substituting milk

[CLCH]

Do you guys ever substitute skim milk for the 2% that CL often calls for? I was thinking of making pan seared scallops with chili cream sauce tonight from the recipe finder, and the recipe calls for 3/4 cup 2% milk. I only drink skim, and my grocery only carries 2% in the half gallon size or larger. It seems so wasteful to buy a half gallon for such a small amount. If I use the skim instead, do you think I should add a little more oil or butter to the recipe?

[Peeps]

One of my pet peeves with CL is all the different milks they call for (1%, 2%, etc.). I use ONLY skim milk - I have NEVER used anything else and my results are always fine. I've been cooking from CL for many years and have never had a problem using skim in place of any other kind of milk (I use the exact same amounts and don't change anything else in the recipe). Using anything other than skim seems like such a useless and needless addition of fat in my opinion and I don't know why they always use different percents. So my advice is use the skim and go for it, there shouldn't be any problem.

[SusanT]

I think the reason for having at least some milkfat is that skim milk will curdle sometimes in the presence of acidic ingredients. (Make some cambell's tomato soup with skim milk and see this in action.) The milkfat also helps to bind the flavors together.

Buy the 2% and use the rest in your coffee. Or why not freeze it in small quantities?

[AndreaU]

Like Peeps (my favorite candy this time of year...), I only use skim milk and my recipes also come out fine. I haven't consumed any other kind of milk in so long (6+ years I think) I don't even miss the fat. It's a nice balance especially when I use cheese in a recipe- there aren't too many low-fat and non-fat cheeses that taste good and work well in cooking, so I go for the fat cheese and fat-free milk!

[Peeps]

AndreaU-
Glad to hear I'm not the only one who ignores the 1% or 2% in CL recipes and just uses skim! I haven't had anything but skim in so long that even 1% tastes like heavy cream to me! I refuse to buy anything but skim and think CL should really think twice before adding the extra fat from other milks - not to mention making people have to buy 3 different kinds of milk! (I've never had my skim curdle in anything by the way!)

[tobykitty]

Another vote from skim milk. Thats all I buy and I've never had any problems.

[ewatkins]

Sometimes for a little richer tatse I add some dry milk to the skim.

[funnybone]

You can buy pints at a convenience store, if you must have it. We only use 1%, but I have half and half for coffee. Somtimes I will add a a couple of drops to the 1% to make it more fatty, if necessary.

[Sara Emily]

I freeze small plastic containers of 2% milk for just such recipes and then whisk it after thawing, before using it, since it can sort of separate in the process, but the flavor is just fine.

In our area, 1% milk is an "on again, off again" item as far as availability is concerned. But skim (my staple for usage!) and 2% are always available. If a recipe call for 1 cup 1% milk, I usually fill half the cup with 2% and half with skim, and it seems to do nicely.

[Longhorn]

Oh, I'm the oddball here! I LOVE 2% milk! I love whole milk too, but even I have to admit that it's too fatty. It's my husband that insists on skim milk! So we compromise on 1/2%. But I just can't drink the stuff. It's only good for cereal. I love using CL as an excuse to buy 2% sometimes!
But, like the rest of you, I usually just use whatever milk I have in the fridge regardless of what the recipe calls for.

[Jewel]

Another vote for skim milk in nearly all the recipes! I did buy 1% last week for some recipe that I felt needed the extra 'creamy' texture, and I was amazed when I poured it into my big 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup. It wasn't transparent! That looked like whole milk to me...imagine how thick and gooey whole milk would be to us now? If there is that much difference between skim and 1%, you would think that 1% would do just fine also, and skip the 2%!

I rarely deviate from the skim milk substitution, but when a recipe calls for anything ABOVE 2%, like half & half, I'll usually use it. If it's a 'simmering' or boiling recipe calling for heavy cream, I'll usually use half & half and thicken the mixture a bit with cornstarch. So far, no problems!

[Searcher]

Quite a few sauces will curdle or separate when you use skim milk. I like using the fat free Land O' Lakes half and half when I need something richer.