Are those enormous jugs of milk in widespread use?
October 11, 2025
An absolutely enormous plastic bottle (I think you would call it a jug) of milk often appears from fridges in US films and tv programmes. Probably a gallon.
Are these in widespread use in the US?
32 comments
1 gallon and half gallon are the two most commonly sold milk containers, outside of industrialal/food service use (such as single serve bottles, large bags for coffee machines, etc).
In my observations, gallons usually are far more popular than half gallons.
Absolutely!
Yeah gallons of milk are extremely common in the US. It also comes in half gallons.
Yes. The avg American household consumes more than 1 gal weekly for cereal, smoothies, and such. I drink it straight out of the jug.
Yup, that’s about all that’s used aside from the occasional cardboard jugs, and MAYBE bags as well, though i have inly known one place to sell the bags and the recently got rid of them. Most people typically get a large gallon jug, but there are quite a few different sizes available as well.
1 gallon is probably the most common size of milk container.
Yes, I buy one every week. They are very, very common.
Very much, and yeah it’sa gallon, which is ~4 liters. What’s the largest unit you can buy milk in?
Yup! My family (which consists of four people) usually goes through around two a week. Granted, I think my brother and I (especially me 😅) enjoy milk a lot more than most others, so our milk consumption is probably higher than the average American family’s
Since when is a gallon enormous?
It’s generally cheaper to buy the whole gallon than a half gallon if you’re going to use it all before it goes bad.
Yep. Gallon jugs of milk are the norm in almost every American household.
Yes.
I dont buy gallons because i only use milk for my overnight oatmeal, but growing up, we had 1 or 2 in the fridge at all times.
I buy half gallons and it seems like there’s just as many of those on the shelf as full gallons. Mostly it’s families that buy the big size. The half gallon lasts me almost two weeks (stored in the coldest part of the fridge).
But I also don’t eat cereal daily. Every few days.. Oh and I use half & half for coffee, so that’s a little less milk used as well.
Yes, and at Costco they come in a pack of two!
Cereal is the most common breakfast, especially for kids. So gallon jugs are very common in larger families. Smaller households more often have half gallon jugs.
Milk was pushed hard for the calcium benefit in older generations. In many households the only thing to drink was water and milk at dinnertime too, which has been changing with the younger generations.
Um yeah, I couldn’t imagine NOT having them. My family goes through about 2 of those a week, if we got anything smaller we would need to buy like 4-5 smaller ones
Yes they are commonly used in the US. Our household typically goes through 2-3 gallon jugs of nonfat milk a week.
the gallon jugs? when i drink/drank milk consistently, I can finish one in ~ 1-1.5 weeks by myself. My entire family sans me is lactose (I’m asian), so I’ve basically been doing this my whole life.
Yes, I have teenagers and I buy 2 gallons a week. I buy 3 gallons with each grocery store purchase. We have an extra full sized refrigerator that I store them in. We live in a rural area so I typically only buy groceries 1-2 times a month.
Yes, very common. I don’t buy regular milk anymore, my husband hates it and I don’t use enough. Even the smaller containers tend to spoil long before they’re used up. But for people who like drinking milk or have kids, at least one gallon of milk a week is totally normal.
I did notice in other countries, it’s more common to buy food for the house every day or every other day. In the US, it’s more common to grocery shop once a week, so we buy larger amounts of many staple foods. So we have larger refrigerators/freezers and tend to have a lot more room to store food.
Yes. If you’ve got a family of growing teenagers, it’s not that uncommon to go through a gallon a day.
I like to put your mom’s enormous jugs of milk to good use.
Ha. Got ‘im.
Exceedingly. Depending on your consumption rate, most people tend to get it in gallons (the big jugs) or half gallons (slimmer jug or a carton), unless you’re someone who basically only uses it in your coffee, in which case they might get it by the quart.
A gallon? Yeah. I buy them. Milk typically has a month or two before expiration and I use it a lot.
Most Americans shop by car. Buying a gallon of milk is no heavy lift. It’s very convenient, actually. I wish they came in UHT like in the old country. But still, a gallon of ultra-pasteurised American milk lasts at least 10 days in the fridge.
Yes, and at one time milk jugs were the only plastic bottles that could be recycled for food use. Perhaps they still are.
You people just keep telling on yourselves with your little lives lol
Yes
Americans consume a weird amount of milk. My adopted folks have a gallon in the fridge at all times and I’m not sure if they’re drinking it straight or doing cereal or something. They keep a half gallon of chocolate milk purely for hangover sipping which they swear works
I think I had a glass of milk like a decade ago? Maybe longer?
Cereal is fuckin awesome tho. I usually do milk alts but sure dairy is fine, all of the milks are just the addition
In grocery store in the US, there are more gallons on the shelf than half gallons or quarts. How much an individual shopper buys depends on personal needs. A family is more likely to buy a gallon than a single person.
Lots of families have more than one gallen of milk in their fridge! It’s used up fast.
32 comments
1 gallon and half gallon are the two most commonly sold milk containers, outside of industrialal/food service use (such as single serve bottles, large bags for coffee machines, etc).
In my observations, gallons usually are far more popular than half gallons.
Absolutely!
Yeah gallons of milk are extremely common in the US. It also comes in half gallons.
Yes. The avg American household consumes more than 1 gal weekly for cereal, smoothies, and such. I drink it straight out of the jug.
Yup, that’s about all that’s used aside from the occasional cardboard jugs, and MAYBE bags as well, though i have inly known one place to sell the bags and the recently got rid of them. Most people typically get a large gallon jug, but there are quite a few different sizes available as well.
1 gallon is probably the most common size of milk container.
Yes, I buy one every week. They are very, very common.
Very much, and yeah it’sa gallon, which is ~4 liters. What’s the largest unit you can buy milk in?
Yup! My family (which consists of four people) usually goes through around two a week. Granted, I think my brother and I (especially me 😅) enjoy milk a lot more than most others, so our milk consumption is probably higher than the average American family’s
Since when is a gallon enormous?
It’s generally cheaper to buy the whole gallon than a half gallon if you’re going to use it all before it goes bad.
Yep. Gallon jugs of milk are the norm in almost every American household.
Yes.
I dont buy gallons because i only use milk for my overnight oatmeal, but growing up, we had 1 or 2 in the fridge at all times.
I buy half gallons and it seems like there’s just as many of those on the shelf as full gallons. Mostly it’s families that buy the big size. The half gallon lasts me almost two weeks (stored in the coldest part of the fridge).
But I also don’t eat cereal daily. Every few days.. Oh and I use half & half for coffee, so that’s a little less milk used as well.
Yes, and at Costco they come in a pack of two!
Cereal is the most common breakfast, especially for kids. So gallon jugs are very common in larger families. Smaller households more often have half gallon jugs.
Milk was pushed hard for the calcium benefit in older generations. In many households the only thing to drink was water and milk at dinnertime too, which has been changing with the younger generations.
Um yeah, I couldn’t imagine NOT having them. My family goes through about 2 of those a week, if we got anything smaller we would need to buy like 4-5 smaller ones
Yes they are commonly used in the US. Our household typically goes through 2-3 gallon jugs of nonfat milk a week.
the gallon jugs? when i drink/drank milk consistently, I can finish one in ~ 1-1.5 weeks by myself. My entire family sans me is lactose (I’m asian), so I’ve basically been doing this my whole life.
Yes, I have teenagers and I buy 2 gallons a week. I buy 3 gallons with each grocery store purchase. We have an extra full sized refrigerator that I store them in. We live in a rural area so I typically only buy groceries 1-2 times a month.
Yes, very common. I don’t buy regular milk anymore, my husband hates it and I don’t use enough. Even the smaller containers tend to spoil long before they’re used up. But for people who like drinking milk or have kids, at least one gallon of milk a week is totally normal.
I did notice in other countries, it’s more common to buy food for the house every day or every other day. In the US, it’s more common to grocery shop once a week, so we buy larger amounts of many staple foods. So we have larger refrigerators/freezers and tend to have a lot more room to store food.
Yes. If you’ve got a family of growing teenagers, it’s not that uncommon to go through a gallon a day.
I like to put your mom’s enormous jugs of milk to good use.
Ha. Got ‘im.
Exceedingly. Depending on your consumption rate, most people tend to get it in gallons (the big jugs) or half gallons (slimmer jug or a carton), unless you’re someone who basically only uses it in your coffee, in which case they might get it by the quart.
A gallon? Yeah. I buy them. Milk typically has a month or two before expiration and I use it a lot.
Most Americans shop by car. Buying a gallon of milk is no heavy lift. It’s very convenient, actually. I wish they came in UHT like in the old country. But still, a gallon of ultra-pasteurised American milk lasts at least 10 days in the fridge.
Yes, and at one time milk jugs were the only plastic bottles that could be recycled for food use. Perhaps they still are.
You people just keep telling on yourselves with your little lives lol
Yes
Americans consume a weird amount of milk. My adopted folks have a gallon in the fridge at all times and I’m not sure if they’re drinking it straight or doing cereal or something. They keep a half gallon of chocolate milk purely for hangover sipping which they swear works
I think I had a glass of milk like a decade ago? Maybe longer?
Cereal is fuckin awesome tho. I usually do milk alts but sure dairy is fine, all of the milks are just the addition
In grocery store in the US, there are more gallons on the shelf than half gallons or quarts. How much an individual shopper buys depends on personal needs. A family is more likely to buy a gallon than a single person.
Lots of families have more than one gallen of milk in their fridge! It’s used up fast.