# How Long - Milk



## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

So those a ya what can milk, what be the longest storage time ya can expect sittin in a cool, dark place? It'll be store bought milk. I kinda fell inta a dell that I can get it perty cheap fer a spell.

An fer those what gonna say ya cant can milk, that ain't the discussion thanks anywho.


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## Danil54 (May 8, 2017)

I've gone 6 month from my jersey cow.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

Danil54 said:


> I've gone 6 month from my jersey cow.


Details, details please.
Jersey a good milk cow, as a teen I milked one twice a day when not in school. 
We had three cow milking at one time, sold fresh milk & cow butter.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

k is packed with calcium and protein and is also a necessary ingredient in many recipes. It’s something that you’ll want to have on hand in a survival situation. However, milk doesn’t keep long, especially if you don’t have any means to refrigerate it.

You definitely want to include milk in your emergency storage. Maybe you have a milk cow or goat that produces more milk than you can use before it goes bad. Since cows and goats both have drying out periods so you’ll want to preserve milk for then, too. But what can you do to make it last?

Today we’re going to talk about several methods of either preserving milk as-is or converting into other products that store for longer periods of tim1e. Before we get started, we’d like to offer a few tips.

Before you start any preservation methods at all, pasteurize your milk. I know that many people prefer to drink their milk straight from the cow but the idea behind preservation is to keep bacteria from turning the milk bad. If you filter and pasteurize it, you’ll be starting with “clean” milk that will be more likely to keep longer. This is, of course, up to you but I advise it.

Salting

{adinserter survivalmd}Salting is important to the preservation of anything and that includes your milk products.

Though you probably don’t want to salt your milk before you can it, you definitely want to salt your butter, cottage cheese and other products.

This will not only help them last longer but will also give you access to a food in your emergency food supply that has that necessary mineral (and flavor enhancer) in it.

Dehydrating

If you’ve dehydrated other foods, it may have occurred to you that you could do the same with milk. As bad as I hate to burst your bubble, it’s not so easy to do if you want to preserve the flavor and nutritional value. You also need to have special equipment such as an atomizer that won’t come cheap. You will also need a ton of milk just to yield a pint of dehydrated milk. Skip this idea and just buy powdered milk.

Freezing

Yes, it’s entirely possible to freeze milk but I recommend not doing so for a couple of reasons. First, if SHTF you probably won’t have the electricity to keep the freezer running so your milk will go bad within a couple of days, especially if it’s hot outside.

Second, frozen milk is fine to use but it often gets a grainy texture to it. It separates out but that can be dealt with just by shaking it up. Still, the texture thing is an issue and is the main reason that I don’t recommend freezing it for everyday use.

Canning Milk

We’ve discussed canning in other articles but many people don’t realize that milk can be canned, too. Just as with all canning procedures, it’s imperative that you make sure that your jars and seals are super clean. Warm your seals if necessary in order to get the best seal possible.

To can milk, start with extremely clean milk. Clean the udder, the buckets and all the equipment in addition to the jars. As I already stated, I recommend pasteurizing, too. At the very least, strain it well using a milk sieve or several layers of clean, lint-free cloth such as cheese cloth. Pour the milk into a clean bowl and cover it so that nothing gets into it while you’re prepping the jars.

Wash your jars in hot, soapy water and rinse them well. Keep them submerged in hot water until you’re ready to use each them.

Fill each jar with milk, leaving a half-inch at the top for headroom. Clean the rims of the jars thoroughly and put the sterilized hot rims and rings on them. Put them in your pressure canner and fill with the recommended amount of water. Place the canner over the hottest part of the stove, on about medium.

Bring the pressure to 10 and cook quarts for 25 minutes or pints for 20 minutes. Make sure the pressure stays at 10 or else you’ll need to start the time over.

The reason that I gave you directions for using a pressure canner is because milk is a low-acid food and is therefore susceptible to botulism found in the soil. Pressure canning brings the milk up to a safe temperature and holds it at that temperature long enough to kill any bacteria.

Canned milk will keep up to 2 years and is great for cooking and even drinking though the color will change. It will have a slight caramel color and may taste a bit sweeter or just cooked. Canned milk is great for any recipe that requires milk; however, you can’t make cheese, yogurt or rennet desserts from it because the milk won’t


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

en stored below 40 degrees, whole milk lasts 5 to 7 days; non-fat 7 to 10 days; and reduced fat 7 days. But you can stretch the time between fresh and yech! by trying these strategies.

1. Store milk in the back of your fridge, the coldest part, and the farthest away from the light, which degrades milk. I have a side-by-side, so I store my milk on the left side of the fridge, which shares a wall with the freezer.
2. Pick up milk just before you check out of the store, so it’s not left in a warm cart while you cruise aisles for cereal bargains.
3. Place milk on ice during your ride home on a hot day. Sometime the fish section of the grocery will bag ice for you.
4. After you pour a glass, return milk directly to the fridge. Don’t let it sit on the counter any longer than you have to.
5. Add a ½ tablespoon of baking soda to a gallon of milk when you open it; then shake. Baking soda reduces the acidity in milk and retards spoilage.
6. Add a pinch of salt to a quart of milk to slow spoilage.
7. Transfer a gallon of milk to four, quart-sized Mason jars. Pour to the top so there’s little headroom.
8. Freeze milk, which will make it last up to three weeks. When you thaw, the color and texture of the milk may have changed, but it’s safe to drink and good to use in baking and cooking.

Spoiled milk may make you gag, but it’s not dangerous to drink. Here are some things you can make and do with sour milk.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

Spoiled milk may make you gag, but it's not dangerous to drink. Here are some things you can make and do with sour milk.

•	Buttermilk biscuits
•	Waffles and pancakes
•	Soups and casseroles
•	Pudding
•	Yogurt
•	Cottage cheese
•	Sour cream
•	Add to your bath water for a soothing soak (add essential oils to make it smell better).
•	Pour around plants to add nutrients and keep deer away.
•	Dab it on poison ivy itches.

Related:

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/8-ways-to-extend-the-life-of-milk-what-to-do-once-its-gone-bad.html


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## Danil54 (May 8, 2017)

I use the old method from a Kerr Canning book. After milking, I strain it thru a white cotton tee that was washed in bleach water only. Do not use any laundry detergent cause that will make your milk taste funky. After straining, I put I to my sterilized jars then into my pressure canner. You want to match the water temp as close to the milk temp as possible. If you start with cold milk from fridge, use cold water. . .same as your jars. . . temp close. Once in the canner, put lid on and bring to 10 lbs pressure. Now books says to then turn off heat and let fall back to pressure but I let it go 5-10 minutes then turn off. Taste like canned milk. It will separate in jar but just shake it up first. Use it in place of evaporated milk in recipes. Just remember to sterilize everything. . . from cow to canner. I get roughly 5 1/2- 6 gallons of milk a day from my Betsey Lou.


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## Danil54 (May 8, 2017)

Just an FYI. . . you can freeze goat milk and it will defrost back into the original milk. Since it doesn't separate like cows milk, no grainy texture.

If you do defrost cows milk you will get a lump of solids and then the liquid whey. At least that is what happens when i freeze my excess cows milk. Believe it or not, you have made a form of cream cheese. You may get a different outcome using store bought.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Caribou said:


> Boy Coot, if you're asking about canning it must be a tough question. Do you already can milk and if so how long do you cook it?
> 
> You can buy shelf stable milk so you should be able to make it.


I know how ta can it, never really bothered cause I keep a fair stock a shelf stable (I've got some 2 years out what still be good) but this hear deal come up. Ifin it'll last 2 years on the shelf I might just can up a bunch.

Problem being ya gotta figure ifin the cost a the jar, lid an time be worth it er keep on buying the shelf stable.


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## Danil54 (May 8, 2017)

If it is a really good deal I would just because canned milk is so versatile for cooking. It was not too long ago here that milk at the grocery store was running over $4 a gallon.


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