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Milk going off.

(65 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?

shysal Tue 29-Jul-14 13:15:36

The going off is due to the current muggy weather conditions isn't it? I buy 1 litre Flora Proactiv skimmed milk, which has a shelf life of about a month, during which time I don't always use it all. I might make the odd sauce and occasionally add to cereal, but not being a tea of coffee drinker, that is it.

JessM Tue 29-Jul-14 13:16:53

Milk is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Pasteurisation reduces bacterial count but does not sterilise.
Fridge temperature might be an issue?
I have found that organic milk from milk man used to go off a bit soon in the summer. Wish there was a milkman here.

Lona Tue 29-Jul-14 13:17:25

phoenix If you don't drink that much anyway, the long life stuff really doesn't taste any different, so why not give it a try?

ninathenana Tue 29-Jul-14 15:22:28

Crikey I thought our milk consumption was average. I buy a 6 pinter twice a week and sometimes an extra 4pinter in between. There are 3 adults in the house two of whom quiet often have cereal twice a day.

Anne58 Tue 29-Jul-14 15:31:59

But what would it be like on cereal?

Jess fridge temp is fine, at least Mr P's beer is always well chilled and so is the odd bottle of wine.

Ana Tue 29-Jul-14 15:36:30

You'll just have to try it, phoenix - no point our trying to tell you what something might taste like! grin

Anne58 Tue 29-Jul-14 15:37:55

I looked for Cravendale in Waitrose but they don't seem to stock it, just their own essential and some Duchy original organic.

NancyDrew Tue 29-Jul-14 15:51:57

I buy 2x4-pints of semi-skimmed from Tesco each week and it never goes off and lasts at least the full week between purchases and sometimes a little longer. On occasion I buy 3x4-pints as DH now and then gets keen on having a pint of cold milk when he's been biking, if it's hot and sunny. Apparently it's a good recovery drink. I also need more if we have visitors but it always stays drinkable.

numberplease Tue 29-Jul-14 15:53:49

I find that Asda`s milk keeps to even beyond the best by date, I start sniffing it on the final date on the bottle, but we usually get a couple more days out of it. My son was disgusted, he says we should chuck any milk left by the best by date.

Nelliemoser Tue 29-Jul-14 16:16:32

I have a doorstep milkman and I have not had a problem unless we ourselves forget to get in in early enough.
I wonder what might have happened in the storage of this milk before it reaches our doorsteps or our supermarket shelves.

Galen Tue 29-Jul-14 17:10:35

Our waitrose stocks cravendale. It really does keep better and seems (to me) to have a cleaner taste. I can taste milk before it goes off to tell it'll be off in a couple of hours

Anne58 Tue 29-Jul-14 17:18:32

I wonder why ours doesn't? Perhaps because of the Duchy Organics thing, they do seem to stock certain ranges of "local" products.

Ariadne Tue 29-Jul-14 17:25:31

We don't use milk, so I only buy it if needed for some cooking and when we have visitors. One DDiL buys Cravendale, which I think lasts longer?

HollyDaze Tue 29-Jul-14 17:38:29

I also buy Cravendale and haven't had any of it go off yet before I've managed to get through it all. I think it tastes quite nice too.

mary37 Tue 29-Jul-14 19:22:00

Use soya milk, much nicer.

oznan Tue 29-Jul-14 19:36:57

I get through a lot of semi-skimmed milk as I'm a tea belly!I buy it from my local corner shop and it always lasts until it's date if not longer.I suppose if you are transporting it by car it would go off quicker in this hot weather.
Try keeping a tin of coffee creamer or a can of evaporated milk in the cupboard for emergencies.Also,you can freeze a bit of milk in an ice cube tray,just in case!

NfkDumpling Tue 29-Jul-14 19:55:07

Is Cravendale that sieved stuff? Never tried it as we're happy with Yeo Valley organic. We buy a litre of whole and a litre of semi at a time and neither have gone off - yet. Both seem creamier than ordinary milk but Himself won't drink semi-skimmed (calls it geriatric cows milk - and skimmed, coloured water)

I think the idea of freezing milk cubes is an excellent one.

Lona Tue 29-Jul-14 20:09:29

Milk will freeze in the plastic bottles as long as there is a gap of about an inch at the top to allow for expansion.

Coolgran65 Tue 29-Jul-14 22:45:11

I buy 2 litre plastic bottles and freeze them. When bottle in fridge gets to about 1/4 full I leave a frozen one out in the sink overnight.
There's only two of us so the bottle is on the go for 3 or 4 days. Never known it to go off.

Lilygran Wed 30-Jul-14 09:23:26

Doesn't the long life stuff go off as quickly as fresh milk once it's opened?

Cressida Wed 30-Jul-14 11:14:14

I'm a Cravendale buyer, too. Occasionally I will buy Asda's own brand filtered semi-skimmed but prefer Cravendale.

Hunt Wed 30-Jul-14 15:36:57

We have a milkman but he doesn't come every day. We get through three pints of milk a day for just the two of us so at the weekend we have 9 pints of milk delivered. The milk is always put straight back in the fridge and it is only in this extremely hot weather that it occasionally goes off. Pint and a half a day and I've STILL got osteoporosis. Ah well!

Lona Wed 30-Jul-14 16:56:48

Lily mine doesn't (semi skimmed).

sparkygran Wed 30-Jul-14 18:23:06

Cravendale courtesy of DD as ours was always going off before the sell by date. Have had no bother since

rosequartz Wed 30-Jul-14 20:06:27

We seem to get through quite a lot of milk as well - two x two litre semi-skimmed and one x two litre full fat milk a week; if both the DGD come for a day or more then we need more full fat milk on top of that.