Ever since I discovered “once a month freezer cooking“, I’ve become a little freezer crazy. It’s understandable. I went so many years not fully understanding what a freezer could do for me. I seriously used to keep a few cartons of ice cream and some waffle fries in our freezer. Now I have a deep freezer stuffed full of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, leftovers, you name it.
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Still, there are a few things that just seem wrong to me. Like freezing milk; I keep hearing that it can be done, then I hear that it can’t be done. So which is it? Can you freeze milk?
I decided to find out for this week’s Worth It Wednesday. Every Wednesday, I take an idea I found on the internet and put it to the test to see if it works and if it’s worth it. So, here’s how it went…
I researched enough to know that I couldn’t take a full jug of milk that’s sealed and freeze it. Anyone that has experience with freezer cooking knows that when you freeze liquids you have to leave a little extra room to expand. So I poured my two year old a cup full and froze the rest. I froze both fat free and 2% milk.
My ultimate hope for this was that once frozen and unfrozen, the milk would still be good to drink straight from a cup. If that doesn’t work, then I would still call this a success if you could use the frozen milk in cooking (like the worlds best mac and cheese, or mashed potatoes).
If it could be drank straight from the cup, that would save me both time and money. When you freezer cook, the only thing you really need to go to the store for is milk, since I’ve figured out that bread freezes beautifully. If I could get the milk to freeze and thaw successfully, then the potential time savings are limitless. It would completely revolutionize the way that I shop and cook.
You should know though that I’m extremely food safety conscientious. I’ve never, ever, eaten food that was even remotely questionable and the FDA Food Storage Chart is the number one bookmark in my web browser. My point being, if you’re reading this thinking that you would be squeamish drinking milk that was frozen, I get you. I know exactly how you feel and that’s exactly why I did this experiment.
If I end up liking the frozen milk and will drink it, then you will too. I’m positive.
Was it worth it?
Not to me, but it may be to you… so read on…
For me, it didn’t taste the same. I wouldn’t drink it from a cup. That being said, My 3 year old didn’t even notice. I couldn’t tell the difference at all when you cook with it (I made homemade mac ‘n cheese).
There are a few things to keep in mind…
- It doesn’t taste exactly like it does fresh. Although the frozen milk wasn’t terrible tasting. I’m just pretty picky and I wouldn’t drink it routinely.
- The fats separate when it’s frozen. It will need a good shake before every use.
- Don’t freeze milk that’s past it’s selling point. It can be safely frozen for up to 3 months, but it’s best when you take it home and stick it right in the fridge.
- Use a permanent marker and label it with the date you froze it and the time left until the use by date. (For example. If it’s July 1st, and your milk expires July 5th, and you freeze it, write “July 1st 2015 – 4 days left”, then when you thaw it, write the date you thaw it so you know how many days you have left to use it.
- It takes a surprisingly long time to thaw. Mine took 3 full days.
With all of that in mind, I don’t think it’s worth it to freeze milk routinely. I was hoping to grab milk on sale, or even at a good price, keep it in the freezer and eliminate a weekly grocery trip. The taste bothered me enough that I wouldn’t want to use this milk in my morning cereal. However, I’m super picky.
Even though I didn’t drink the milk, I would have no problems doing this for the kids and for cooking. The difference in taste is just from the fats separating. It’s still safe to drink, it just tastes a little different. Not bad, just different.
I would however, freeze milk if we have too much and I can see that we won’t be able to use it in time.
So, unless you aren’t picky… I wouldn’t go out of your way to freeze milk, but keep it in mind as an option if you need to.
Do you freeze milk routinely?
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An ex-boyfriend’s family did this. I thought the milk was gross but they kept trying to get me to drink it since they knew I liked milk. Yuck! They lived an hour from the nearest grocery store (they did have a little convenience store close by with EXPENSIVE items). This meant they had gotten used to it.
My Bright Blue House
Hi there, I certainly freeze milk, and many other items, too- like cheese, bread, baked items, even extra meals to quickly reheat . Our family like another posting indicated lives 75 miles from the nearest look large sized town and relies heavily on being able to budget, plan, and stretch our food dollars every month. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic- our ability to do this is even more important. I urge anyone out there who doesnt currently enjoy the taste of frozen milk to consider the alternatives. Going dairy free, freeze- dried milk, canned milk, aseptic packaging of milk, nut/soy milks, or (if you have the ability) your own dairy cow! We are extremely fortunate to have a relatively uninterrupted food supply in the US at the moment, but in the current climate- this may change, as many are already experiencing rationing of basic foods- and we must all learn to adapt our likes and dislikes. I wish everyone the best through this time.Stay well.
Maybe doing it in serving sizes for your meals would work better? Would definitely thaw faster! I thought about trying not so long ago when Kroger had 1/2 gallons for $1! But I am NOT as brave as you!!! In actuality I don’t like milk at all…I really just use for cooking. It’s my husband and youngest that drink it…oldest is allergic and eventually stopped wanting rice milk.
I’m not a fan of frozen white milk, but chocolate milk is ok… When I lived in GA my kiddos had a favorite chocolate milk. Once we moved to MN we could no longer get it. Every time my parents came to visit, they would freeze the single serve bottles and bring them along.
As you pointed out, it’s mostly the fat separating out. Skim milk doesn’t have that problem.
Ha, lucky you! I’ve heard the same about almond milk and soy milk. 🙂
I actually freeze milk routinely. My kids drink a lot but I can only fit so many gallons at a time in my fridge. And Whole Foods (the only store around here that sells the milk I’ll give my children) offers a 10% discount if you buy 4 gallons of the same brand.
As a milk lover, I don’t notice the difference, nor do my kids. It does take awhile to defrost so I always pull a gallon out of the freezer when the kids’ jug is about 1/4 full.
Lucky! Maybe I can grow to not notice it. My kids didn’t notice at all. But I also recognize that I’m pretty sensitive about that stuff.
I have frozen the lower fat milk for years to put in coolers when going camping or hotel stays.
Most hotel rooms have small refrigerators now but when my children were small they weren’t as popular nor did the hotel offer a free breakfast. We took our cooler with frozen milk and a box of cereal by morning enough milk was thawed to use without the mess of thawing ice.
That’s so smart! We’re fans of packing breakfast for vacations too. 🙂
Hi! Thanks for the article. Freezing milk is something that we do on a regular basis. We usually buy three gallons and put one in the freezer. (It doesn’t last long here). We put a solidly frozen jug in the sink and once it gets a little slushy, we pop it in the fridge. It never takes more than 24 hours for it to thaw. A good hearty shake and it’s ready to go. We’ve done all the different milks (whole to fat free) and we don’t notice a difference. But, everyone’s tastebuds are different, that’s for sure!!
I’m so encouraged by so many people who successfully do this! I need to train myself to like it! 🙂
Our milk is available in quart bags, so freezing and thawing them is easy. When there’s about a cup left in the thawed jug, we bring out a frozen quart and leave it on the counter until it is almost thawed (6 hours, maybe), shake it and put it in the fridge. Although it is skim milk, it still needs to be shaken before each use…the milk solids and liquid separates, even though it is fat-free. I’m a picky milk-drinker as well, but I don’t find any difference in the taste, but I’m in Canada, so maybe it is processed differently than where you are. When I was growing up, Dad sold powdered milk, and being one of 6 kids, you can be sure we had powdered milk at home, too, to cut costs. NOTHING tastes as bad as the old formula for powdered milk (I’m talking 50 years ago). So, maybe that’s why I don’t notice a taste-difference with the thawed skim milk. Even skim milk tasted differently 30 years ago. HTH, M <.