Over the past few months, I’ve brought home several cartons of Stonyfield Organic Reduced Fat Milk for review. In a phrase: Costly but excellent! Nowadays, I do not normally drink any milk with more fat in it than skim. But as I’ve been so pleased with the Stonyfield fat-free milk offering, I figured it’d be worth while to test the reduced fat version, which tastes every bit as good as the skim. Maybe better in fact, especially if you prefer more milk fat than none in your milk.
The label says that this product is USDA certified organic, ultra pasteurized, and has vitamins A and D. There’s no “persistent” pesticides applied to the grasses that the cows eat that produce this organic milk. No antibiotics. No artificial growth hormones, and minimal stress on the cows they strive for. They support 180,000 acres of organic land per year, and support hundreds of “family farms,” which seems to be a fast-disappearing commodity in the USA these days.
Stonyfield strives for green-ness as a company, using some of their profits to combat global warming (via their Climate Counts initiative). At 38% less fat than whole milk, this product qualifies as 2% milk. In fact, they give 10% of their profits to projects that attempt to “protect and restore the earth.” So this helps me justify paying the nearly 2x cost for this product as compared to other non-organic brands.
But to the product itself now: I’ve consumed hundreds of gallons of reduced fat (2% milk fat) products like this one over three decades, and thus, have a good idea of what tasty-yet-reduced-fat 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 2% milk the most. 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 organic reduced fat milk, Stonyfield brand satisfies every bit as well Horizon.
Benefits, Pros, Advantages, and Features
- At roughly $3.94 per half-gallon carton, Stonyfield organic milk is priced on par with other name brand organic milk products in the stores I’ve checked out, such as the Horizon and Great Value brands.
- This Stonyfield organic product contains only two additives; including vitamins A and D3. This brand does not have added DHA omega-3 fatty acids.
- They package it in a carton; not a plastic bottle. I believe that its wonderful 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 also protects the milk 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 only allows a small amount of light to touch the milk.
- Stonyfield Organic 2% Milk contains 130 calories per one-cup serving; significantly fewer calories than whole milk, and it features both reduced fat and lower cholesterol.
- This milk product 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 shows that even once opened, this milk still does not sour for several weeks. So it’s a wonderful item to stock pile if you’ve got the room in your refrigerator. They say 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. Noted, I say. But it keeps much longer than that for me.
- The flavor is mild with a creamy taste, and due to this greater cream amount, this organic milk passes no light. 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 an organic 2% milk product without any more than the required vitamin additives.
Cons, Disadvantages, Problems, and Concerns
- My repetitive complaint about most any organic milk product like this one, is that they typically cost quite a bit more than its non-organic counterpart. So expect to pay around twice as much per half-gallon that an equal amount of non organic reduced fat milk. However, I don’t mind paying extra, as Stonyfield milk tastes much-improved over that of the non organic brands in my view, and is healthier than those besides.
Ingredients
Organic grade A reduced fat milk, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D3.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving size: 1 cup, or 243 millilitres. Servings per container: About 8.
- Calories: 130. Calories from fat: 45.
- Total fat: 5 grams, 8% DV.
- Saturated fat: 3 grams, 15% DV.
- Cholesterol: 20 milligrams, 7% DV.
- Sodium: 120 milligrams, 5% DV.
- Potassium: 360 milligrams, 10% DV.
- Total carbohydrate: 12 grams, 4% DV.
- Dietary fiber: 0 grams, 0% DV.
- Sugars: 11 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 Reduced Fat Organic Milk. But I must temper my rating somewhat due to the additional expense as well as the presence of the milk fat. Thus, I’d rate this product an 87 out of 100. Hopefully, they’ll find ways to bring the cost-per-half-gallon down nearer to 2% non organic milk that I grew up on.
Where To Buy Stonyfield Organic Reduced Fat Milk
Take a carton home from your favorite larger local grocer, including Walmart and Giant Eagle. Look for it in the amber and white carton with the leisurely cows grazing in a pasture on the front, and with the white cap, in the refrigerated dairy section. Do drink organic 2% milk. Milk like this is certainly not “watery” these days.
References
Revision History
- : Adjusted category and tag assignments, fixed typos, and added whitespace.
- 2012-05-23: Originally published.