Milk is something of a staple product. Those of us who are fortunate enough to not be lactose intolerant will find ourselves using milk in a variety of ways. Milk is used as an ingredient for a number of forms of baking. It gets used by Britons across the country in tea and coffee, it is often poured over cereal, and sometimes it is simply drunk ‘neat’, so to speak, though there are plenty of flavoured options for those who desire them. In short, milk is found across continents and cultures, and it has become something of a necessity.

Yet, do you never stop to wonder how humans came to use cow’s milk for so many things? Who first had the thought of ‘look at that cow there, I bet her milk is delicious and nutritious!’ Somehow, someone had that idea, and untold generations later, cow’s milk is the ‘go-to’ form of milk that most of us will use. It is the basis for dairy products such as butter and cheese, in addition to the day-to-day stuff of cereal and hot drinks.

It some parts of the world, it looks like using domesticated cattle for dairy products goes back to 7,000 BC. It would seem to coincide with the end of nomadic practices, and the rise in human settlements and towns of the Neolithic Revolution, which sure agricultural activities to take hold across the ‘Fertile Crescent’, a region located in the Middle East, occupying parts of modern-day Turkey, Israel, and Iraq. This change in how humans lived enabled the wholesale growing of crops, and forever altered the dynamic of civilisation. With this step came the rise of animal husbandry, and somewhere along the line, animals like cows were not only herded for the purposes of meat, but also milk.

I for one love a hearty bowl of cereal in the morning, complete with a generous pouring of cold milk. I consider it to be one of life’s little indulgences. Whilst I haven’t had one for a while, a banana or strawberry milkshake is another pleasant little treat. As a tea and coffee drinker, it goes without saying that I use milk in those!

As the world quests for environmentally friendly alternatives to our regular staples, different types of milk have ended up on our shelves and in our coffee houses. Soy milk is said to be good for lowering cholesterol. I’ve not tried it, so I cannot offer an opinion as to flavour. The same goes with oat milk, which is also said to be very healthy. I can understand the benefits of these alternatives, though I don’t know if I can bring myself to try them. I rather love the traditional form!