Rich milk

Found a recipe in an old cookbook calling for rich milk. My best guess is that this means whole milk, but that seems like the standard back then (and I've never seen skim milk noted in old recipes) so can anyone confirm?

Posie (Harwood) Brien
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8 Comments

Batman63!
Batman63! May 15, 2022
No there was an extra rich milk with a yellow label. I have not seen since the 70’s more fat and proteins etc…I believe Strauss makes a revival that is silmilar.
Peter c
 
L. W.
L. W. September 30, 2015
I used to be able to buy "Extra Rich Milk" by the quart some years ago. It had more fat in it than whole milk, but not as much fat as Half-and-Half.

I would suggest using half and half.
 
Christinalockit00
Christinalockit00 October 3, 2022
Hello L.W. You can still purchase That delicious "Extra Rich Milk " here in Colorado we have Farm Crest Stores they're known for their delicious Milks n other foods ... I buy whole milk n extra rich milk ...🤤
 
mrslarkin
mrslarkin September 30, 2015
My guess is whole milk, but the good stuff. Ronnybrook makes a creamline non-homogenized milk and it's insanely delicious. I love to use it in my baked goods.
 
Smaug
Smaug September 30, 2015
You used to see (not so long ago) extra rich milk sold pretty commonly- it was whole milk fortified with milk solids (not butterfat).
 
rt21
rt21 September 30, 2015
Years ago when milk was delivered the top two inches of it was cream ....the bottles were shaken before use !
 
sfmiller
sfmiller September 30, 2015
Yes, in unhomogenized whole milk the butterfat tends to rise to the top, forming a layer of cream. If you don't shake the container to redistribute the fat, the milk at the top of the bottle is richer in fat than the stuff below.

Hence "rich milk" or "top milk" (another term you sometimes see in old recipes). You can approximate it for baking by adding light cream to homogenized whole milk, 50/50 or so.



 
sexyLAMBCHOPx
sexyLAMBCHOPx September 30, 2015
I thought rich milk was condensed milk when perusing recipes from cookbooks from the 50's.
 
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