from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
The senior production manager.
Milk in France,
Milk in France,
Lait – Milk. (Pronounced lay).
N.B. You may be used to buying fresh milk at home from the supermarket freezer, and in France, most supermarkets will have fresh milk in the freezer. Neverthless, Lait UHT or Lait Ultra-Haute-Température – UHT or Ultra-high-temperature milk is the milk preferred in French homes. Sterilized milk may be kept outside of a refrigerator for up to 90 days before opening. Small groceries and Tabacs will only offer UHT milk. UHT milk is not kept in the refrigerators. The milk offered in cafes and restaurants is nearly always UHT.
Lait au Chocolat – Chocolate Milk.
Lait Bio-Ecrémé - Skimmed, fat-free, organic milk.
Lait Biologique or Lait Bio – Organic milk; Green milk. Organic milk is milk from organically raised cows that graze in organically approved fields or barns that in the winter are fed grasses and organic farm products. No silage may be fed to these cows. The cows themselves are raised free of artificial growth hormone additives and antibiotics. Organic milk is always marked with the AB logo for Agriculture Biologique. For more about organic foods in France click here.
On the left: The AB initials that are on all France’s organic products.
On the right: The leaf indicates the European Union’s Organic products,
Lait Complet - Full cream milk. Full cream milk; also called lait entier for whole milk; this and the other milk products that follow are regular milk products.
Lait Condensé - Condensed milk.
Organic Milk Powder for Babies.
This product is for babies up to six months and the label also notes it is palm oil free.
Note the green AB marking on the tin.
Lait Cru – Unpasteurized milk.
As seen in this picture the words lait cru will appear on the packaging of most of France's best cheeses.
To see the post on buying and taking home French cheeses click here.
Lait d'ânesse – Donkey’s milk. Donkey milk is one of the milks that may be given to babies with allergies to mother’s milk but not a lactose allergy. Donkey milk is considered the closest animal milk to human milk.
Lait de Brebis – Sheep’s milk.
Lait de Chèvre – Goats’ milk.
Goat’s milk
Goats’ milk and sheep’s’ milk are popular in France,
Both will be on most large supermarket shelves.
Lait de Coco - Coconut milk.
Lait de jument – Mare’s milk.
Lait de Soja – Soy Milk
Lait de Vache – Cows’ milk.
Lait de Vache San Lactose – Lactose-free cow milk.
Lait Demi-Écrémé - Semi-skimmed milk with 1.5% - 1.8% fat. Semi-skimmed milk is easily identified by the bottle or carton’s blue top or label.
A statue in honor of the provider of French cows’ milk
Lait en Poudre – Powdered milk.
Lait Écrémé – Skimmed milk. Skimmed milk contains less than 0.3% fat. It is identified by the bottle or carton’s green top or label.
Lait Bébé – baby milk.
Photograph courtesy of julien haler
https://www.flickr.com/photos/titlap/2484666358/
Lait Entier – Whole milk. 3.5% - 3.8% fat. Whole milk has a red cap on the bottle or a red label.
Lait Frais -Fresh milk.
Laits Frappés or Milk-Shakes - Milk-shakes.
Lait UHT or Lait Ultra-Haute-Température – UHT or Ultra-high-temperature milk. Sterilized milk can be kept outside of a refrigerator for up to 90 days before opening. In supermarkets, small groceries and in private homes, unopened this milk is not kept in the refrigerator.
Using milk
Au lait - With milk, (pronounced oh lay).
Café au Lait - Coffee with milk, (pronounced cafe oh lay). For the A- Z on ordering coffee in France click here.
Butter – Beurre.
Lait Chaude - Hot milk.
Lait Froid - Cold milk.
Thé au Lait – Tea with milk.
Yaourt – Yogurt.
To hear and see how to pronounce French correctly see this excellent website:
https://www.howtopronounce.com/
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