# Non-refrigerated, Shelf Stable Milk (not dehydrated)



## Tacitus

I thought I would report on the shelf stable milk I have.

This morning we were "out of milk." But, I wanted a bowl of cereal, and so did everyone else.

"Ah ha!" I said to myself, "A chance to prove the advantages of being prepared to the rest of the family." I had bought some Parmalat shelf stable milk some time ago--ultra-pasteurized, no refrigeration required--and put it in the back of the pantry for a rainy day.

But I worried a bit as I pulled it out from the back of the pantry. That "some time ago" purchase was quite some time ago. Turns out, the "Best Used By" date on the box was *5 months ago*.

So, I gingerly opened the box of milk and smelled it...smelled ok.

I poured some out into a small glass...looked like milk.

I tasted a little bit of it...tasted like milk.

So I had a bowl of cereal, filled to the brim with Parmalat.

Tasted great...no stomach or intestinal distress...I feel very good about it. I suppose I have to say that you should drink "expired" milk at your own risk, but I have to say that I am a fan of Parmalat right now! (Although, I suppose if I stop posting suddenly, you will know not to drink Parmalat 5 months after the use by date.)


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## Tacitus

A further note: I don't remember exactly when I bought it, but I remember thinking I should drink it in 3 months based on the date on the box. So, it probably sat on the shelf in the back of our pantry for 8 months...and still tasted great. That is really amazing.


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## Jimthewagontraveler

I have had a similar experience with this product.
As I live in a horse drawn wagon there are many places where
I have VERY limited electricity very frequently.
Someone gave me some and I just shoved it in an old metal
kitchen type cabinet that I was given for my wagon( rusty but servicible)
With limited electricity or if I'm not here for a few days the interior temp gets to 30 above outside real easy and when cold the wind whistles through the cracks in the walls and no one loads the wood stove so I'm a pretty good worst case scenario.
The milk was fine several months out of date.
Never had canned food pop either?
The little plastic fruit cups occasionally leak.
Honestly a cave would be more gentle than 
my wagon on storing food.


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## PrepN4Good

I remember buying Parmalat years ago b/c "regular" milk would turn sour before I could drink it. Now I rarely drink milk at all, but good to know that I could stash some "just in case." Thanks!


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## JayJay

I've been using these milks for a while, especially Gossner Foods, and use them when the use by date is a year old.
I just checked my storage room--have Gossner's with earliest use by date 'May 2012', which means I probably bought it about Nov/Dec. 2011.
So, these cartons have been setting on my shelves for 18 months!!!

My first test was 6 months, then 9 months, then 12 months and all brands passed each test.

They are fine past use by date. Enjoy!!


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## JayJay

Duplicate post..duh.


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## camo2460

Who carries this milk, I haven't seen any in our local stores.


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## Tacitus

camo2460 said:


> Who carries this milk, I haven't seen any in our local stores.


Honestly, I'm not sure where I bought it. I think at Walmart??? I'll look around, since I will be replacing a box of it.

I will say that it is not commonly carried in grocery stores in the United States. It is, however, very common in Europe.

It has not generally been a successful product in the US, because consumers here think that milk must be refrigerated, and have not been willing to buy boxed milk on the regular shelves. I know my wife doesn't trust it. They just need to spend some money on educating consumers here. All it is is milk that has been ultra-pasteurized instead of merely pasteurized. They haven't added anything to it. I just checked the ingredients, and there are only three: Milk, Vitamin A, Vitamin D3.

It is, essentially, _canned milk_.


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## Lake Windsong

camo2460 said:


> Who carries this milk, I haven't seen any in our local stores.


Around here, you can buy it at Walmart and Publix. They even have juice box sizes with straws (Horizon organic), or soy milk versions on the shelf.


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## Tacitus

Lake Windsong said:


> Around here, you can buy it at Walmart and Publix. They even have juice box sizes with straws (Horizon organic), or soy milk versions on the shelf.


The Parmalat stuff is real dairy milk, but you are right--one of our local stores also carries soy milk, almond milk, rice milk in virtually identical boxes.

Maybe that is why the Parmalat dairy milk is not successful?...because people think it is a milk substitute instead of actual dairy milk?...because it is shelved with the milk substitutes?

Another probably reason for its lack of success could be expense. It is more expensive than refrigerated milk. But one wonders if the price would go down if the volume of sale went up.


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## Ezmerelda

Our Kroger carries it too - but they stock it with the canned milk (evaporated and sweetened/condensed) and the powdered milk (which are still on the baking aisle, last time I checked). 

The milk substitutes are in a different section of the store...at least they were, now that they've rearranged everything, I don't know where anything is! :gaah:


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## DKRinAK

UHT milk goes into the fridge_ after opening_, store on shelf before opening.

We buy it a case at a time, good stuff.


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## jeff47041

I don't know what brand it is, but our Krogers carries it and it is with the juice boxes. They also carry a different brand that is organic and that is stocked back with all of the healthy stuff.
We buy ours from Market Day from our grand daughters school. They also have shelf stable nestle chocolate milk.
Market day is a website that you go to and order different foods, mostly frozen stuff, then you pick it up on a certain Friday afternoon at the local school. The school gets a portion of the money.


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## JayJay

camo2460 said:


> Who carries this milk, I haven't seen any in our local stores.


Big Lots, Dollar Tree.


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## Tacitus

OK. I feel I owe everyone an update.

As you know from my first post, yesterday morning, I pulled out the past-use-date Parmalat milk and poured it on my cereal--perfect.

I also used it on my oatmeal today: I poured it over rolled oats yesterday evening, and this morning I had Musli...tasted great...no problems. Milk was fine mixed in with the oats.

BUT...

Tonight, only 36 hours after opening, my daughter poured herself a glass of milk with the last from the Parmalat box, and she discovered, well, chunks or curds. Whether it was the first exposure to air, the first shaking up after months on the shelf, or the first refrigeration, something caused the milk fat globules (present in all milk, but in smaller pieces) to coalesce (turn to small but visible sized curds?). It did not smell sour or bad in any way, and the lumps were not large...it just looked like it wanted to be cottage cheese instead of milk, and was taking the first steps to get there. Go figure.

I still have had absolutely no adverse effects from drinking the milk, and I will drink it again if the opportunity arises.


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## Wellrounded

Tacitus said:


> OK. I feel I owe everyone an update.
> 
> As you know from my first post, yesterday morning, I pulled out the past-use-date Parmalat milk and poured it on my cereal--perfect.
> 
> I also used it on my oatmeal today: I poured it over rolled oats yesterday evening, and this morning I had Musli...tasted great...no problems. Milk was fine mixed in with the oats.
> 
> BUT...
> 
> Tonight, only 36 hours after opening, my daughter poured herself a glass of milk with the last from the Parmalat box, and she discovered, well, chunks or curds. Whether it was the first exposure to air, the first shaking up after months on the shelf, or the first refrigeration, something caused the milk fat globules (present in all milk, but in smaller pieces) to coalesce (turn to small but visible sized curds?). It did not smell sour or bad in any way, and the lumps were not large...it just looked like it wanted to be cottage cheese instead of milk, and was taking the first steps to get there. Go figure.
> 
> I still have had absolutely no adverse effects from drinking the milk, and I will drink it again if the opportunity arises.


UHT milk is readily available in Australia. I do keep it on hand for emergencies (I mean real emergencies, I hate the stuff, always had milk straight from the cow so I'm kinda spoilt), to keep it longer after opening refrigerate before opening so it's nice and cold when first exposed to contamination. Also what happened to yours is not unusual, they do that sometimes.


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## musketjim

It does have a shelf life. I had a case that I had forgotten about. The dogs had a good treat.:laugh: It does taste good tho. I just have to organize better.


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## Tacitus

I'm no chemist, so I don't know if what I am about to say makes sense. I do have some science background, though. 

It didn't seem like the milk had gone bad. 

Doing a little bit of research (stress on the "little bit"), I learned that milk is an emulsion, which means it has solids suspended in solution. Those solids normally would not be there, although natural processes in the cow and industrial processes such as homogenization put the milk solids into solution and keep them small so we don't notice them.

Maybe something about the change in condition (exposure, pressure change, temperature change, agitation, etc.) Caused the solids to start coalescing with each other? It seemed like a mechanical change to the solution, not a rancidity or sourness in bad milk. 

Who knows?


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## weedygarden

*Hershey's has a boxed milk also*

I have had a couple boxes of milk that I bought more than a year ago. I have some powdered milk, and I will use it in cooking, but the taste is nasty to me. I have wanted to find some options. I have some canned evaporated milk as well.

The brand name I found in my stores is Hershey's. It says it is grade A, has vitamins A & D, and is U.H.T. milk. From cows not treated with rbST* (now I have to research what that is!). Refrigerate after opening Unopened-stays fresh without refrigeration.

This box also says it is processed and packaged in USA by Gossner Foods, Inc., Logan, UT 84321. Their web site, www.gossner.com

www.HersheysShelfStableMilk.com

It seems as though I had posted about this more than a year ago and got little response from others.

If this would stay fresh indefinitely, it would be an awesome prep. All products have a best if used by date, and I am really curious how it last over time. Yes, it is more expensive than regular milk in the store, but my guess is that the day will come that what I paid for this will be less than fresh milk.


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## JayJay

I've never had the Gossner's go bad, even after opening.
As I said, I just used one May 2012 best by date and it is fine and one is in the refrigerator chilling for use later.

I'll watch this and see if it curdles, though.


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## gam46

My experience is that, after maybe two years past the best buy date, either boxed or canned evaporated milk will tend to separate into thin liquid with a thick remaining layer which does not readily remix.


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## JayJay

JayJay said:


> I've never had the Gossner's go bad, even after opening.
> As I said, I just used one May 2012 best by date and it is fine and one is in the refrigerator chilling for use later.
> 
> I'll watch this and see if it curdles, though.


Oh, one other thing--I do remove the milk from the package. I use a glass container when it is opened.
May make a difference.


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## labotomi

We had that on one of my last submarine patrols. It isn't really bad... isn't really good either but it's way ahead of the bags of dehydrated stuff we had to drink for weeks on end after everyone chugged as much real milk as they could in the first two days after leaving port.

Warning>>>> Occasionally we'd open a box and find an orange waxy substance in the box.  Just throw it away and get another, you don't want to risk it. Nobody ever explained what it was or what caused it.


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