of rich and creamy
me—and more.
A milk-producing
cow makes on av-
erage six or seven
gallons of me a
day. That’s a start,
but over the years
that same cow will
produce several more
cows’ worth of valuable side
products from me. Cream, for instance:
It rises to my top, as you’ll know from
that handy aphorism. And then butter:
one of the kitchen’s greatest daily in-
dulgences, just cream churned into
solid fat. For a while, humans were
afraid of my nonskimmed versions, full
as they are of saturated fat. But studies
conducted since the height of fat pho-
bia in the 1990s have suggested that
full-fat dairy can be satisfying and de-
cently healthy. Skim milk and low-fat
cheese, while lower in calories, just
aren’t as satiating.
The gallon you have of me in your
fridge (assuming it’s cow’s milk) prob-
ably came from an industrial farm,
where the cows are often fed grain and
corn. Here’s a tip: When you spend a
little extra to get a carton marked “from
grass-fed cows,” who are out munch-
ing their way through pastures, I taste
different—some might say better. Fur-
ther, my flavor will change with the
seasons, as the makeup of the grass
changes. You might buy the same
cheese all year long, but if it’s from
pastured cows, its taste and texture willalso evolve as spring turns into sum-
mer, and so on.
Spoiler alert—figuring out ways to
make me last has always been of ut-
most importance. And boy, have you:
You learned to let microorganisms
such as lactobacillus munch on my
abundant lactose sugars. This pro-
duces lactic acid and seizes me up
into clots once I’m heated. Welcome
to the sour cream on your baked po-
tato and your tangy morning yogurt.EASY TRES
LECHES CAKEWhile it’s still in
the pan, poke a
9-by-13-inch
sponge cake all
over with a paring
knife. (You can use
a store-bought cake
placed on a rimmed
half-sheet pan.) In a medium bowl, whisk
together one 14-ounce can sweetened
condensed milk, one 12-ounce can
evaporated milk, and 1 cup whole milk
or heavy cream. Pour the milk mixture
all over the cake to soak it thoroughly
(be generous with the mixture, though
you may not need all of it). Cover and
refrigerate for at least two hours and up
to overnight. Before serving, whip 1 pint
heavy cream (very lightly sweetened
with confectioners’ sugar, if desired),
then spread on top of the soaked cake
(you may have a little extra whipped
cream). Top with a dusting of cinnamon
or fresh berries and serve.34 september 2019
Reader’s Digest