Organic Milk vs. Regular Milk: Which Tastes Better?

Milk, it does a body good. At least that is what the ads have been telling us since the '80s and '90s, if not earlier. And this is still ingrained in most of our minds as being true. But when those commercials first aired there were not as many options for milk as there are today.

Twenty years ago your choices were predominately regular, a reduced fat variety or nonfat. But today picking a gallon of milk from the plethora of choices can stop you in your tracks and make you wonder: which milk will do your body good?

Making that milk selection is not just about being calorie conscious anymore; the choice also deals with allergy or dietary considerations and can even come down to an ethical decision for some. One of the more predominant choices available now is the option for organic milk. And while we know that there is a real difference between organic and regular, we also know there is a pretty steep hike in price? And so, we at Kitchen Daily wanted to know: is the difference between organic and regular milk one you can taste? And if so, which tastes better? Our team of editors conducted a taste test to find out.

Before we get to the results, here are some regulation differences between organic and regular milk:

Organic vs. Regular

Antibiotics. If an organic dairy cow needs to be treated with an antibiotic, they are not allowed back into the herd until after 12 months of being certified as antibiotic free. Non-organic dairy cows can be returned back to the herd as soon as they get those results.

Pasture feeding. According to regulations, organic cows must have access to pasture feeding. The terms for this are vague; the amount of time a dairy cow spends on the pasture is unknown and most likely varies according to the size of the farm.

Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH). Organic cows are not allowed BGH injections. BGH is commonly used to enhance milk production in regular dairy cows. The worry with BGH is that cows injected with this hormone will produce additional Insulin Growth factor, which may cause illnesses in humans if ingested excessively

Pesticides. While regular dairy cows do not have regulations on whether their feed can be treated with pesticides, organic cows do.

The Verdict:

Twenty-three editors blind-tasted the two milks, side by side, and...

• 53 percent of our tasters were able to clearly identify which milk was organic.
• 56 percent of our tasters preferred organic milk to regular milk

Here's what our tasters thought:

Organic Milk: "Has a neutral, thirst-quenching flavor." "Has a richer flavor." "Tasted thicker." "Sweeter." "Has an odd taste." "Tastes smoother, creamier."

Regular Milk: "Has a bit richer taste." "Tastes more watery." "Has a more complex flavor." "Has a slightly plastic taste." "Slightly less sour." "Waterier."

Both: "Both Good." "Milky Tasting." "Organic doesn't have as strong of a flavor as regular." "I can't tell the difference." "Yup, they both taste like milk." "They taste more or less exactly the same."

In Summary: There is not a huge taste difference between organic milk compared to regular milk -- though there was a slight preference toward organic. One could assume that those who spend the extra bucks for organic milk do so because of the regulations surrounding it -- more so than for its flavor.

Which milk do you prefer? Organic or regular? Leave a comment below.

As always, our taste tests are in no way influenced by or sponsored by the brands included.

WATCH: An iconic milk does a body good commercial from the early '90s.

CORRECTION: The entry previously stated that 24 editors participated in the taste test when in fact there were only 23.

Comments

[Donald Kraig]

10:03 PM on 01/30/2012

What you SHOULD do is a comparison between pasteurized and raw, certified milk. The raw wins EVERY time. The huge milk producers, however, would find it too expensive to actually keep their cows healthy and give them high-quality feed, so it's easier for them just to burn all the living quality from milk and insist that all other milk be the same.

[Fromageball]

08:19 PM on 01/29/2012

I can taste a difference - organic tastes better to me but I don't really drink milk. I do buy organic half & half for coffee and organic yogurt.

My mom couldn't drink milk in her coffee for a long time because it caused stomach problems, and then after I started buying organic dairy products she tried organic milk in her coffee and didn't have any problems.

[TruthBSaid]

07:50 AM on 01/28/2012

I can't tell much difference between organic and regular milk, but I only buy organic and gave up homogenized milk a long time ago. Unhomogenized does taste much better and is much better for your heart. I, personally, don't believe in drinking raw milk so don't confuse homogenization with pasturization.

[lynjs]

02:23 AM on 01/28/2012

I prefer organic milk because it is the only milk that I can drink. Second, it tastes great, like REAL MILK use to taste 40 years ago when I was a child.

People wonder why folk are obese. When animals are injected with BGH, what does people expect? It isn't rocket science. Add that bit of info to the other foods that have additives in them, we're going to be a heavy nation.

Get the unsavory stuff out of the food and maybe folk won't be heavy.

[makingsenseofthings]

03:56 AM on 01/27/2012

By the way... raw milk and pasteurised/homogenised milk contains lactose... what all milk doesn't contain is LACTASE... they enzyme that breaks it down. When we are babies we have this enzyme in our gut and we get this enzyme from our mother's milk which is why we can digest lactose but as we get older there is not as much need for this enzyme. Also, as we switch over to store bought pasteurised milk, the enzyme is not replenished in our bodies meaning we find it harder to consume milk.. hence all the lactose intolerance in today's society but not when people drank raw milk as a common thing! So... by introducing raw milk gradually in to your diet you can replenish this lactase enzyme and correct your intolerance. Also, you can try drinking kefir... the kefir grains consume the lactose in the milk but leave you with all the other goodness! (http://mak­ingsenseof­things.inf­o/2012/01/­how-to-mak­e-kefir-at­-home/)

[makingsenseofthings]

03:48 AM on 01/27/2012

I prefer organic milk... but most of all I prefer raw milk... for my health - making sure I don't get all the nasties but also to make sure I get all the good stuff! Proteins that haven't been destroyed by heat... natural antihistamines... an improved immune system! I drink it straight, use it to make cottage cheese and brie cheese (http://makingsenseofthings.info/2011/01/how-to-make-cottage-cheese-at-home/), cultured butter (http://makingsenseofthings.info/2011/01/how-to-make-butter-at-home/), yoghurt (http://makingsenseofthings.info/2011/01/how-to-make-yoghurt-at-home/) or kefir (http://makingsenseofthings.info/2012/01/how-to-make-kefir-at-home/)...

[David Robert]

08:42 PM on 01/26/2012

i can definitely taste the difference. when i run out of my organic milk i refuse to drink what my parents have in the fridge because it tastes like watery bluckk. though i usually only buy organic milk on sale and will go to whichever supermarket in town that has the sale.

[gbyatx]

01:55 PM on 01/24/2012

Yes of course organic is better and organic low heat pasturized ( where it is pasturized at 140 instead of 180 degrees) is better yet as it hasn't had all the nutrition cooked out of it. But best of all is Raw Milk which I have been drinking for years. Contrary to what the FDA ( owned and operated by big dairy, food and pharma) would have you believe it is perfectly safe and has all the vitamins and nutrients intact. So if you live in a state that allows you to purchase Raw Milk find a reputable dairy and try it, once you have had Raw Milk you will never be able to go back to that dead hormone and antibiotic laden swill that big dairy tries to pass off as milk. If you live in a state where it is illegal then sorry you are resigned to drinking milk from GMO corn fed cows filled with hormones to make them productive and antibiotics to keep them from getting sick from eating the corn instead of grass and spending their lives butt deep in their own feces.

[Shawking]

07:37 AM on 01/24/2012

I drink organic milk out of concern for animal welfare as well as the taste which I find superior.

[Tabre]

09:22 PM on 01/23/2012

Not much information on the milk being tested against each other. Sounds like regular 3.5% organic against non-fat regular that was in a plastic container. The odd taste in organic may be the grass/pasture the cow ate. My college roommate did a blind vanilla ice-cream taste test. The easy winner was Thrifty's (now in Rite-Aids). When they knew the brands, Thrifty placed last. Thrify's ice-cream tastes good.

I have a problem with the comment on antibiotic free. Whom certifies the cow is antibiotic free until 12 months? If an organic farmer has a sick cow, can he afford to keep it out for 12 months when the replacement cost is $1200 to 1600+ and high feed costs? Hate to think they are milking her sick until the cow has to be sold, dies or is given medication. Then is the cow sold after the recommended drug withdrawal time or put back into the milking herd before 12 months? Those are the options.

It is your money, buy what you want. Drink raw milk at your own risk. Introduce it slowly back into your diet or risk bad gas pains. Your body does not have the digestive enzymes to break it down if you have not drank it regularly. Same goes for some foods if you eliminate food groups from your diet and then decide it smells so good, I've got to eat it.

[Rubberfish]

08:23 PM on 01/23/2012

I've had both, and personally can't tell a difference in taste. To me drinking organic milk would be about health reasons only.

[AMBoss]

06:10 PM on 01/23/2012

I like fresh milk! For generations, people drank cow and or goats milk and never heard of pasturization or homogenization--just pull the tit and chill. Nonetheless, pasteurized, homogenized, or organic, none make survival of lightening strikes are collisions with Mack trucks less likely or safer!

[Raechele L WilsonDoran]

05:03 PM on 01/23/2012

Whether you drink organic milk or not, just don't mistake it for raw milk. It's just as bad for you as eating raw meat or poultry. Some of the same people who try to sell you on not immunizing your children because the risk of them getting autism (which has not been proven) is somehow scarier than the risk of them suffering horribly and dying or being permanently physically (often painfully)deformed are the ones telling you that (once again with no valid evidence) that the enzymes and vitamins are removed with the pasturization and homogenization processes (the ones that get out the harmful bacteria,etc. that can kill you). Making a decision to not take in something that you don't have to have in your body is along the same lines as making sure your food doesn't have harmful bacteria.

[Skytwo]

07:11 PM on 01/23/2012

I'll bet I know from what sources you gleened this ridiculous "information." Do a little more research.

[GOODDOC1]

07:35 PM on 01/23/2012

www.CDC.gov Or you can check the National Institute of Health or the World Health Organization. Pastuerization flash heats the milk to kill dangerous organisms (like TB, for example) and flash cools it, without changing anything else. Homogenization mearly mixes the milk at such an ultra high rate that the fat particles remain in suspension. Milk that has not been homogenized will separate into cream and milk. If you aren't worried about the health of you or your children, by all means, drink raw milk. If you're talking about the bogus "connection" between immunization and autism, please google Andrew Wakefield. He is the FORMER doctor who lied about that "connection" so he could make money on lawsuits in England. Every single Physician who originally agreed with him have since stated his "research" was a lie, and his licence to practice medicine was revoked in the UK because of his lies and shoddy medical practices.

[gdzilla2]

07:37 PM on 01/23/2012

Don't you just love wacko people?

[littledairythatcould]

04:59 PM on 01/23/2012

I have a microdairy and sell pasteurized (but not homongenized, the cream rises to the top) milk and yogurt products through home delivery, farmers markets and to resturants specializing in local foods. I have only have a 8 cows but must follow the same regulations as a a giant dairy. I am licensed by my state department of agriculture and am inspected monthly and all of my products are tested for quality by both a state lab and an independant lab.
The reason I go through the hassle of all of these regulations is because my customers tell me how much better my milk and yogurt taste than store bought milk, even the expensive organic kind and that my products make them feel good. I will never be rich off of my little farm, but the satisfaction it gives me is well worth it,
If this test is run again, try comparing a local product to a store bought product. I would bet the results would be far different.

[GOODDOC1]

07:38 PM on 01/23/2012

I would think that milk from smal farms that have grass fed cows would tatse better, but I have no research to prove this. As long as you follow the practices to prevent disease (which you obviously are), keep it up! Your customers know a good thing when they taste it!

[Tabre]

08:29 PM on 01/23/2012

Do like the flavor of grass? Eat any grass/fresh hay lately? I have heard people are not all that fond of the flavor of grass in their milk. Whatever a cow eats tends to be in the milk. Kids in FFA or 4-H have milk tasting contests. Talk about a variety of flavors and none are chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry.

Why do you think farmers fought against a garlic plant near three dairies decades ago? The garlic smell would end up in the milk giving an off flavor as grass does to those who can taste it in milk.

[lynjs]

02:27 AM on 01/28/2012

Congratulations! I wish you well on this worthwhile endeavor. I feel like that in years to come there will be upswing in microdairies like yours because people are gaining knowledge everyday about what they actually consume.

I just wish you were in my area, NC. I'd for sure check out your product. Your customers are lucky.

[wirklich13]

04:57 PM on 01/23/2012

MMM to raw milk. More delicious and nutritious than both.

[ssnugsbug]

05:28 PM on 01/23/2012

Almond milk has more calcium.

[gdzilla2]

07:38 PM on 01/23/2012

Might have more protein but it doesn't have the same taste and it does not act the same if cooking with it.

[GOODDOC1]

07:39 PM on 01/23/2012

And much less chance of bacterial contamination. How does soy milk compare in calcium content?