The white stuff: A sea of milk alternatives now available

Max Jacobson

Wednesday, June 27, 2001 | 8:27 a.m.

There's a whole world of alternatives to milk out there, and the ranks are growing. These beverages, used with cereal, coffee, to wash down cookies or just consumed plain, line shelves in local supermarkets, in such specialty food stores as Trader Joe's, and in health food stores all around town.

Those who might want to consider alternatives to milk are the lactose intolerant, people concerned about the use of BGH (Bovine Growth Hormone, a hormone used by a large number of dairy farmers to increase the milk production in their cows), vegetarians or anyone simply ready for a change.

Lactose intolerance is a reaction to a type of sugar in milk, among those who lack enough of the enzyme called lactase, to break it down. That is different from a milk allergy, which is a reaction to various proteins in milk.

Questions that need to be considered when shopping for milk alternatives are taste, nutritional value and cost. Availability is becoming almost universal.

Sue Lednicky, a nutritionist who works for Clark County, was kind enough to provide a nutritional chart comparing 1 percent milk with goat's milk, soy milk, rice milk and almond milk. Her findings are interesting. The protein content for all but the rice milk, for instance, is close to the same.

Additionally, she remarks that soy protein favorably affects the metabolism of calcium, although not containing much calcium at all, and directly lowers blood cholesterol, which makes it important in a heart-healthy diet.

The main reason that her chart isn't included is because facts with regard to calories, fat grams and carbohydrate grams come directly from the nutritional panels on six milk alternatives described below.

Here are some tasting notes on these products and information about them. Nutritional information is based on an 8-ounce serving. All six of these samples were purchased at Wild Oats Market in Henderson, and the prices quoted reflect their prices only.

Soy milk

Product tasted: Silk, Mocha Flavor. 32-ounce carton: $1.49. Fat: 3 grams. Calories: 130. Carbohydrate: 20 grams.

Silk is a highly emulsified soy milk product that comes in a wide variety of flavors: plain, vanilla, chocolate and mocha. On the carton it tells you that the product will stay fresh in the fridge for seven to 10 days after opening. It is made with totally organic ingredients, if you are worried about genetically altered soy products. It is just one of a huge variety of soy milks on the market.

The flavor is good and the texture is smooth and creamy. Mocha gets its name from a port in Yemen, reportedly the first place that shipped coffee to Europe. You can really taste the coffee and chocolate flavors in this drink, and the vanilla-flavored Silk is quite good with cereal.

Goat milk

Product tasted: Meyenberg Goat Milk. 32-ounce carton: $2.99. Fat: 7 grams. Calories: 140. Carbohydrate: 11 grams.

Meyenberg is one of the country's largest producers of goat's milk and has its own website, meyenberg.com. All mammalian milk has lactose, but there is less of it in goat's milk than in cow's milk, and only trace elements of alpha SI casein, a protein in cow's milk that many people are sensitive to. What's more, there are no preservatives, no antibiotics and no BGH in this milk.

The product is fresh and creamy tasting, and that's why it makes delicious fudge and mousses, recipes which are found on the website. The one caveat, however, is a slightly gamey finish, a milder version of what you taste in a goat's cheese. It may be an acquired taste for some, but it's probably the closest alternative to cow's milk money can buy.

Rice milk

Product tasted: Vanilla Enriched Rice Dream. 32-ounce aseptic carton: $1.69. Fat: 2 grams. Calories: 130. Carbohydrates: 28 grams.

This product is fortified with Calcium and Vitamin A and is made primarily from organic brown rice. Aseptic packaging, says information on the carton, allows you to keep the product fresh for up to one year.

This is nothing like the rich, creamy taste of milk. Rather, it's an austere, mildly sweet drink with a slightly bitter aftertaste and a chalky texture. The color is milk white, but it is thin and watery compared to cow's milk. There are trace amounts of gluten as well, a good thing to know for those on restricted diets.

Amazake

Product tasted: Go Hazelnuts. 16-ounce plastic container: $1.99. Fat: 4 grams. Calories: 200. Carbohydrates: 38 grams.

Amazake is a nondairy milkshake made from 100-percent whole grain brown rice that has been incubated with koji, Japanese for cultured rice.

Miso, soy sauce and sake are also made from koji. This is a thick drink where you really taste the hazelnut and the other flavor options, such as pecan pie and chocolate almond, to name two, are pretty good as well. It's quite sweet, however, and a bit cloying after a few sips. It's not for mixing.

Almond milk

Product tasted: Almond Breeze. 32-ounce carton: $1.89. Fat: 3 grams. Calories: 60. Carbohydrates: 7 grams.

This milk-white product is made by Blue Diamond, the nation's largest almond producer. It looks more like milk than rice or soy milk, and is the lowest in calorie of the alternative milks tasted. It's also pretty good on cereal. The one drawback is the persistent flavor of almonds and a strong almond aftertaste. This one is a nice surprise, but only if you like almonds.

Oat milk

Product tasted: Pacific Organic Oat Milk. 32-ounce carton: $2.29. Fat: 2.5 grams. Calories: 130. Carbohydrates: 24 grams.

This is the wateriest and most insubstantial of all the milk alternatives. It's really like a glassful of water flavored with sugar and vanilla, but maybe your horse will love it. Good hunting.