mooblog

I was reading about the way milk prices had jumped in the last seven years. Did you know that while oil prices have been increasing at 13% in the last seven years, milk has been shooting up at 14%? Considering that the world drinks 1.9 billion liters of milk every day, it means that every land seems to be flowing or rather overflowing with milk! If you were to look at the average, I read, it would mean that every year, there were 13 billion liters more being drunk and that is approximately what a country like New Zealand produces in one year.

Why this sudden milk madness? Is everyone drinking more milk suddenly? In these days of people tending to find everything about dairy objectionable, how come there’s more and more milk and milk products being consumed? One major reason is the emergence of new markets and therefore a lot more money being spent on what till now could have been luxuries. The rise in disposable incomes now puts milk into a lot of people’s necessity bracket in countries like China, Brazil, India and Russia and there are many more drinking milk there like it were going out of fashion.

Well, that contributes to the prices of milk going up. It really is a result of demand and supply – the demand just cannot be met by the farmers no matter how hard they try. When the combined billions of China and India chasing the white stuff, one can only expect milk prices to rise, not fall.

Some night when you’re considering ordering Indian take-out, you might want to try your hand at a quickie Indian dessert. This one is a breeze to make and tastes absolutely delicious.

Here’s what you need: a tin of sweetened condensed milk, double the quantity of cream, a handful of almonds/cashewnuts/pistas/whatever nuts you have or like, ground fine. The sweetened condensed milk cans usually weigh 14 ounces or around 400 grams, so you will need 800 grams of cream. Now put all the ingredients in a large bowl, mix well and freeze. That’s it – and you can cut it up into slices and serve up delicious kulfi.

There’s nothing quite like a kulfi after a Indian meal!

Have you noticed that everything that you love sooner or later gets into that ‘Don’t eat’ list? What is it about the world that wants to make you give up everything you enjoy? Time was, when I was young – and that was many moons ago – I remember aunts telling their kids to drink up their milk. My siblings and I were held up as shining examples. “Look at them – they’re going to grow up big and strong and you – you’re going to stay looking like a runt if you don’t drink your milk!” Of course, way back then, there was no choice. Drink it they did, never mind how much they detested it – and maybe I grew up strong but big translated to tall I am not!

I’ve never asked them – but I wonder now whether they tell their kids not to drink their milk in these days of milk-bashing. I just wish everyone would follow the happy maxim of one man’s meat being another man’s poison and leave those who love their milk to drink it and those who don’t to stay away from it and not touch it with a bargepole. Why, oh why do they have to take away one of the pleasures of my life? With studies and dire warnings and facts and figures!

The point is, there have always been people for whom milk has caused problems – now me, I just go “tsk, tsk, the pore things – how terrible for them!” However, what I do not like is someone telling me not to drink something that I have enjoyed all my life. Not only have I enjoyed it, I firmly believe that it is necessary to my well being. You know – out for a brisk walk, come back starving – open that refrigerator door, pull out the milk, pour, drink – ahhhhh – heaven. And I hate anyone coming in the way of these wonderful moments of bliss.

Like I said, it’s never harmed me and while so many of my friends who follow crazy diets every three months have problems with their blood pressure, their sugar levels, their aching joints, their mood swings, I’m happy as can be – and don’t try and tell me it’s not because of my daily addiction to the white stuff – I will not be convinced. As convinced as I am that five years from now, maybe less, there will be another bout of research to prove that milk really is good for you, surprise, surprise!

So I’ll leave those milk bashers alone, try to expunge what they preach from my consciousness and carry on coloring my world white with milky goodness. If anyone out there doesn’t like it – too bad. If they tell me I’m an addict – I don’t care, I’m not changing. If they come after me, I’ve got the white magic power on my side – so beware!