Freezing Milk
December 12, 2008
Many people ask (and I have wondered myself) can you freeze a gallon of milk? Will the taste or texture suffer after being defrosted?
I tried freezing a gallon of milk this past week and here are the initial results.
My experiment was done with a gallon of 2% milk.
When it was time to thaw, I left it on the counter overnight and by morning it was still slightly icy in the middle and cold enough to remain at a safe temperature so as to not spoil at room temp. I shook it firmly and stored it in the fridge.
We drank it straight this evening with dinner and it tasted completely fine. There was no detectable difference except that it acted a bit more like 1% milk in taste and thickness. I assume this means that the ice crystals which formed while freezing became mixed with the milk when it thawed.
We don't drink whole/full fat milk, but I would assume, based on my freezing of other various dairy products that the higher fat content could cause separation of the milk fat solids and graininess. If anyone has tried this, please let me know if it worked.
All in all, I would do this again with 2% or lower fat milk in a heartbeat, especially over a holiday weekend when a trip to the grocery store can take three times as long because of long lines and traffic.
8 comments:
I froze a a quart of half and half a while ago. Just Tuesday I needed some so I pulled out and thawed it by adding it to my potato soup. It worked perfectly in a recipe!
at our local grocery store we can buy a "twin pack" of milk...which is 2 gallons at a lower price. My family is not able to drink all of the milk before it will spoil-so we always freeze it. I have never had problems, but we drink Skim milk or 1%
The only problem we've ever had freezing milk is that the jug expands and cracks during freezing and leaks when thawed.
My SIL buys the organic half-gallons at Costco and freezes it. It comes in the paper carton so it doesn't crack.
I freeze milk all of the time and I haven't had any complaints yet! It really saves time and money when you can catch it at a good price!
Great suggestions ladies. I have never even considered freezing milk. I think I just might now.
I freeze Vitamin D milk all the time. I just pour out a cup or so before I freeze it so it doesn't crack my milk jug. My kids and husband don't even notice a difference.
Wonderful idea. I've never froze milk because I don't have much room in my freezer.
However, I would certainly freeze buttermilk. I buy it all the time for waffles and such, and it always goes bad before I use it all. Same with heavy cream.
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