This has happened to me at least twice in the last month or two. I tend to use a gallon of milk a week sometimes a little longer. I have had at least two go bad and become gelatinous with over a week or more before their sell by date. Has anyone else had this happen to them?
Milk going bad a week or more before it's sell by date?
- Thread starter tehnothing
- Start date
Quite often that happens. I just used to take it into account and adjust to it. We tried different brands until we found one that didn't.. Store brands seem to last longer.. We use almond milk vanilla now and don't have that problem anymore..
The Walmart Milk we buy will last two weeks after the expiration date. 
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
We buy supermarket whole milk in one litre plastic bottles and find that if kept in the fridge at about 5 centigrade it is good for three or four days after the use by date.
It is mostly a function of temperature times time as the change is mostly driven chemically, rather than biologically from bacteria. Light also damages it. As others have said, upstream distribution practices play an important role. Aldi's milk from their Southeast Michigan stores lasts me a long time.
You could try milk from different supply chains, you could put a cooler bag in your car, and you could put a thermometer in your fridge. I have done all three.
You could try milk from different supply chains, you could put a cooler bag in your car, and you could put a thermometer in your fridge. I have done all three.
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- #6
This has happened to me with both Walmart and Aldi. I am wondering if it is the temp in my fridge.
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- #7
As far as milk alternatives go I do sometimes get oatmilk as I like it in my coffee. I generally use regular milk for breakfast shakes and can see using oatmilk for that as well.
I have noticed that milk with a higher fat content will last longer than milk with no fat. My half&half and cream containers will have a useable period, a month longer than my milk.
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- #9
I have noticed that my creams do last longer. You may have something there as I usually buy 2% milk.
All I buy is Lifeway plain lowfat kefir milk these days. I usually drink a small glass when I wake up before I have my coffee.
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- #11
I like half and half, cream, or, oatmilk with my coffee. Before that though I drink a breakfast shake made with milk for the calories required for my medications. I may look for an alternative for that or just make the switch to oatmilk only. I am sadly not a fan of kefir.
I drink my coffee black, but the kefir really helps settle my stomach. I used to drink kombucha but the kefir seems to work better for me.
I had a problem a year or so back with a local brand that came in several sizes of container. The 2-litre jugs always seemed fine, but the 4-litre jugs tended to be ropy. That's kinda inconvenient when you've spent the morning working on a batch of cottage cheese and realize when it's time to drain the whey that the milk was ropy.
Changed brands and worked with the store, which contacted the dairy. Problem solved, I heard.
At the moment we're limiting our dairy a bit until we see how the "avian" flu plays out. Not that we've had any indication that it's in our supply chain but we also see that most governments are just not even testing for it and saying, "Oh, we don't have that..." To rather flip Lord Kelvin on his head, "If you don't measure, you don't know."
O.H.
Changed brands and worked with the store, which contacted the dairy. Problem solved, I heard.
At the moment we're limiting our dairy a bit until we see how the "avian" flu plays out. Not that we've had any indication that it's in our supply chain but we also see that most governments are just not even testing for it and saying, "Oh, we don't have that..." To rather flip Lord Kelvin on his head, "If you don't measure, you don't know."
O.H.
Buy a temp monitor for your fridge and monitor it. Many will track the temps amd record them for long periods.
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- #15
This is a whole new rabbit hole. I will look more into it on Friday.
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- #16
As I am more of an oat milk fan than almond I picked up a box of that as an alternative since I already know I like it for some applications.
That works too !!
Things that help:
1. Buy ultra-pasteurized milk. Unopened, this type of milk lasts so long that some brands don't even print an expiration date on the container. Once you open it, the milk will still last longer than regular pasteurized milk. This is more expensive, though, and you may or may not consider the benefit to be worth the extra expense. Some people also complain that ultra-pasteurized milk has a slightly 'cooked' flavor; to me that's a feature, not a bug.
2. Buy smaller containers of milk. The more air in the container, the faster the milk will go bad. Buying two half-gallons or four quarts of milk, instead of one gallon, allows for less air to fill the container as you go through your milk. This is more expensive, though, and you may or may not consider the benefit to be worth the extra expense.
3. Buy milk with a higher fat content. The less milkfat in your milk, the faster it will go bad and the less you can trust the sell-by date as a guide. Whole milk usually has 3¼% milkfat, which doesn't seem like much more than 2% but is actually 60% more. The jury is still out on whether this is less healthy or more healthy, though, and you may or may not consider the benefit to be worth the extra milkfat in your diet.
4. Turn the temperature down in your fridge and/or store your milk in a colder part of your fridge. The door is typically the warmest spot, and the upper-rear is typically the coldest. If you don't have a thermometer sitting in your fridge, then get one.
1. Buy ultra-pasteurized milk. Unopened, this type of milk lasts so long that some brands don't even print an expiration date on the container. Once you open it, the milk will still last longer than regular pasteurized milk. This is more expensive, though, and you may or may not consider the benefit to be worth the extra expense. Some people also complain that ultra-pasteurized milk has a slightly 'cooked' flavor; to me that's a feature, not a bug.
2. Buy smaller containers of milk. The more air in the container, the faster the milk will go bad. Buying two half-gallons or four quarts of milk, instead of one gallon, allows for less air to fill the container as you go through your milk. This is more expensive, though, and you may or may not consider the benefit to be worth the extra expense.
3. Buy milk with a higher fat content. The less milkfat in your milk, the faster it will go bad and the less you can trust the sell-by date as a guide. Whole milk usually has 3¼% milkfat, which doesn't seem like much more than 2% but is actually 60% more. The jury is still out on whether this is less healthy or more healthy, though, and you may or may not consider the benefit to be worth the extra milkfat in your diet.
4. Turn the temperature down in your fridge and/or store your milk in a colder part of your fridge. The door is typically the warmest spot, and the upper-rear is typically the coldest. If you don't have a thermometer sitting in your fridge, then get one.
simon1
Self Ignored by Vista
I was wondering which shelf he stored milk on. I buy whole milk by just the pint and was storing it on the top shelf...the main one. It started going bad before the best by date, then I started putting it on the bottom shelf toward the back. Problem solved...lasts a lot longer stored in the coldest part of the fridge.
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- #20
I tend to store milk on the bottom shelf, not necessarily at the back, but, close to it.
