National Dairy Month

Stefan Kühn / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

June is National Dairy Month in the United States.

Dairy is a term used to describe dairy products, which are foods made from the milk of mammals. When used by itself, dairy is also the place where those products are made.

Cow's milk is the most common milk used worldwide in the manufacture of dairy products, but it is not the only one. Sheep and goat's milk are also used, as are others. Dairy products are most common in European, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines, as well as those descended from them.

Some typical dairy products are cheese, butter, yoghurt, custard and ice cream, all of which come in many different varieties. Fermented milk products are another branch of dairy products. Though dairy products are widely consumed, some groups do avoid them, sometimes for religious reasons, sometimes because of non-religious beliefs, such as with vegans.