What Is Strawberry Milk Really Made Of?

For many of us, our childhood milk came in three distinct flavors: Regular, chocolate, and strawberry. That pink carton or bottle was usually nestled with the other two flavors in a Neapolitan-colored stack and often was the least popular option. Perhaps there was something oddly artificial about the milk's soft pink color or its sweet flavor (or maybe children are just more likely to reach for chocolate than fruit).

But is strawberry milk actually made with real strawberries? Or is it as artificial as it looks? Though there are plenty of recipes out there for homemade strawberry milk made with real strawberries (typically by cooking the berries down to make a syrup), off-the-shelf strawberry milk is another story. A little research into ingredient labels shows that most milk brands with a strawberry variety have "natural flavors" listed as an ingredient, though few actually have "strawberries" listed as an actual ingredient.

The phrase "natural flavors" is a common sight on food packaging these days. This phrase refers to chemicals and compounds that are synthesized from natural sources, and then added back into products to get them to taste like anything from fruit to meat. 

The FDA states that natural flavors can come from a variety of sources, including animal products, fruits and vegetables, plant products such as roots and bark, spices and herbs, and fermented foods. Scientists break down these substances and extract flavor compounds from them to create blends that are then incorporated into packaged foods (like strawberry milk). Compare that to "artificial flavors," which are entirely man-made and synthesized from artificial flavoring chemicals, rather than chemicals drawn directly from natural sources.

So while strawberries are likely involved in the creation of the natural flavors used to make strawberry milk, there may be compounds from other sources in there as well.

Flavor compounds aside — the history of strawberry milk is shrouded in mystery, as no one knows exactly when or where this flavor of milk first originated. But flavored milk as a whole originated in Jamaica, where cacao and milk were being served together from as early on as the 1400s. In the early 18th century, a botanist named Sir Hans Sloane visited the island and took the combination back to England with him, first offering it as a medicinal beverage. Over time, the drink became progressively sweeter as sugar and other ingredients were added to it. (Cinnamon was the original Jamaican accompaniment to the drink.)

While strawberry milk's precise origins aren't clear, Nesquik did begin selling a strawberry drink mix in the year 1960 in the United States; strawberry syrup came later, in 1989. Though strawberry milk was never as popular as its chocolate milk counterpart, it's remained a member of the classic milk flavor trio seen on supermarket shelves ever since.