Why does my milk go bad so fast?!
I buy half gallons of milk and keep them stored in the mini-fridge in my dorm room. I eat a lot of cereal, so I usually drink them in about a week.
If I manage to save my milk for longer, it goes bad. It just starts tasting really, really sweet.
For example, I bought this gallon of milk on the 25th before my last gallon emptied, and poured myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast this morning. It was disgusting! The expiration date listed is the 9th of December, so that's not it.
Is the problem that my fridge isn't cold enough? Should I clean everything else out of my fridge? What can I do to keep my milk fresh longer?
Thanks for the help!
Answers: My milk goes bad over a week before the expiration date.
I buy half gallons of milk and keep them stored in the mini-fridge in my dorm room. I eat a lot of cereal, so I usually drink them in about a week.
If I manage to save my milk for longer, it goes bad. It just starts tasting really, really sweet.
For example, I bought this gallon of milk on the 25th before my last gallon emptied, and poured myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast this morning. It was disgusting! The expiration date listed is the 9th of December, so that's not it.
Is the problem that my fridge isn't cold enough? Should I clean everything else out of my fridge? What can I do to keep my milk fresh longer?
Thanks for the help!
Your fridge is probably not cold enough, but it might also need to be cleaned. Milk is a great tattle-tale when it comes to a dirty fridge.
The best way to do that is to mix 1/4 cup of bleach (the regular, plain, unscented, not thickened old fashioned kind) with 2 3/4 cups of water and use that & a clean sponge to wipe out thoroughly every surface of the refrigerator. That will get rid of the dirt & germs that are causing off odors and making things taste funny. (No, clorox or anti-bacterial wipes will NOT do! This is a food safety issue.)
After you have the fridge spotless, you can get rid of the bleach smell by wiping it down with water that you have added a splash of pure vanilla to. And then find room in there somewhere for a small box of baking soda (the stuff that comes in the orange box, not baking powder which comes in a can!). Take the lid off the box of baking soda!
You should thoroughly clean your fridge at least once every couple of months.
First, the date on the bottle is not an expiration date. That is the date it is to be pulled from the shelf, although it is still good. Ikeep milk for about 2 r 3 weeks in my fridge. Your mini fridge isnt cold enough or it is being opened a lot allowing the cold to escape.
Stop drinking straight from the bottle you little grub, it is introducing bactaria :-}
The date on the bottle is the expiration date for consumption - unopened! Once you open the bottle it is only good for 3 - maybe 4 days really.
Why don't you try freezing half or daily portions & let them defrost in the fridge the day before needed. (thats providing your mini-fridge has a little freezer compartment). Lucky you haven't copped a crook tummy before now ;-D
This shouldn't be happening, I buy half gallons too and they usually keep well past their date. Either your fridge is not working/cooling properly putting the other foodstuffs at risk, it's being kept open for too long or the milk itself is left out for very long periods of time.
Invest in a fridge thermometer and after you leave it in overnight read it first thing in the morning, before anybody opens it. It should read 8°C or under, 5°C would be better.
Observe people's habits when they use the fridge, some lazy people leave the fridge open while they use whatever is they get from it, until they put it back, that is a no-no, fridge temperature rises very fast. Also keep an eye on how long the milk is kept out, it should be taken out, used and put back, not left on the table/kitchen counter in case you need more, same as the fridge, temperature rises very fast especially if you have heating on at this time of the year.
A way to keep milk fresh past its date is to bring it to the boil point and then simmer it for 10 mins, then pour in a different and clean container. It kills the bacteria that makes it go off.
Your milk is going bad because your fridge isn't cold enough - I have a mini-fridge in my room too, and I keep it as cold as I can and don't open the door a lot - my milk stays good for a week past its expiration date - if it not used faster.
I see that one of the respondents has already noted what I was going to say. I will repeat it and stress it some more. Open the door, get what you want and shut the door quickly. Don't leave things sitting out and warming up. Use them and put them back in the fridge immediately.
There was an old tv commercial that ran a long time ago that was the best, most graphic illustration of what happens when you leave a refrigerator door open that I've ever seen. Imagine that your fridge is full of ping pong balls. If you open the door, those ping pong balls start to fall out. The longer the door stays open, the more balls fall out. That's exactly what happens when you stand in front of the fridge with the door open, trying to decide what you want, pouring yourself a drink, slicing some cheese, or whatever. The cold air escapes. The unit then has to cool itself down again, meanwhile everything in it has started to warm up.
If you open the door quickly, take what you need, and close it right away, you won't lose near as many "ping pong balls." Your refrigerator won't have to work so hard and, hopefully, your milk will last longer.
As a last resort, you can try buying lactose-free milk which lasts about a month longer than conventional milk.
There's nothing grosser than getting a mouthful of sour milk.
Good luck.
alot might depend on the coldness of ur fridge, the colder it is the longer the milk will last
Well, this happened to me and i saw that when we close the fridge, it opened a crack and all the cold air leaked out. i think you should experiment and try another brand of milk, and if that spoils, something is wrong with your fridge. also, make sure you COMPLETELY close your door.....