What to Do with a Gallon of Milk?

Updated on August 15, 2011
M.M. asks from Tucson, AZ
36 answers

I have a gallon of 2% milk that is going to expire Aug. 9th. What should i do with it so that i dont have to dump it down the drain?

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C.J.

answers from Milwaukee on

It's good for AT least a week afterwards. That is the SELL BY date. That doesn't mean it's going to go bad at the stroke of midnight on the 9th.

2 moms found this helpful
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R.E.

answers from Sacramento on

I love milk and go through gallons very quickly. Here are some ideas:
-Make hot chocolate and then watch "The Polar Express"
-Have cereal for a late night snack
-Roast smores and have a tall glass of milk on the side
-Make fruit smoothies
-Make crepes (they require more milk than pancakes)
-Serve milk instead of juice with meals
-Bake extra chocolatey chocolate chip cookies and serve with milk
Milk is my favorite drink. Enjoy!!

1 mom found this helpful
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L.S.

answers from Spokane on

Put it into smaller containers and freeze it. Then just defrost as you need it. Or make pudding, milk-shakes; google other recipes that need lots of milk.

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A.C.

answers from Boston on

I used to work in a grocery store, and the date on the container is a SELL by date. Not an expiration date. If your refrigerator is at the right temp it will last at LEAST a week after that date. That being said, I think I'm going to go use my milk for a milkshake. Yum!

4 moms found this helpful
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B.B.

answers from Portland on

Make crockpot yogurt! It is so easy - put 1/2 gallon of milk in a crockpot on low for 2 1/2 hrs. Unplug the crockpot and leave it sitting and covered for 3 more hours. Take 2 cups of warm milk out of the crock pot and mix it with 1/2 cup of plain yogurt w/ live cultures. Pour the mix back into the crockpot and stir. Put lid on and cover the crockpot with a thick towel. Leave sitting for 8-12 hours. Enjoy. I like to strain mine with coffee filters to get a thicker yogurt and then add a bit of sugar and vanilla to the yogurt and then I make fruit and yogurt parfaits.

3 moms found this helpful
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K.G.

answers from Fort Wayne on

make potato soup with it.

all you need is:

6-7 med-large potatoes (peeled rough chopped)
small onion diced
cubed sliced ham
4tbs butter
milk
4-5 tbs wondra (fine flour thinkner)
salt/pepper
garlic powder
celery seed
and any other spices you like for taste

saute' (sp) onion in butter till tender
add chopped ham cook 5 mins
add potatoes
add your spices
add milk until it just covers potatoes
let simmer until fork tender
wisk wondra with about 1/2 c milk add to soup
it will thicken as it simmers add more wondra if you really want it nice and thick.
You can also add shredded cheese
The soup will taste even better the next day.

2 moms found this helpful
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B.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

You can freeze it. AND the August 9th date is a best if used by date, not an expiration date, so the milk can be good up to two weeks, some times longer in a plastic milk jug. If the milk smells bad, throw it out or pour in the garden. If it doesn't smell bad, use it.

I like to freeze mine in quart plastic juice jugs or gatorade jugs and take it out as needed.

Good luck to you and yours.

2 moms found this helpful
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J.R.

answers from San Diego on

Make chocolate milk and freeze them into fudgesicle pops.

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B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

Well, if it hasn't been left out of the fridge for any length of time, you should have plenty of time to drink/cook with it - the date is a 'sell by' date, not a 'use by' date, so you should have a week or two before it goes sour.
Potato soup, chowder, etc - there are any number of soups you can use milk in.
If it has gone off - you can dump it in your bath water.
The lactic acid is wonderful for softening your skin.

2 moms found this helpful

J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

You can freeze it but it defrosts kinda funky. I would make it into chocolate milk myself. My kids don't get chocolate milk very often so they will drink it like nectar of the gods when I make it.

2 moms found this helpful

R.A.

answers from Providence on

You could make pudding with it, or a pudding pie..

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B.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

soup, panckaes and freeze, mashed potatoes, pudding,

You can also freeze the milk, I do.

1 mom found this helpful

V.W.

answers from Jacksonville on

Home made ice cream!

1 mom found this helpful
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T.N.

answers from Phoenix on

Smell it and use it if it doesn't smell bad. If it is sour, it's great in pancakes of waffles. Kind of like buttermilk pancakes :) To use up more of the milk you can double or triple the batch and freeze some for a fast and easy breakfast (just toast it and it will be thawed and ready to eat).

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J.C.

answers from Rockford on

Send it over. With my two teen boys, we go through at least a gallon of milk a day. It will be gone by tomorrow night!

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K.G.

answers from Phoenix on

I'd drink it myself. Unless it smells "off," you can sometimes get a couple of days past the expiration. Or make pudding. Yum!

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A.L.

answers from Austin on

Homemade fried chicken - we marinate the chicken in milk for a couple of hours (in the fridge), and then dredge it in a combination of egg and milk, flour, egg and milk again, flour again, and then fry it. Yum!

Make up some cornbread. (You can freeze the cornbread, too. It's a bit early now, but for future reference, you can freeze a couple of batches of cornbread in early November, to make cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving.)

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J.K.

answers from Dallas on

Take it up to your church to donate

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K.L.

answers from New Orleans on

Chocolate milk,cereal with milk, pudding,some hamburger helper requried at least 2 cups of milk to make with it.

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M.T.

answers from New York on

Make rice pudding! Also, you can freeze milk.

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P.G.

answers from Dallas on

Jello pudding. And don't judge by the date, but by the smell. The date is approximate, and milk can last days or even a week longer than the date depending on your refridgerator. I had a gallon that lasted a week longer than the date and it was fine. Finished it before it even started to smell. I was really surprised.

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M.W.

answers from San Francisco on

Make a big batch of pancakes then freeze the ones you don't get to.

Pudding, a pudding pie, big batch of potato soup, chocolate milk or make the chocolate milk into freezer pops.

We freeze our milk. I buy about 3 boxes from Costco at a time and freeze them. We have been doing this for many years.

Good luck with your milk creations!!!!

K.C.

answers from Albuquerque on

we have a friend whose a biologist with Carnation and she says almost all milk is good for 7 days past the date and most expensive one's are good to 12 days after to date on them.

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

Hmmm... well... that would only last 2 days in our house. (My son drinks about 1/2 gallon a day... and my husband uses about a quart a day on cereal and in lattes).

You would need to cook it down a bit and add butter for most recipes that call for half and half or cream... but once you've done that you've got choices galore.

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R.K.

answers from Appleton on

Even if it goes bad you can still use it. There are many receipes for sour milk. If you don't have a good general information cookbook go online and look for sour milk receipes. I know you can make a chocolate cake and pancakes, of course from scratch. Once you taste sour milk pancakes from scratch you won't want pancakes from a mix. I do recommend though that you go hunting for a good general information cookbook. A book like the Betty Crocker Cookbook or the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook will have so much info and ideas, you will love it.

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M.B.

answers from Dayton on

Pour a glass or 2 for yourself, put the lid back on and pop it in the freezer. Next time you are out of milk, leave it in a sink of cold water to defrost overnight. Voila!

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A.W.

answers from Seattle on

if it doesn't smell bad, freeze it and use it for mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, etc...

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A.L.

answers from Charleston on

Make a cake, mashed potatoes, soup, alfredo sauce, pudding, etc... Make your kids drink it with every meal until it's all gone!

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A.P.

answers from Tucson on

I keep using milk even if expired -as long as it does taste sour.

L.M.

answers from Dover on

Drink it. Use it in your recipes...Cream Chip Beef, Mashed Potatoes, French Toast (and freeze the extra).

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I used to freeze mine in smaller containers, it will swell some since it is a liquid so it has to have a bit of room in the container, then thaw out what I needed.

If you need to use this up make pudding, I only buy the cook and serve kind, I hate instant.... You can make country white gravy, make mac and cheese, and could make ice cream if you have a maker.

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C.R.

answers from Seattle on

We freeze our milk! It works great. We've been doing it for years.

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J.C.

answers from Cleveland on

Oh, yeah! We'd be making parfaits! My children love to do that. I give them each a different flavor of pudding and let them mix it up, and then they have fun putting it in the parfait glasses.

Milkshakes for the next two days, also!

Enjoy!

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J.J.

answers from Phoenix on

Make french toast or pancakes! My kids love the pancake and french toast leftovers for a quick breakfast.

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