The Ultimate Guide to Freezing Milk
Whether you’re heading out of town for the weekend or just want to stock up on non-perishable essentials, it’s always handy to have some frozen milk in your freezer. Not only can you easily heat it when needed, but it keeps it from spoiling and helps cut back on food waste. However, if you don’t know how to freeze milk properly, it can end up tasting funny or lacking in nutrients — two things nobody wants!
Luckily, freezing milk is simple! Whether you plan to use it while traveling or to have it on hand just in case, these tips and tricks will help you safely freeze milk without compromising its freshness, texture, and quality.
Milk Shelf Life
Milk’s shelf life will vary depending on how it is stored. It can be stored at room temperature for up to two days, in the refrigerator for up to seven days, or in the freezer for up to twelve months.
If you plan to drink the milk, you should only freeze it for about a month. After that, it tends to separate and become grainy. That milk, while still good to drink, doesn’t have the creamy texture you are used to. However, frozen milk for more than a month is great to use for baking and cooking.
Tips for Freezing Milk
Increase dairy shelf life by freezing it. You can freeze milk products, cheese, and butter. When freezing milk, keep these tips in mind:
- Make sure you use an airtight container. Milk picks up odors from other products easily, and it changes the flavor of the milk.
- Leave at least an inch of headspace in any container you use to freeze milk. If you freeze it in pint or quart glass jars, leave at least 1.5 inches of headspace. Milk expands when you freeze it, and it could crack the glass and cause a huge mess – never mind the waste.
Since milk with a higher fat content has more fat to separate, skim milk freezes better. However, just because the milk separates doesn’t mean it’s bad. Just shake the container once it thaws, and it will reincorporate.
Thawing Milk
Because bacteria grows once the temperature of the milk reaches 40 degrees Fahrenheit, you should always thaw milk in the refrigerator and never on the counter. If you need to thaw it faster, you can:
- Put the container of milk in a bowl of cold water and put it in the fridge. Make sure the container is airtight, so the water doesn’t mix in with the milk.
- Thaw the milk in the microwave. Thaw at 15-second intervals, shaking the milk between thawing times. If you use this option, always use the milk for cooking immediately.
In most cases, you’ll need about a day and a half to thaw a Ball pint jar of milk if you put it in the fridge.
Once you thaw the milk, you’ll notice that it is separated, especially if the milk was in the freezer for more than three to four weeks. Just give it a good shake, and the milk solids will reincorporate with the liquid.
Methods to Freeze Fresh Milk
You can freeze fresh milk in several ways, depending on how much you use.
- Use Ball pint jars. You’ll get about two cups in each jar. Because they are glass, be sure to leave plenty of headroom for expansion.
- Use ice cube trays. Two cubes equal about ¼ cup of milk.
- Put milk in quart freezer bags. Be sure to use quality freezer bags. Press out as much air as possible, then seal the bags. Lay them flat on a cookie sheet to freeze. Once they are frozen, you can remove them from the cookie sheet and stack them up. This method takes the least amount of space.
Never use cardboard containers to freeze milk. If you use plastic containers, you must also leave the same headroom as you leave when freezing in glass containers. Be sure to use containers designed for the freezer. The jugs that the milk comes in are not freezer safe.
Go ahead and freeze the milk you want to use for cooking instead of throwing it away. You’ll save money by using it all – and by buying it by the gallon instead of the smaller containers.
