If milk, 1% has turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use it with confidence and how to choose it, cook it, store it, what to substitute, and 52 recipes to try it in.

What is milk, 1%?

One percent milk is cow's milk with the cream skimmed back to 1% milkfat by weight. That puts it in the leaner half of the low-fat milk tier, a step below 2% and a step above fat-free skim.

The "1%" on the carton is a fat percentage, not a fat-free claim. A cup carries about 2.5 grams of fat, which is why the label often reads "99% fat free."

You still get nearly all the protein and calcium of whole milk.

On the tongue it tastes lighter and a little less rich than 2%, with a touch more body than skim. It is the everyday pour for cooks who want to cut fat without going all the way to watery skim.

Cooking and Baking With 1% Milk

For most recipes 1% behaves like any other dairy milk and swaps in cup for cup. The thinner body shows up mostly in rich, milk-forward dishes, where you notice a leaner mouthfeel rather than any failure.

It is a natural fit for lightened baking. It keeps these blueberry, banana and apple oatmeal muffins moist, and it stands in for cream in a leaner frozen dessert like this almond vanilla ice cream.

In savory cooking it builds a lighter white sauce or gratin. Expect a thinner result than whole milk gives, so lean a little harder on your roux or thickener. It does the job in trimmed-down classics like this classic green bean casserole.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

One percent goes with everything dairy milk goes with: cereal, coffee, oats, batters, and creamy soups.

The lower fat just means less richness, not less range.

The mistake is reaching for 1% where the fat is doing real work. In a silky custard, a panna cotta, or a ganache, the missing cream reads as thin and the set can suffer. Save those for whole milk or cream.

The other slip is boiling it hard for a sauce. With less fat to buffer the proteins, low-fat milk scorches and skins faster than whole, so keep the heat gentle and stir.

Substitutes

The neighbors swap in most easily. 2% milk is the closest match with a touch more richness, and skim goes the other way for even less fat and body. Whole milk replaces 1% one for one and makes everything richer.

Out of dairy entirely, soy milk is the best plant stand-in because its protein behaves like milk's. To fake whole milk from 1%, whisk in a small spoon of melted butter per cup.

Buying and Storing 1% Milk

Check the carton face for "1%" or "lowfat," since 1% and 2% sit side by side and are easy to grab by mistake. Look for the latest sell-by date at the back of the shelf.

Keep it cold, ideally at or below 40°F (4°C), and store it on a shelf rather than the door, where the temperature swings every time the fridge opens. Opened, it generally stays good about five to seven days past the printed date if it has been kept cold.

Trust your nose over the date. A sour smell or any clabbered, lumpy texture means it has turned, even if the date still looks fine.

Quick facts

In Chinese

乳，1％

British (UK) term

Milk, 1%

en français

le lait, 1%

en español

leche, 1%

Recipes using milk, 1%

There are 52 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 52 recipes

More milk, 1% recipes

• Apple, Pecan & Cornbread Stuffing
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• Beet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Cherry-Almond Cake
• Chile Chocolate Mousse
• Chocolate Cinnamon Cake with Almond Cream
• Citrus Individual Pudding Cakes
• Coconut Cream Pie with Pineapple
• Corn & Leftover Ham Pancakes with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
• Creamed Corn With Bacon & Leeks
• Fluffy Whole Wheat & Germ Rolls
• Fourth of July Celebration Fruit Cake