Went to the grocery store and saw cow’s milk at too good a deal to pass up? Do you have milk sitting in the refrigerator that you know you won’t be able to use, but don’t want it to spoil?
If you landed on this page, you are probably wondering if you can freeze milk?
We answer that question and also show you how to safely prepare it for the freezer.
Can You Free Milk & Should You Be Doing This?
Can you freeze milk? Yes, you can and it holds up well in the freezer.
When stored properly, cow’s milk can be kept in the freezer for up to 6 months.
It is however recommended that it is used within a month, so as to maximize its freshness.
There will be no difference in the taste of the milk when frozen, but you can expect the color to change to that of a light yellow.
The change in color does not affect the taste or texture, it is just the riboflavin separating from the other ingredients. It will disappear once the milk is thawed and shaken.
Aside from a change in color, there might be a bit of separation that takes place. If you give the milk a quick shake, it should be back to normal.
How to Freeze Milk (Including a Gallon)
Freezing milk is quite easy, however there are a couple things you need to know before you get started.
Freezing a Gallon of Milk
If you have a gallon of milk, you can freeze the bottle as is and there should be no issues, once the bottle is in plastic.
Before you place it in the freezer, pour out some milk, as liquid expands as it freezes. While I have frozen gallons of milk over the years, without removing excess milk, it is always best to be on the side of caution.
Proper Packaging
Realistically, unless you have a huge freezer, a gallon of milk takes up a lot of space, because of this, you will want to store the milk in smaller containers.
This not only helps you with space issues, but it also allows you to store individual/smaller servings, which you can pop out when needed.
It should be noted that if you have milk that comes in a paper carton, please place it in a freezer safe plastic container. Paper cartons could burst open, once the milk freezes and it expands, which could lead to a messy freezer and wasted product.
You should not freeze milk in a glass container as there is a good chance the container could crack or break, once the milk begins to expand when freezing.
Ice Cubes Help with Space Problems
A great way to make invidual servings of frozen milk is to freeze the milk in ice trays and store the cubes in a freezer safe bag.
This makes it easier to pop out what you need, if it is in a smoothie or for a recipe
If you plan to use any of these milks to make smoothies, you can freeze them in ice cube trays. This makes it easy to simply pop one frozen cube of your preferred milk into the blender with your other smoothie ingredients
How to Thaw Milk
When thawing frozen milk, it should be placed in the refrigerator instead of letting it sit at room temperature, as this reduces the risk of the growth of harmful bacteria.
If you are in a rush and need for the milk to be defrosted quickly, you can let the container sit in cold water or run it under the kitchen pipe.
Please be aware that when milk sits at room temperature, there is an increase in the chance for the growth of harmful bacteria.
Once the milk is fully thawed, give it a vigorous shake, as some separation of ingredients may have taken place.
Wrapping it up
Cow’s milk can be frozen without it having any taste or texture issues.
You can expect the milk to turn a bit yellow in the freezer, but the color will return when thawed. Also expect some amount of separation to occur. This can be fixed by shaking the milk before use.
To reduce the risk of bacterial contamination, cow’s milk should be thawed in the refrigerator overnight.
