Milo (drink)

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Milo differs among regions, as is seen in this side-by-side comparison of Milo from New Zealand and Ghana.

A cup of Milo.

Milo is an Australian-made milk beverage with chocolate and malt, produced by Nestlé. Milo is also manufactured in other countries, including Singapore, Philippines, New Zealand, India, Vietnam, South Africa, Jamaica, Japan, Chile, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya, Syria and Ghana.

The name derives from the famous Greek athlete Milo of Croton, after his legendary strength.[1]

1 Use
2 Nutritional information
3 History
4 Availability in other markets
5 Other Milo products
6 See also
7 External links
8 Reference

[edit] Use

Cold Milo after vigorous stirring. A layer of wet Milo lies on the top that is then eaten with the teaspoon.

Milo is added to hot or cold milk to give it a malted chocolate flavour and extra texture. When combined with cold milk, it retains the gritty texture of its raw state. When combined with hot milk, it creates a layer of congealed milo and milk floating on top of the cup which some drinkers enjoy more.

Another popular use is to sprinkle it on ice cream, especially vanilla ice cream.

Also very popular is the "Magic Milo" which involves adding Milo to a small amount of milk with sugar and whipping it to increase the amount of air in the milk, thereby doubling it in size. Then one adds small amounts of hot water and milk in layers stirring each new layer vigorously to maintain its lightness. A final layer of whipped cream topped with extra Milo or chocolate sprinkles. This is more of a 'warm' beverage rather than a 'hot' one and is a more popular version of hot Milo for children.

Milo manufactured outside Australia is customised for local methods of preparation. In Ghana, it is mixed with hot or cold water instead of milk, with the instructions "Add milk and sugar if desired."

Tins of Milo bought in Singapore are green and have pictures of people playing sports on them. Certain designs may also show Singaporean athletes endorsing the drink.

In Australia the packaging is green and has people playing sports on the tin. There is an organisation called "Milo Cricket" which operates in most areas by volunteers. The commercials and taglines are "go and go and go with milo" and a popular commercial is 3 generations of women on a skipping rope singing "and my mum gave me milo to go and go and go", hence the fact that it has a low glycemic index. The packaging of tins of Milo in Singapore are also green and also have people playing sports on the tins.

Milo is very popular in Malaysia, where the brand name is synonymous with chocolate flavoured drinks. Milo manufactured in Malaysia is made to dissolve well in hot water to produce a smooth hot chocolate drink, or with ice added for a cold drink. Milo in Malaysia is served in kopitiams and mamak stalls offering versions such as "Milo Dinosaur" (a cup of milo with an extra spoonful of powdered undissolved Milo added to it), "Milo Godzilla" (a cup of Milo with ice cream and/or topped with whipped cream) and "Neslo" (combined with Nescafe powdered coffee). It gained popularity in Singapore soon after.

One can order Milo in Singapore or Malaysia's Kopi tiams by placing an order for "Kick Ball" using the Hokkien language, referring to the fact that the company has been sponsoring soccer events in the region, especially in Singapore, and has been using pictures showing soccer players. Alternatively, Milo with ice added is known as "Milo Bing", "bing" ( 冰 ) meaning ice in Cantonese and Hokkien. In Japan, Milo is marketed as a canned energy drink, available in vending machines.

Milo is also a famous beverage in Indian Muslim stalls, or fondly known as Mamak stalls in Malaysia. It is also sometimes used as an alternative to jam and put in bread or also as an ingredient in Roti Canai.

In Trinidad & Tobago and some other Caribbean territories, Milo is synonymous to any hot tea other than coffee. Tea is however a reference to 'hot chocolate'.

[edit] Nutritional information

Milo is supposedly high in energy, because the drink has 1,760 kJ in every 100 g of the drink. It is also for this reason that it is also marketed as the "Energy Food Drink". It is also supposed to have a low Glycemic Index (GI), that is, "33 made with whole milk, 36 made with reduced fat milk". This lets the energy stored in Milo be released slowly throughout the day.

The Milo website states that the drink "is high in calcium, iron and the vitamins B1, 2, 6, 12."

[edit] History

Milo has been produced at the plant located in Smithtown, near Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia since its original conception in 1934. It was created that year, after heavy research led by Thomas Mayne.^[1]

In 2004, Nestlé celebrated 70 years of making Milo.

[edit] Availability in other markets

Availability of Milo in North America is limited and as an imported product only. It can be found in Asian markets with a large East Asian American population such as New York City and certain towns in New Jersey. It can also be found in areas with a notable West Indian (and especially Jamaican) population such as South Florida. Recently, it has also been available in larger Wal-Marts in the Hispanic foods aisle. In Canada, cans of Milo can be found at grocery store chains such as Save-On Foods (Alberta and BC), Food Basics (Ontario) and Price Chopper (Manitoba, Ontario and Atlantic Canada), and especially in Vancouver's Chinatown. The Milo that is imported by these stores will either be the Malaysian or the Chinese marketed version. These two versions differ from each other in taste and texture. Caribbean and Asian grocery stores in the province of Quebec also import Milo from China, Sri Lanka, and Colombia. Milo can also be found in West African markets in Washington DC.

Nestle has now introduced a Canadian version of Milo. It is made in Canada. It dissolves rapidly like Quik, probably due to market expectations, but still retains the Malt flavour. It is also sweeter than other varieties. This Canadian variety has been available since early 2006 and is widely available in the above mentioned stores as well as Super Store, Extra Foods and Safeway.

In the 1980s this brand was sold in Mexico and distributed by Nestle. It was a very successful product but it disappeared after Nestle introduced the Quik brand there.

It can also be found in the UK in Sainsbury's supermarkets as an imported product. A similar product called Ovaltine is most popular with UK consumers.

Malaysia consumes 90% of worldwide consumption of Milo.^[2]

[edit] Other Milo products

Products based on Milo are available, such as Milo cereal and Milo chocolate bars. In addition to the powdered form, there is a pre-mixed version of Milo that comes in a can.