Stonyfield Organic Lowfat Milk Review

Over the past few months, I’ve brought home several cartons of Stonyfield Organic Lowfat Milk for review. Like their reduced fat (2%) and non fat (skim) milk products, this one was costly, but excellent! Nowadays, I normally avoid drinking any milk with more fat than skimmed milk has. But as I’ve been so pleased with the Stonyfield non fat organic cow’s milk, I surmised that it’d be worth while to test the lowfat fat version, which tastes every bit as good as the skim, albeit significantly thicker and more creamy.

The label says that this product is USDA certified organic, ultra pasteurized, and has vitamins A and D. There are no “persistent” pesticides used on the grasses that the cows that produce this organic milk eat. No antibiotics. No artificial growth hormones, and Stonyfield strives to create minimal stress for the cows. They farm 180,000 acres of organic land annually, and support hundreds of “family farms,” which seem to be fast-disappearing in America currently.

Stonyfield strives for green-ness as a company, using some of their profits to fight global warming (via their Climate Counts initiative). In fact, they donate 10% of their profits to conservation projects that “protect and restore the earth.” So this helps me justify paying the nearly double cost for this product as compared to non-organic brands.

But to the product itself now: At 69% less fat than whole milk, this product qualifies as a 1% fat product. Indeed, I’ve consumed hundreds of gallons of lowfat milks like this one over three decades, and thus, have a good idea of what tasty-yet-less-fatty milk should taste like. I find this organic milk somewhat better-tasting than Horizon, Great Value, and others of the best mainstream-brand organic milk products. I like Stonyfield 1% organic milk the most of other products of the same lowfat milk class. It’s the best-tasting, most thirst-quenching treat right from a glass. Even on my blueberry-laced cereal, which is the place where I consume by far the most milk, Stonyfield brand satisfies every bit as well Horizon.

Benefits, Pros, Advantages, And Features

This product contains just two additives: vitamins A and D3. It does not have added DHA omega-3 fatty acids, which is fine by me actually. I’ll get my omega threes elsewhere, thanks.
They package this organic milk in a carton; not a plastic bottle. I believe that its unfettered good taste therefore, is far less impacted by the leaching plastic compounds from the bottle, that sometimes get into the milk and destroy its gently sweet yet mild creamy flavor. The carton is a big reason this milk tastes so pure.
The carton also protects the beverage from too much light exposure, which can degrade its flavor as well as nutritional values. Though the carton is by no means perfectly opaque, it nonetheless allows just a small amount of light to show on the milk.
At roughly $3.94 per half-gallon carton, this milk is priced on par with other name brand organic milk products in the stores I’ve seen it in, such as the Horizon and Great Value brands.
This milk contains 110 calories per one-cup serving; significantly less than whole milk.
It also features both reduced fat and lower cholesterol.
It keeps for roughly two months in the refrigerator so long as it’s kept cold, and you do not open it. However, my personal experimentation reveals that even once opened, this milk still does not sour for several weeks.
So it’s a wonderful drink to stock pile if you’ve got the room in your refrigerator. It keeps so long due to the ultra-pasteurization, but they recommend that once you remove the pull-ring seal from the carton, that you use up this milk in seven days.
The flavor is mild with a creamy taste, and due to this greater cream amount, this organic milk passes less light than the skimmed version. It resembles a thicker white paint in a clear glass.
This consumable is available at health food and bigger grocery stores like Walmart, Hometown Market, and Giant Eagle Market District here in PA.
Though there are dietary advantages to adding the DHA omega-3 fats to products, I appreciate that Stonyfield, like Great Value, offers this product without any more than the required vitamin additives.

Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns

My incessant complaint about most organic milk products like this one, is that they typically cost quite a bit more than their non-organic counterparts. So expect to pay around twice as much per half-gallon as you’d pay for an equal amount of non organic 1% milk. However, I don’t mind forfeiting this extra amount of money, as Stonyfield milk tastes much-improved over that of the non organic brands in my view, and is healthier besides. It’s worth the extra.

Ingredients

Organic grade A lowfat milk, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D3.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 1 cup, or 240 millilitres. Servings per container: About 8.
Calories: 110. Calories from fat: 25.
Total fat: 2.5 grams, 4% DV.
Saturated fat: 1.5 grams, 8% DV.
Cholesterol: 15 milligrams, 4% DV.
Sodium: 125 milligrams, 5% DV.
Potassium: 360 milligrams, 10% DV.
Total carbohydrate: 12 grams, 4% DV.
Dietary fiber: 0 grams, 0% DV.
Sugars: 12 grams.
Protein: 8 grams.
Vitamin A: 10% DV.
Calcium: 30% DV.
Vitamin C: 0% DV.
Vitamin D: 25% DV.
Iron: 0% DV.

Product Rating

I absolutely love Stonyfield Lowfat Organic Milk. But I must temper my rating somewhat, due to the additional expense as well as the presence of the milk fat, though this is a very much reduced amount, compared with whole milk. Thus, I’d rate this product an 90 out of 100. Hopefully, they’ll learn how to lower the cost-per-half-gallon, nearer to the 1% non organic milk that I drank so much of during the 1990s.

Where To Buy Stonyfield Organic Lowfat Milk

Find this product at your favorite larger local grocery stores, including Walmart and Giant Eagle.

Look for it in the green and white carton with the leisurely cows grazing in a pasture on the front, and with the white cap, in the refrigerated dairy section.

References

Revision History

2015-02-24: Adjusted category and tag assignments, fixed typos, and added whitespace.
2012-06-06: Originally published.