Use of sour milk for bread making - how long after the expiration date is it safe?
My mother uses (and my grandmothers used to use) sour milk in the baking of homemade bread. This was generally whole raw milk that had soured.
I'm not so lucky as to be able to get whole raw milk from a source I trust any more but occasionally a carton escapes the thirsty horde at home and goes past its expiration date. If it's only a day or so gone then I'll use it as normal given that I exercise a healthy degree of scepticism anyway about BB dates but if it's any longer then my idea would be that I'd use it in a bread recipe.
To clarify: the carton is unopened and has been refrigerated since purchase. It is not UHT milk as that's relatively rare here with HTST (72C for 15 seconds) pasteurisation the norm (probably owing to the relatively low ambient temperatures here)
The question is how long after the expiry date is it safe to use milk in this manner?
Best Answer
I'm not so lucky as to be able to get whole raw milk…
Wait, then there's a flaw in your premise. Check the label. Any milk treated using high-heat processes like UHT, pasteurization or ultra-pasteurized milk doesn't sour like it used to in your grandmother's days; it spoils… goes rotten.
Spoiled milk is not the same as soured milk.
The ultra-pasturized milk sold in the supermarket is essentially a dead product, with little to no live bacteria. When it goes bad, it rots and should be thrown out (or you can make plastic with it). Modern industrial pasteurization kills the “good” bacteria that once made sour milk a wonderful thing for cooking and making bread and cheese.
Substituting "Sour Milk"
If you have a recipe calling for sour milk, put a teaspoon of vinegar in a cup of fresh milk and let it sit for a few minutes. That's about the best you can do if you do not have access to raw milk.
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Can you use expired milk in bread?
Yes, you can use sour milk for baking. While you may not want to drink a glass of spoiled milk straight up, baking is a great way to use the stuff. The extra acidity the milk acquires as it ages can actually yield added flavor in baked goods, like cakes or muffins.How long is sour milk good for baking?
If unopened, it can last up to two weeks past the expiration date. Sour milk has many uses you may find helpful, and you'll no longer feel the need to rush to consume it all before it expires.Can you use sour milk after expiration date?
Very often it will never turn into safe soured milk: it'll go from not sour to spoiled. It may still last well past the expiration date, for sure, but without being sour.Can you bake with milk that has gone sour?
Bake it. Sour milk is a great choice for savory baking because it acts as a leavening agent at the same time that it adds a slight tang to the finished product.Foods That Are Safe to Eat After the Expiration Date
More answers regarding use of sour milk for bread making - how long after the expiration date is it safe?
Answer 2
It's not a specific date, as there are just too many variables -- what temperature it's been stored at, and how many days since the seal has been broken are likely more significant.
Growing up, my mom would use it for pancakes and baking once it started to smell a little bit off, but would dispose of it when it started to curdle (separate & get chunky).
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As for the dates -- they're often not 'expiration', but dates to get stores to rotate their stock. (and if the stores or customers trash the product, the manufacturer makes more money, so doesn't care). They're dates like 'sell by' or 'best by' and such like that. See :
- http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/food-labeling/food-product-dating/food-product-dating
- http://www.stilltasty.com/articles/view/5
And there's usually a few news reports at any given time talking about how they're kinda crap (except for infant formula). Today's is from Canada.
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