Gransnet forums

Ask a gran

If milk is being delivered at 2.30am what on earth time are they milking the cows?

(38 Posts)
Shrub Tue 23-Jun-20 08:54:35

Birds used to peck the tops off milk to get to the cream. Now milk is homogenised the cream is no longer at the top so they don't do it!

harrigran Tue 23-Jun-20 08:51:00

No milkmen where I live.
We used to have it delivered when DC were young but the birds always got to it before us and I had to pour it away. If I had to go to shop for replacement then paying twice was a waste.

grannysyb Tue 23-Jun-20 08:36:41

We have a small insulated container for the bottles. Keeps them cool. Love having it delivered as it saves me having to lug home the milk from the supermarket.

Susan56 Tue 23-Jun-20 08:31:14

I would think it’s milk from yesterday afternoons milking.Our son in law has a dairy farm,they milk twice a day 4.30am and pm.??

geekesse Tue 23-Jun-20 08:30:36

Remember, it doesn’t go straight from the cow into the bottle. The milk is collected in a tank from the cow, where it is stored ready for processing. It is then pasteurised and bottled before distribution. The milkman may then spend several hours hours travelling round a wide area doing deliveries. It has a longer shelf life than you’d expect, and is highly unlikely to go off in two or three hours on the doorstep.

Witzend Tue 23-Jun-20 07:50:58

Ours usually arrives in the small hours, 2-3 am - I hear him sometimes when sleepless. It’s never off.

janeainsworth Tue 23-Jun-20 07:38:46

That’s why I stopped having a milk delivery, many years ago.
I was fed up with the milk having gone off before breakfast and/or the tops being pecked open by the birds.

Perhaps I’m not discerning enough, but the supermarket milk that now comes with my weekly delivery from Morrisons is always dated at least a week ahead and always tastes fine.

Calendargirl Tue 23-Jun-20 07:11:49

Our local milkman delivers in the middle of the night. He has a huge round. Think about it, we can’t all have milk delivered at 6-7a.m.

Hetty58 Tue 23-Jun-20 06:52:03

Our milkman (actually a woman) has always delivered at 3 am. We have oat milk, loo roll and bread delivered, sometimes other stuff (they're a little online shop really). As soon as I'm awake, usually 4-5 am, I'll retrieve it from the doorstep, before the foxes take it!

Rufus2 Tue 23-Jun-20 06:42:18

I'm wondering what on earth time are they milking the cows these days?
Mary They're New Zealand cows, 11 hours ahead so already milked and air-freighted to your doorstep.
Haven't you noticed all that extra luscious cream? grin
OoRoo

annsixty Tue 23-Jun-20 05:15:27

I have heard it being delivered at 11:30pm more than once recently.
It must have “gone off” by the morning on the recent very hot nights, which is probably why it is now early morning instead.

Elegran Tue 23-Jun-20 03:21:22

I believe they are milked twice a day, so it was probably yesterday!
Mine hasn't been delivered yet - I was up anyway so went out in my dressing gown to fetch it in. Not there!

MaryTheBookeeper Tue 23-Jun-20 02:32:55

It's too hot to sleep with the window closed so I hear every vehicle going by. This is the 3rd night I've heard the milkman delivering at 2.30am. But with the processng involved, I'm wondering what on earth time are they milking the cows these days?