PDA

View Full Version : How far past the expiration date will you drink milk?



Setra
2009-08-27, 01:23 PM
Odd topic, I know... It just came to mind when all of our milk was expired.

Personally I am rather finicky and refuse to drink it past the expiration date at ALL, unless it was unopened in which case I may drink it three or so days after.

Innis Cabal
2009-08-27, 01:24 PM
Thats only a sell by date. Not a "This will go bad at exactly 12:30 on this date" date. Its usually safe even up to a full week after if unopened.

Setra
2009-08-27, 01:26 PM
Thats only a sell by date. Not a "This will go bad at exactly 12:30 on this date" date. Its usually safe even up to a full week after if unopened.

I know it's a sell-by date, but I'm just really finicky, as I said.

My mother drinks it as far as a Month after the sell-by date and growing up with her.. well... It made me really picky about my milk.

Cleverdan22
2009-08-27, 01:26 PM
I only go like two to three days after, because I get weirded out.

Thufir
2009-08-27, 01:26 PM
The question has never arisen in my house.

Setra
2009-08-27, 01:28 PM
The question has never arisen in my house.
When I lived with my Dad it was the same way.

My Mother buys several gallons when it's on sale, my Father buys a gallon or two whenever we run low.

It was always consumed before it expired when we lived with him.

Totally Guy
2009-08-27, 01:28 PM
The question has never arisen in my house.

But you're moving out next month. I'm sure you'll encounter it.

skywalker
2009-08-27, 01:30 PM
My mother drinks it as far as a Month after the sell-by date and growing up with her.. well... It made me really picky about my milk.

Wow...

Personally, I am inclined to go by smell, up to a week after the sell-by date. After that I throw it out, but until that point if it smells fresh, I drink it. I have been known to throw milk out a day or two before the sell-by date, if it doesn't smell fresh.

Innis Cabal
2009-08-27, 01:30 PM
So long as your not chewing it your pretty safe. I mean, spoiled milk is bad news but...really its a waste to throw it away when its still good, regardless of personal issues. Milk is bloody expensive.

Don Julio Anejo
2009-08-27, 01:31 PM
Bad milk smells sour. If it doesn't, it's safe to drink. Even if it's a month past the expiration date.

Setra
2009-08-27, 01:35 PM
So long as your not chewing it your pretty safe.

Bad milk smells sour. If it doesn't, it's safe to drink. Even if it's a month past the expiration date.
Having done the former, I refuse to take chances with the latter.

thubby
2009-08-27, 01:39 PM
I'm borderline paranoid about my milk.

Dallas-Dakota
2009-08-27, 01:42 PM
Working in a supermarket, I can tell you, the date is not the sell date, it's the production date.

I'm pretty paranoid about my milk and enjoy fresh best. I go by smell, sight and taste to determine if it's good or not. Not the expiration date.

RabbitHoleLost
2009-08-27, 01:46 PM
Working in a supermarket, I can tell you, the date is not the sell date, it's the production date.

I'm pretty paranoid about my milk and enjoy fresh best. I go by smell, sight and taste to determine if it's good or not. Not the expiration date.

I work in the Grocery section of my local Target, and I can tell you that milk is normally fine to drink up to a week after the date.
Eggs, on the other hand, are actually fine to eat three to four weeks after the sell-by date.
Just, you know, sayin'.

Innis Cabal
2009-08-27, 01:53 PM
Now see...i'm parinoid about eggs...but I don't think i've ever had a dozen last long enough to get to that point. Everyone in my apartment eats them, so their gone in 2-3 days after buying them.

Tiger Duck
2009-08-27, 01:56 PM
minus a few days. or till I can't remember when it was opened.

soozenw
2009-08-27, 01:56 PM
I won't drink it on the sell by date or after. Milk always smells spoiled to me, so I'm not taking chances.

Ganurath
2009-08-27, 01:57 PM
...My dad does not understand that if you buy a half-dozen gallons of Manager's Special for a house with three people living in it, some of it will go bad before we can get to it. Manager's Special means "sell by date is three are fewer days away" for those who don't live near Kroger-owned stores.

Two answer, I won't touch it two days past the date, because our store brand... Sell by = expiration.

Quincunx
2009-08-27, 02:19 PM
I work in the Grocery section of my local Target, and I can tell you that milk is normally fine to drink up to a week after the date.
Eggs, on the other hand, are actually fine to eat three to four weeks after the sell-by date.
Just, you know, sayin'.

Eggs are simple to test. Place in glass of water, observe. If they stay at the bottom, they're fine; if they raise up a bit at one end, they're on the edge; if they stand up on one end, they're rotten.

Can you freeze milk?

I am very finicky about fresh foods (no thanks to mold spores giving me a lasting headache), but judge by appearance and smell instead of stamped dates. If it's going to be cooked, I'll go for much longer, even chopping out the bad bits of produce and using the good parts.

Perenelle
2009-08-27, 02:29 PM
Normally when milk gets within two days before the date on the container I wont drink it. I'm really picky when it comes to milk.
I had a bad experience when I was little..... :smalltongue:

Setra
2009-08-27, 02:30 PM
I won't drink it on the sell by date or after. Milk always smells spoiled to me, so I'm not taking chances.

According to my mother it doesn't count as smelling spoiled unless you pour it into a cup and then smell it.

It sounds logical but I don't trust her.

Mando Knight
2009-08-27, 02:32 PM
Can you freeze milk?

You can, but then it separates since it's not a homogeneous mixture.

Milk at my parents' house never gets to the point where it's expired. We usually go through a gallon a day when all or most of my family is home. Now it's about half that rate because half of us are at college.

TRM
2009-08-27, 03:18 PM
So long as your not chewing it your pretty safe. I mean, spoiled milk is bad news but...really its a waste to throw it away when its still good, regardless of personal issues. Milk is bloody expensive.
Not here it isn't... We must live in... different places!


The question has never arisen in my house.
Yes.

soozenw
2009-08-27, 03:20 PM
According to my mother it doesn't count as smelling spoiled unless you pour it into a cup and then smell it.

It sounds logical but I don't trust her.

lol It always smells spoiled to me, in a glass or in the carton.

Ikialev
2009-08-27, 03:36 PM
Sour milk is awesome.

KilltheToy
2009-08-27, 03:39 PM
I go by smell. If I open it and I'm greeted by what I consider one of the worst smells ever, I throw it away. If it smells okay or I just plain forget to smell it, I'll drink it. I've had sour milk a once or twice before and thought "This milk tastes kinda funny". The first time, the flavor was obvious, and I quickly got rid of it. The second time, though, it was slightly more subtile, and I ended up drinking the entire glass.

Good times.

HellfireLover
2009-08-27, 03:56 PM
Yeah, I tend to just sniff it. Had a carton of milk that I left in the fridge when I went on holiday, and it was still fresh two weeks later when I got back. Milk on the turn makes good scones.
I don't know anyone who does pay attention to sell by dates, honestly. With most things you can just trim the manky bits off and away you go. I do get paranoid about my flour though, after an infestation of flour weevils.

Perenelle
2009-08-27, 04:01 PM
Sour milk is awesome.

.....? you like sour milk? :smallconfused:

Coidzor
2009-08-27, 04:03 PM
Hmm. Sometimes it'll last till about 5 days.

Other days it won't last past 3.

Depends on the smell which depends on how long ago it was opened, how long it's been out of the fridge, that sort of thing.

Trog
2009-08-27, 04:13 PM
Milk never reaches its expiration date in my house - it's always consumed before then. But if for some reason I had a gallon that had passed its expiration date by even one day I'd probably toss it. Even before it goes bad it starts to taste a little different to me - I like my milk fresh. Then again I'm from the dairy state so maybe I'm spoiled that way. :smalltongue:

Thufir
2009-08-27, 04:30 PM
But you're moving out next month. I'm sure you'll encounter it.

:smalleek: People actually pay attention to what I say? And remember it?

And actually, I don't think it will. I think I'll be fairly organised about that sort of thing.
Also, I'm probably more likely to buy not enough milk than too much.

Decoy Lockbox
2009-08-27, 04:49 PM
Wow...

Personally, I am inclined to go by smell, up to a week after the sell-by date. After that I throw it out, but until that point if it smells fresh, I drink it. I have been known to throw milk out a day or two before the sell-by date, if it doesn't smell fresh.

Yeah, pretty much. I know some people who freak out about expiration dates, but I just tell them "when the milk goes bad, you'll know". Of course, this is coming from a guy who once ate a pizza that had been sitting out for 2 weeks, just to prove he could.

Tirian
2009-08-27, 05:21 PM
Can you freeze milk?

I've done it, buying a gallon and filling 20 oz pop bottles nearly all the way and freezing them. I've never noticed a problem with a lack of homogenization; restoring the consistency must not be harder than giving the bottle a quick shake before opening it.

The other thing is that I find you can cook with milk for quite a bit after you wouldn't drink it raw. Longer than that, as long as it isn't green I wonder if you're already most of the way to having ricotta, although I haven't tried it myself.

Hannes
2009-08-27, 05:52 PM
I'd probably go with the smell thingie. Seriously, milk that you find on the table which says it'll expire in two days has a high chance of being sour due to being out all night, while the one in the fridge, which says it has expired three days ago is likely to be okay.

EDIT: Also, if it goes sour, you can still make pancakes with it!

Pika...
2009-08-27, 06:45 PM
This thread has surprised me. I try to keep a close eye on such things so I won't end up six feet under. I even go as far as checking for the newest milk at stores when purchasing.

However, when milk does start going bad I bring it to my latin grandma's place, where she makes this extremely unusual sweet treat from it. I don't even know how to explain what it is or looks like. It is just darn good.


p.s. When there is no milk and I am too lazy to go out/it is too late, I simply used the powdered milk stuff. Anyone here prefer it to the real stuff? I myself love it.


p.s.2. I was once with my uncle (by marriage), and a cousin at my aunt's house while uncle was taking care of baby. The baby had been fed, and there was still a new bottle of mommy's milk on table just taken out of fridge. Question came up of what it tasted like. Needless to say, three guys alone with a baby's bottle = stupidity. The human stuff is actually quite sweet in comparison

Ravens_cry
2009-08-27, 06:55 PM
I only use milk powder to make a white sauce. As for past the experation date milk, like with most of my fellow playgrounders, it generally doesn't last that long. But for the few times it has, it been OK for the few days after it lasted, with maybe a hint of sourness in the last gulp.
Conversely, several times I have bought milk, and it goes curdleized and separated after a few days, way, way, to the power of way before the expiration date. Not sour exactly, but certainly messed up.

wxdruid
2009-08-27, 07:00 PM
I don't drink milk, but catlover does...sometimes. I buy small containers and keep them sealed in the fridge until I need to use them. I open it and smell it and if it smells good, she drinks it. I can tell if it's on the verge of going bad or if it is bad just by smelling it. The longest I've kept one over the date on the bottle? Maybe 2-3 weeks? Sometimes they're still good, sometimes not.

littlequietguy
2009-08-29, 11:59 AM
I have never actually checked the expiration date so i would put the answer somewhere at infinity.

I once drank half a cup of milk that sat out for a whole day. It was pretty good actually.

BisectedBrioche
2009-08-29, 12:04 PM
I drink it on the basis of how it smells, I'll only use the expiration date to decide when to get some more.

Philistine
2009-08-29, 02:19 PM
I judge by smell, but usually find that milk starts smelling 'off' to me 2-3 days before the sell-by date.

Oh, and DD:
It may well be the case in your region that the date stamped on a carton of milk is its production date, but here it's common to see milk in the store with a date that's 7-10 days in the future stamped on it.

THAC0
2009-08-29, 02:26 PM
Why does carton milk last longer than jug milk? :smallannoyed:

Coidzor
2009-08-29, 02:47 PM
Less light exposure, I think.

THAC0
2009-08-29, 02:49 PM
It also tastes worse. I can't wait till the husband is finally home and I can go back to getting the jugs. I just do not like the taste of the cartons, but that's the only way I can get less-than-a-gallon containers.

Coidzor
2009-08-29, 03:29 PM
Huh. Usually we only get cartons for quart or less quantities. half gallons are still plastic unless it's organic or something. Or buttermilk. Which isn't butter of milk at all.

Pika...
2009-08-29, 03:34 PM
It also tastes worse. I can't wait till the husband is finally home and I can go back to getting the jugs. I just do not like the taste of the cartons, but that's the only way I can get less-than-a-gallon containers.

Get the newer yellowish gallon/plastic containers which block UV and such. You get the tatse you want, and it lats longer.

Eon
2009-08-29, 03:37 PM
I have never tasted sour milk so... i have almost no clue what you are talking about :smallredface:... I do know that when the school doesn't have grape or apple juice (orange juice is gross) i get the milk carton. but a few times the milk inside has big chunks of frozen milk and i can't drink it.

THAC0
2009-08-29, 03:43 PM
Huh. Usually we only get cartons for quart or less quantities. half gallons are still plastic unless it's organic or something. Or buttermilk. Which isn't butter of milk at all.



Get the newer yellowish gallon/plastic containers which block UV and such. You get the tatse you want, and it lats longer.

Yeah, I live in Alaska, we have limited options sometimes. The stores I shop at, jugs are only gallon sized and we don't have super new awesome jugs either. :smallsmile:

Trixie
2009-08-29, 03:46 PM
Umm... Strange that so many people pay so much weight to 'expiry' date. To me, it was always a suggestion, smelling is much more accurately than something with no huge importance.

But then, when I was in college, I tended to eat a lot of stuff nearing expiry date (as they were sold at a discount, and I haven't got a lot of money back then, and I lived by myself - but I always paid attention to looks of the product, so as to not throw food away) - and most hermetically sealed stuff was good as new.

Some products are better new, though.

Throwing out milk weirds me out for additional reason, thought - here, a lot of milk is drink soured, or processed into other things, in fact, it is often sold in soured/fermented state (like kefir, for example). People throwing away almost perfectly good milk would only get blank stares in my country, or worse.

Huh. Customs over the world are different, I suppose.

Trixie
2009-08-29, 04:10 PM
After reading this thread I went to wikipedia to check a few things... and it turns out some soured milk products are so popular here and seemingly less popular due west that English had to borrow a word from us (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smetana_%28cream%29) for it :smalleek:

Hmmm, the world has a lot of different places, doesn't it.

Cobra_Ikari
2009-08-29, 04:48 PM
...if it made it to the expiration date, that means no one will drink it before it goes bad, anyway. My house moves through phases of rapid milk consumption and no consumption at all.

THAC0
2009-08-29, 04:53 PM
...if it made it to the expiration date, that means no one will drink it before it goes bad, anyway. My house moves through phases of rapid milk consumption and no consumption at all.

I'm like that. Sometimes I'll down a gallon in a week just by myself, and other times (like now) that half gallon sits there for who knows how long!

...Seriously, I don't remember when I bought it. But the expiration date isn't for another two weeks.

The Dark Fiddler
2009-08-29, 05:05 PM
Not at all. In fact, I may stop drinking it a day or two before the date.

I'm weird like that.

Pika...
2009-08-29, 06:39 PM
Yeah, I live in Alaska, we have limited options sometimes. The stores I shop at, jugs are only gallon sized and we don't have super new awesome jugs either. :smallsmile:

?


http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/bagged-milk.jpg

Totally Guy
2009-08-29, 06:40 PM
:smalleek: People actually pay attention to what I say? And remember it?

And actually, I don't think it will. I think I'll be fairly organised about that sort of thing.
Also, I'm probably more likely to buy not enough milk than too much.

:smallcool: I've come to the realisation that I can't expect to be paid more attention unless I pay that level of attention to others.

I remember when I went to university. The people I lived with were generally clueless when it came to lots of life's little trials. And I'm sure I heard this question a couple of times.

shadowxknight
2009-08-29, 06:43 PM
When I was little my cousin drank a mouthful of bad milk because we dared her...
She ended up fine, so now I generally ignore the expiration date unless it smells or looks off.

On a semi-related note...Just yesterday I had cereal that has expired over one year. :smallbiggrin:

Pika...
2009-08-29, 06:47 PM
When I was little my cousin drank a mouthful of bad milk because we dared her...
She ended up fine, so now I generally ignore the expiration date unless it smells or looks off.

On a semi-related note...Just yesterday I had cereal that has expired over one year. :smallbiggrin:

I'd kill for a still sealed box of the Ninja Turtles cereal. I wouldn't care how long my tummy hurt after...

Lolzords
2009-08-29, 07:12 PM
I don't drink the stuff, I don't eat cereal so not used there and I don't drink tea or coffee so I don't use it in there.

I'm milk-less. :smalleek:

shadowxknight
2009-08-29, 08:05 PM
I'd kill for a still sealed box of the Ninja Turtles cereal. I wouldn't care how long my tummy hurt after...

Ahhh mine was a box of Cookie Crisps. Did I mention it was already opened?
Come to think of it was a little unnerving since they were still crunchy...:smalleek:

@Lolzords: I fear for your bones...

Pika...
2009-08-29, 08:17 PM
Ahhh mine was a box of Cookie Crisps. Did I mention it was already opened?
Come to think of it was a little unnerving since they were still crunchy...:smalleek:


What?! Story please.
By the way, you do know Cookie Crisps have never gone otu of production?

shadowxknight
2009-08-29, 09:45 PM
I know Cookie Crisps are not out of production. I still see too many commercials of them. The story is basically approximately a year ago I stopped eating breakfast because school started. The Cookie Crisps were the left overs of that era. Last night I was hungry because I spent the whole day playing games and found it in the kitchen drawer. Without looking at the expiration date I emptied the box and ate it with milk(that was still fresh).
While I was eating I was focused on the computer screen, but somehow the year old cereal still crunched...
It was not until later when I was crushing the box to put into trash can that I noticed the expiration date. :smallsigh:

Anyways.
Having the good fortune of never smelled rotten eggs, I have to say old milk is one of the worst thing I have ever smelled.

Winter_Wolf
2009-09-01, 12:38 AM
I go by the smell method too. That said, I generally will just pour it down the drain when no one is looking if it's been more than a couple days since sell-by date passes. I've had milk go back before then too, which is why I adopted the smell method. Of course, moving back and forth between China and the US, I'm no longer sure what constitutes "the correct smell", so I generally hazard a taste then spit it out. Regardless, I boil my milk before I consume it in large quantities, otherwise it just wets my cereal and the excess gets tossed.

I get most of my calcium needs from cheeses and vitamins anyway, so it's no great loss to my bones if I don't drink much of the stuff.

Xsesiv
2009-09-01, 07:44 AM
When it smells off, or tastes sour, or when flecks begin to float on the surface. I don't reckon it would do any harm even if someone drank milk in this state, until mould starts to appear.

SoD
2009-09-01, 11:52 PM
I don't check the date. I just drink it. Then I follow this idea; if I get sick, it's gone off, and I don't drink it to begin with. If I don't, it's safe to drink.

Admitedly this could use some work...

Em Blackleaf
2009-09-02, 08:55 AM
One time, I put milk in my coffee and began to drink it. It tasted really weird, so I poured it out, thinking nothing else of it. I tried to drink that same milk straight and I realized the milk tasted like corn. I'm completely serious, it tasted exactly like corn. I'm neither fond of corn nor things that imitate it. :smalltongue: The weird thing is, the milk wasn't even close to it's expiration date. So, I threw away the milk and I gagged and brushed my teeth frantically. I've been paranoid about milk I haven't enjoyed coffee since.

That means I'd never, ever drink milk past the expiration date. :smalltongue:

dish
2009-09-02, 10:00 AM
If the milk curdles in my tea I'll pour it away. (Usually. I have been known to absent-mindedly put it back in the fridge. For some weird reason this annoys my husband.)

As others have noted, expiry dates are meaningless. Milk can easily go off beforehand (if left opened and out of the fridge), and can easily stay good for longer (if left unopened in the fridge).

@ HellfireLover: Now I need to find some milk that's on the turn and make scones.

Cobra_Ikari
2009-09-02, 10:08 AM
Have any of you ever tried Swerve? It's a milk beverage made by Coca-Cola. I'm pretty sure it's discontinued.

Anyway, I tried the blueberry-flavored kind once, and it tasted so awful, I poured it out. It came out green and chunky, even though it hadn't passed the expiration date.

I'm not sure if that's relevant or not, but it made me think. =P

oxinabox
2009-09-02, 11:12 AM
Doesn't come up.
I'm a poor student, who doesn't often shop
(Food (and milk) comes with board, but only at meal times
and well i like a glass of milk at night, or a glass when i'm thirst (but never at meal times), or when i can't be bother going an fillinmg up some water.
I find that 3L of milke lists me a week at most.
cos nortmally after going without for a month or more , i really enjoy it.

I buy as far as i can. often only a week or two ahead.
remember the freshest milk is at the back of the fridge.
i worked in a supermarket, everynight we pull everything off/to one side, and put the fresh stuff at the back - reduces wastage.

Once i hav eth milk i don't check the date, but i know i've never come close

KataraAltinaII
2009-09-03, 10:28 AM
I adamantly refuse to drink milk past the expiration date, ad here's why.

I woke up one morning to find a gallon of organic whole milk sitting on the counter. NOw, I'm not some sort of organic freak or anything, but I've noticed that it tastes a bit richer than normal milk [and I don't buy it--my mom does].

and of course... well... whole milk... ya.

anyhoot, I was hoping to take a big ol' glass of it and down it, hoping to remove that nasty morning taaste you have in your mouth when you wake up.

I did so.


big mistake. :smallmad:
it was sour as hell (pardon the French). I almost puked it was that bad. that fact that I haven't puked in over 9 years means something.

so ye... I generally am a bit more paranoid about my milk.

Xsesiv
2009-09-05, 05:35 PM
If anyone's interested, there was a programme on the TV last night (ITV, 8:00pm GMT) called "From Bin to Banquet" that fed 500 people on food out of supermarket bins that was, in some cases, weeks past its expiry date.

None of them suffered any ill effects, and the food had a 100% approval rating.:smallbiggrin: