Freeze Milk to Save Time & Money

Freeze Milk to Save Time & Money

You have a grocery list.  It gets longer every day.  Sometimes it gets really long.  No matter if it’s short or long, the REASON you actually GO to the grocery store is normally because you’re out of milk or bread.  Let’s face it, you can live without the cheddar ruffles and the double-stuffed Oreos.

The last time I bought a gallon of milk, it was $4.08 – and that was the Wal-Mart brand, mind you.  PET was $5.28.  My gosh.  [Editor’s note: Costco is cheaper.]  Also, the price of milk might go up because the drought is making it more expensive for dairy farmers to feed their cows – or something like that. 

Thank goodness milk is easy to freeze and I now do it all of the time.  Instead of paying more per ounce for the smaller size, I buy a gallon.  I have enough of those 1 quart Rubbermaid containers to divvy it up and freeze what I’m not going to need soon.  Be sure to leave room in the container for the liquid to expand.

The best way to thaw it is to move it from the freezer to the refrigerator 48 hours before you need it.  Yes, that’s two days.   When you start doing this, you’ll get in the habit of pulling one out of the freezer early enough.  If you don’t start thawing it early enough, a trick to speed it up is to take it out of the freezer, let it sit out at room temperature for about 2 hours, then put it in the refrigerator to finish thawing.

Milk is a slightly different color when it's in the frozen state

I have been freezing 1% milk regularly for over 5 months.  I assume it also works well for skim milk, 2%, etc.

Let’s say you normally end up throwing away only about ¼ of your milk container.  If so, you only need to freeze 1-2 quart containers of milk.  In fact, it’s OK to freeze a container for only one night and then put it in the refrigerator the next day.  After you are finished with your original container, your thawed milk will be ready to use – and it will be good past the original due date.

I need to mention that sometimes there is a “bath-tub ring” in the milk container after it has thawed.  This is not a big deal.  Your milk is still perfectly fine, but because it doesn’t look attractive, just pour all of the milk into a clean container – no biggie.

On the subject of milk… my auntie Margaret  lives in Canada where companies package their milk differently.  I asked her to send me photos because I think it’s so interesting.  She buys milk in 3-pack bags.  Each bag fits in a pitcher and all you have to do is plop the bag of milk in the pitcher and cut the corner of the bag for easy pouring.   The plastic bags are easy to fit into any available freezer space.

Canadian companies package milk differently

Canadian milk packaging

I also freeze my bread, of course.  I thaw about 4 slices at a time and that way the only bread that ever gets wasted on my watch are the end pieces.  I’m sorry…  I just don’t like them.  (Caution: hamburger buns don’t freeze well.)  The best way to thaw a couple of slices of bread is inside of a zip-lock bag.  If I’m thawing the rest of a loaf, I put the ~ ½ loaf in the refrigerator first so that it thaws slower. 

So… save time and money by freezing your milk and bread!

"GOT MILK?"  I hope your answer will now always be "yes"!

… and that’s my 2 cents’ worth, Cheryl

New: Now you can leave comments on my blog posts!

To subscribe to this blog (receive e-mail notification when there is a new post), e-mail Cheryls2CentsWorth@gmail.com and write “Subscribe” in the Subject line. Thanks! To stop receiving e-mail notifications, write “Unsubscribe” in the Subject line.

“Like" my Facebook Page by clicking this link and then clicking the "Like" button:   http://www.facebook.com/Cheryls2CentsWorth

Home page of my blog:  http://www.Cheryls2CentsWorth.blogspot.com

Credit for Got Milk line:  Anne B