> That's an Americanism, right? Your milk isn't shelf-stable?

No milk, I'm fairly certain, is shelf-stable once opened; shelf-stable (until opened) milk is widely available but not as popular as milk that isn't in the US, and the “milk in the pantry” reference is implicitly in the context of having just poured from it, so it has been opened. So, while it probably doesn't reference shelf-stable milk, it wouldn't be any different if it did.

I didn't know that the reference implies opened milk; I just imagined a dad like myself sorting groceries after the weekly shopping run, and deciding which go to the fridge, and which to the pantry.

Most US milk isn’t ultra-pastuerized. The taste is very different, especially if you go for the really fresh, non-homogenized stuff.

It's the same in Europe too (or at least the parts of Europe that I'm familiar with); you can buy shelf-stable milk, but I don't know anyone that does.

It’s literally the only thing available in a lot of Europe - and it’s handy. Means I can buy a dozen litres at once, stick them in the pantry, and only keep one bottle in the fridge.

Some of them literally taste like arse (think they’re packaged with some funky protective atmosphere), others taste like fresh milk.

It's the reverse in my part of Europe (Poland) - you can buy non-UHT milk, but I don't know anyone that does.

Same in Italy, but it is the reverse in the UK.

It's not an Americanism to keep your milk in the fridge after you open it. Which country are you from where you'd keep opened milk in the room temp pantry (which is what is being discussed here)?

These attempts at "Americans do the darnedest things XD" comments always seem so forced to me.

In California, even shelves aren't shelf-stable. (Earthquake country)