What I do know is that some custard and rice pudding recipes I have seen call for whole milk. For those, I think you could add some cream to 1% milk to boost the fat content. I personally would not use skim milk for any baking or cooking for fear the recipe would flop.

We can't even get regular buttermilk around here which I'm sure would make a tastier cornbread, roll, or biscuit. But in mixing and baking, those breads turn out just fine with the fat-free. Those bread recipes have added butter, shortening, or oil anyway.

Don't you hate the answer "it depends", but it depends (LOL). It depends on what part of cooking science the dairy product plays in the recipe, and how much is involved. Overall, the fat content in milk adds richness (in baked goods), or adds a smooth texture to soup/sauces. In general, the higher the fat component of milk, the richer the outcome.

You won't see a huge difference in something like muffins where there is only a small amount of milk in the recipe (especially if there is another source of fat in the recipe), but you WILL notice a difference in a cream soup - it will lack some "richness" if you were to use low- or no-fat products instead of high-fat. Fat free cream cheese just doesn't always work well in many recipes where the high-fat cream cheese is called for.

Milk contains proteins that contribute to the structure of baked goods. These proteins "set" or coagulate from the heat in the oven, so milk performs many tasks, and not just from the fat content. This is why you can't always get the same results using a non-dairy substitute in a recipe.

The acid in buttermilk and sour cream tenderize the gluten in a recipe, which helps to form a fine crumb in baked goods.
As far as buttermilk goes, it's always low-fat. Traditionally, it was the liquid remaining after the butter fat was removed during churning to make butter. In low-fat/fat-free baking, buttermilk is often used instead of low- or fat-free milk because the acid contributes to tenderness that low-fat/fat-free milk doesn't.

When you alter recipes from full-fat products to low- or no-fat products, you have to do alterations to try and get a similar texture that will be lacking from using low-fat products. Low-fat or fat-free products just lack a lot of tenderness, as well as moist crumb, and the keeping time is a lot less than those that contain fat. Applesauce is often added to low-fat recipes in order to help maintain moisture that would have normally been the job of fat.

I use a low-fat whey-based milk substitute and the whey has a shortening-like effect on baked goods and is a good choice when making low-fat baked goods.

-Grainlady

Well...unless I am making something like cream scones or crepes, I use skim milk for everything that calls for milk. I notice no difference in texture.
I figure that a cup of milk is 48 teaspoons, 5% of that is a little less than 1 teaspoon....so if the recipe calls for a cup of milk....I may add an extra teaspoon of fat....but usually I don't bother. If a recipe calls for 1/2 a cup of milk, I wouldn't even consider bothering.
Linda C

Like LindaC, I use skim milk in nearly everything except ice cream and cream soup. I even use it in cream soup sometimes, but it is less "creamy". That's fine with me, I don't like the greasy "mouth feel" that I get with a whole lot of cream and butter. Ice cream freezes too hard if I use skim milk, even made with eggs, so that's an exception.

Muffins, cakes, bread, pancakes, whatever, I use skim milk because that's what I have and I haven't noticed a difference. I've even used it in scones, but there is a difference, they aren't quite as rich but still good.

Oh, and ganache? That needs cream. (grin) It just does.

Annie

I rarely have whole milk on hand unless I've purchased it for a specific recipe. Otherwise, I generally use skim or 2% when cooking. I always have 1/2 n 1/2 in the house (that's what I use in my coffee), so if I'm looking for a richer end-product, I'll often use that instead of milk. But for scones, muffins, even cakes, I generally use the low-fat milk with success.

Lori

The only thing I can add is that if you're substituting skim milk in a recipe that calls for whole, you usually need a little less (maybe 10% less) to get the same consistency, because it's more watery. Same thing the other way around, if you're substituting whole milk in a recipe that calls for skim, you need a little more to get the right consistency (or a little bit of water added).

Thank you all so much! You are just a wealth of information.

grainlady... the "it all depends" answer was exactly what I was looking for... so I don't hate it at all! It is great to know the science behind the cooking... it helps me in the long run.

Thank you, thank you!!!

Don't mean to highjack the thread, but does Lactose free milk change anything in a recipe? That is what I use now that my DS has switched to it. I haven't noticed any change, but just wondered.
TIA
Clare

I don't notice any difference....it just has an enzyme in it to change the lactose to....some other sugar..I forget which.
Linda C

Again, I agree with LindaC. Amanda drank the lactose free milk "Lactaid" and I always used that in baking with no adjustments. It was always fine.

Annie

Thanks everyone for the answer regarding lactose free milk. I had noticed it does taste sweeter and the expiration date is a lot longer, but that is about it.
Clare

I always have half & half, plain fat free yogurt and skim milk in the house. Unless I have to have cream, like for whipped cream or caramels, I don't buy it.
I mix skim and half & half to get something similar to whole milk. I don't measure and depending on what I'm cooking, the ratio varies.

This past year I have stopped buying buttermilk and now mix some yogurt with milk to get a buttermilk equivalent and I use that whenever I want buttermilk: pound cakes, waffles, etc.

I use skim milk in almost everything because that is often the only kind we have. Like others have mentioned, I usually don't worry about the lack of fat as long as there is other fat in the recipe. When something calls for a half stick or more of butter, the little bit of extra milk fat isn't going to make a difference to the result.

I've had no problem with custard or rice pudding recipes substituting non-fat milk even when they call for whole. They usually use enough eggs that there is enough fat from the yolks for richness.

If it is a recipe where I'm concerned, I'll add a bit of cream to approximate the fat of whole milk.