21 days , just think about that , a dead carcass hanging above freezing , we are letting it rot , plain and simple , but using those terms dont sound good in the ads , but i will take the grass feed cow over the feedlot cow any day ,

Anyone tried Todos Los Amos (spelling?) at Calle 74, San Francisco?
It is a nice place. I've tried a grill and kabob once, and it is good. My husband ordered an imported steak, and they didnt do it justice. Maybe I'll try Lenos and Carbon. It is probably cheaper! Nakedguy, care to share which "animal" of Albrook it is at?

We buy Ultra Pasteurized Nevada milk by the case at Price Smarts. Nothing wrong with it. I just grilled some 2" filets from Price Smart and the were as good as I have eaten in a long time. If one is going to live in another country, some things are going to be different. The only problem I have is I like good food and Panama does not have much.

Panama may be short on good food to some, but it is quite good to others. Panama beef is tasty but tough, just like Argentina. That does not diminish the flavor a great deal and Panama does some good things with ground meat also. I spent a few weeks in Argentina in 2009 and could not believe the quantity of beef consumed there, probably two or three times as much as Americans. They love it too. Also learned one of the reasons we don't know a lot about Argentine beef is that the govt banned exports of beef several years ago.

To give a clue on the beef future of Panama, study the business empire of Carlos Lee, an outfielder from Aguadulce, who has a ranch there with several thousand head of Bramahn cattle, which he can afford on his baseball contract. He llays for the Houston Astros and has bought an interest in a very significant operation near Victoria, TX that is a leader in cattle genetics and artificial insemination of livestock.

Looks to me like beef products in Panama are about to get better. I also enjoy spending time in the Boquete, Volcan, Cerro Punta area and feel that area produces superior vegetables.

Originally Posted by Liont

Anyone tried Todos Los Amos (spelling?) at Calle 74, San Francisco?
It is a nice place. I've tried a grill and kabob once, and it is good. My husband ordered an imported steak, and they didnt do it justice. Maybe I'll try Lenos and Carbon. It is probably cheaper! Nakedguy, care to share which "animal" of Albrook it is at?

sorry can not remember which animal it is , but it is in the food court with the big merry go round the one i order is the double surpreme , 2 steaks and all the side dishes and honest i have never had to us my knife to cut the steak , and in a food court no less , and if your spanish is good ask and see if they will telll you who they get their meat from and post the answer , i am sure others would love to shop there

I have found the most drinkable milk!

As long as you're OK with whole, Dos Pinos is pretty good.

Get used to eating chicken, rice and beans. It is cheap, it is good for you, and it is very plentiful!

Also, there used to be a Case de la Carne on Tumba Muerto. If that store still exists, they always had the best (although they were expensive) food products - especially the steaks!