Questions about freezing milk........

**WV_mom_of2** · 10-27-2009, 08:41 AM

I've never frozen milk before because we've never used that much at one time. But I keep seeing articles that say the price is going up again and I use a good bit this time of year in baking. I want to stock up on 2% while it's on sale this week for 2.49 a gallon.

How long can you keep it in the freezer?

How long does it keep once you thaw it?

Any difference in the taste once it's thawed?

**savvy_sniper** · 10-27-2009, 08:57 AM

I am not sure how long it will keep in the freezer (I use mine up pretty quickly).

I just put the frozen jug in the fridge and shake it up after a day or so. I always shake it before I pour.

No difference in taste.

I don't have a problem with milk going bad because it gets used up pretty fast. But I have defrosted a gallon and used it up to a week later and it was still good.

**Daisygirl** · 10-27-2009, 10:07 AM

Where I live a gallon of milk comes in three bags. I find that the lower the fat content the milk is the better it freezes. Skim milk freezes the best.

I don't know how well the jugs would freeze but the bags freeze beautifully. I do this all the time!

**nodmicks** · 10-27-2009, 10:21 AM

I freeze jugs of whole and 2% all the time with no issue. Milk is really high at our small town store so I stock up 30 miles away at Walmart, Aldis or Sams.

**Libby** · 10-27-2009, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by Daisygirl

Where I live a gallon of milk comes in three bags. I find that the lower the fat content the milk is the better it freezes. Skim milk freezes the best.

I don't know how well the jugs would freeze but the bags freeze beautifully. I do this all the time!

When I've tried this - it doesn't defrost nicely for me. Chunky and clumpy....what am I doing wrong? It was skim milk that I tried to freeze.

**Pemberleyan** · 10-27-2009, 12:48 PM

I think milk is fine for several months. We live far from shopping and it takes a long time to use up a gallon, so we freeze it and also buttermilk. I put it into several smaller plastic bottles, never filling to the top, of course. As someone said, always shake before using.

**madhen** · 10-27-2009, 12:51 PM

I am not a big milk drinker, so I buy dry milk to use for all my baking and such.

I did recently accidentally freeze Silk soymilk, and it thawed beautifully! So now, when it goes on sale, I buy about 8 cartons and freeze them!

**ladytoysdream** · 10-27-2009, 01:24 PM

If you have a Aldi's near you, all 3 sizes of their milk is $ 1.49 a gallon this week. One week recently it was 1.29 a gallon.

**ttistin** · 10-27-2009, 01:29 PM

We always buy extra milk and freeze it. We buy 2% and it freeze's nice and after a few days in the fridge and shaking a few times it is just like it is from the store. It looks strange while frozen though. I have only had one jug bust when freezing, I just had to thaw it more carefully and put the milk in a different container. To make sure it does not bust take a little milk out of it so it has room to expand.

**Grainlady** · 10-27-2009, 03:55 PM

-Remove about 10% of the milk from the container to allow for expansion.

-USDA recommends using frozen milk within 1-month. Although most people who regularly use frozen milk will tell you it will keep much longer than that.

-Thaw the milk in the refrigerator (2-3 days) OR in a sink/tub of COLD water (make sure the entire container is UNDER the water). Don't allow the milk to come to room temperature or it will sour quickly, so refrigerate it when it still has some ice crystals in it.

If you are concerned about milk prices, I'd suggest storing other types of dry milk products, rather than relying on frozen milk only.

My favorite: Morning Moo's - http://www.moosmilk.com/
This whey-based milk substitute has a better flavor than other powdered milk products. I generally purchase it in the 24# bucket, or the 50# bag (and share it with a friend) in order to get the lowest price per gallon. We use this brand of milk instead of liquid milk from the store. I also store this milk in the #10 cans in our long-term food storage as part of the "Seven Survival Foods".

Emergency Essentials - Provident Pantry Dry Milk Products
http://beprepared.com/search.asp?t=s...x=0&image1.y=0

If you have young children they require the fat in whole milk, rather than non-fat dry milk, in which case I'd suggest Nestle NIDO (I can find it at Wal-Mart in the Latino section), or if using non-fat dry milk then add some butter to their diet.

**littleplum** · 10-27-2009, 07:20 PM

No need to pour any out before freezing. The plastic gallon jugs are designed to expand a bit. It will be warped looking, but I've not had one burst on me in over 20 years of freezing them.

If it's "clumpy" shake it. The first day or so, you're going to have some ice crystals. If this in unacceptable, pour your serving, and microwave it for 5 seconds to thaw it completely.

I've personally never kept milk frozen for longer than a month. When my family started freezing it, it was because we did once a month shopping on food stamp day. No car, so we had to either bum a ride with a neighbor or call a cab, so...once a month shopping.