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Storing Staples: Milk

Storing staples, such as flour, eggs, milk, bread and other common grocery items, is a smart thing to do, whether your goal is to be frugal or to be prepared. Knowing the proper storage methods will help keep your items safe and ready to use. This is especially true for a perishable item, such as milk.

Read on to learn about the ways to keep milk for long-term storage.

There are all kinds of milk: cow milk, raw milk, goat’s milk, soy milk and even breast milk. But for this article, I am going to stick to the basics of storing regular store-bought milk consisting of, or made of, regular cow’s milk. You can easily adapt these basic ideas to suit your family’s milk consumption.

An easy way to store milk is in powdered form. I am a big fan of powdered milk for use in home made breads and other baking items. Powdered, or dry milk, can be easily stored in an airtight container for months. Storing it in the refrigerator extends its usable shelf life three or four times over. To learn more about using powdered milk, click here.

Now for liquid milk, I am sure you know enough to store it in the refrigerator; on a shelf instead of a door is best, although I have to confess that in my house it stays on the door. It never seems to last long enough for door-storage to be a problem.

For long-term storage, you’ll want to freeze your milk. My friend, Laura, does this all of the time with pure raw milk that she purchases in bulk from an Amish farmer (see my Frugal Lessons from the Amish series for more info about the Amish).

Skim or low fat milk freezes much better than does whole milk, in terms of separation, but don’t let the separation deter you. You can either shake the milk vigorously or beat it with an electric beater to restore its normal blended state. The safest way is to thaw your frozen milk in the refrigerator. Milk can be frozen for up to three months. You can use the original container or pour the milk in a glass container before freezing.

Freezing cream is not recommended, because the freeing process causes changes to the cream. While the taste or nutrients won’t be altered, the texture will.

Related Articles:

How Much Did You Pay for Milk Last Year?

Storing Staples: Flour

Storing Staples: Eggs

Frugal Storage: Finding Creative (and Cheap) Ways to Store Your Stuff

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About Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, online content manager, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania in the middle of the woods but close enough to Target and Home Depot. The author of many magazine, newspaper and online articles, Mary Ann enjoys writing about almost any subject. "Writing gives me the opportunity to both learn interesting information, and to interact with wonderful people." Mary Ann has written more than 5,000 blogs for Families.com since she started back in December 2006. Contact her at maromans AT verizon.net or visit her personal blog http://homeinawoods.wordpress.com