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Milk going off.

(64 Posts)
Anne58 Tue 29-Jul-14 09:39:29

Boring I know, but a pain. I just went to make a cup of coffee and the milk is off. The use by date thingy is 1st August.

I buy the green top semi skimmed, always keep it in the fridge, the fridge setting is fine (Mr P's beer is always cold, so I'm told) and I've tried various different shops/suppliers, but this happens quite a lot.

Any ideas?

Hunt Tue 29-Jul-14 09:40:51

Buy a cow?

Greenfinch Tue 29-Jul-14 09:43:01

I've had exactly the same problem with my last 2 lots of semi-skimmed. Have frozen it ready to make scones but probably never will !

Aka Tue 29-Jul-14 09:54:45

Get a milkman?

sunseeker Tue 29-Jul-14 09:57:12

Take it back to the shop - it obviously was not stored properly before you bought it.

merlotgran Tue 29-Jul-14 10:02:51

Glad somebody else has this problem. I've had semi-skimmed milk going off days before the use by date. angry

I don't buy anything larger than a pint these days because we wouldn't get through it before the date but even one pint with a long date doesn't last. DH gets nagged to always put it straight back in the fridge and there's nothing wrong with the fridge temp. I've taken to freezing two or three pints per week and getting them out the night before I need them so they can defrost in the fridge.

Aka, If you have a milkman, does he not leave it on the doorstep in the early morning sun? confused

Anne58 Tue 29-Jul-14 10:04:02

Aka our milk consumption is too random to have it delivered.

sunseeker it's not worth the petrol for a special trip, and there is nothing else I need from that shop. (Anyway, I'd only get tempted to buy cakes and pastries)

This has happened with milk from Waitrose, Morrison's Lidl and the village shop, but I always check the dates and my fridge does seem to be on the right setting.

Someone did say that semi skimmed goes off faster than full fat, but surely it should last until it's date?

Ana Tue 29-Jul-14 10:04:29

Buy full-fat. We never have a problem with that going off!

Aka Tue 29-Jul-14 10:12:17

Merlot our front door faces west so the early morning sun doesn't get it.

Phoenix your reply conjures up a vision of feast and famine! Days when you all binge on milk and designated abstinence on others grin

Anne58 Tue 29-Jul-14 10:13:48

merlot that's confirmed that at least it's not just me! I only buy a pint at a time too, and this one was over half full, but was still off.

henetha Tue 29-Jul-14 10:15:01

Keep some long-life cartons for emergencies. These days it tastes just as
good as fresh milk.

AlieOxon Tue 29-Jul-14 10:16:31

I find my goat milk keeps far longer than cow!

merlotgran Tue 29-Jul-14 10:16:58

I blamed our village shop to start with but Tesco, Waitrose and Aldi milk is just as bad.

Good point about full fat milk but I hate it in tea.

Charleygirl Tue 29-Jul-14 10:21:24

*pheonix" I only buy long life semi skimmed milk and the use by date is normally about 3 months in advance. That may help, if you like it of course. I do not drink tea, only coffee and I find it fine. No visitor has ever complained.

Anne58 Tue 29-Jul-14 10:23:38

Me too merlot even though I have a very small amount in tea, full fat is still yuk!

Aka it's not quite that drastic, but as I'm on my own during the week, that reduces consumption, but then again I have been known to fancy a bowl of honey & nut cornflakes in the evening!

grannyactivist Tue 29-Jul-14 10:37:39

I'm reeling with shock that anyone can buy a pint of milk and it lasts long enough to go off! shock
I buy a six pint of semi and four pints each of whole and skimmed milk twice a week. The children and one of my lodgers have whole milk, husband and I drink skimmed and the other people in the house and most visitors have semi. I always keep a six pack of UHT milk in too because there are times when I'm running low on milk and it's my standby and it's also brilliant for making yoghurt.
Anyway I digress, here's what t'internet has to say about it:
Few people drink full-cream milk these days – they prefer the lower fat options of skimmed or semi-skimmed milk. Interestingly, these spoil quicker than whole milk because there are extra stages in the manufacturing process where the fat is taken out, and in the case of semi-skimmed, some put back again, before the product is packaged. This provides more opportunities for microbial contamination.

Lona Tue 29-Jul-14 10:45:32

I always keep long life semi skimmed milk in small cartons, for visitors, and it lasts for ages after it's been opened (at least 3 weeks).

Anne58 Tue 29-Jul-14 10:54:27

But ga that's the whole point! It shouldn't go off because it's still well within it's date!

There is only me in the house Mon to Fri, I have 1 cup of tea a day, about 3 coffees and the very occasional bowl of cereal. Maurice used to have a saucerful in the morning, but he is no longer with us, Digby doesn't like it and I don't want to get young Sprout into bad habits!

Galen Tue 29-Jul-14 10:59:47

Mine doesn't go off! I buy cravendale semi skimmed and I find it lives up to its claims

Anne58 Tue 29-Jul-14 11:05:10

How many times a week do you buy it Galen?

sunseeker Tue 29-Jul-14 11:23:37

I buy 4 pint semi skimmed from Sainsburys roughly every 10 days (I am on my own) and, so far, it has never gone off.

I did buy Cravendale once and thought it had an odd taste - my taste buds are obviously not as sophisticated as Galen's tbgrin

Anne58 Tue 29-Jul-14 11:25:27

Sainsburys is way too far for using regularly.

Purpledaffodil Tue 29-Jul-14 11:44:23

Interesting about the microbial process in semi skimmed grannyactivist. We must have the record for milk consumption I fear; at least 18 pints a week for the two of us. That is only one bowl of cereal a day, but a serious tea habit belonging to Mr Purple. Haven't noticed it going off, probably because it gets drunk too quicklybrew brew

suebailey1 Tue 29-Jul-14 12:46:52

I only buy long life milk now as it takes us ages to get through it- the bread keeps going off though.

Galen Tue 29-Jul-14 13:08:45

About every 10 days or so.