expired raw milk?

[heatheresc]

I have 2 gallons of raw milk in the back of my fridge, unopened, that I bought before realizing I had a thrush infection I needed to fix. So, I went dairy-free for two weeks and the milk is now well past its expiration date.

Can I still safely use it to make whey or yogurt or some other things like that? I hate to waste it all! Thanks in advance for your help!

[BubblingBrooks]

raw milk never goes bad. Go ahead and open one up. If it has never been opened, it may stll be sweet.

If not, make clabber cheese. Either cottage or harder.

[porcupine73]

Right, some people keep raw milk a month of longer, and if it is just above freezing in the refrigerator, it may still even be sweet. Otherwise it will slowly start to sour as the lactose gets converted to lactic acid. But this is a good thing; rather than rot like pasteurized store 'milk', raw milk actually preserves itself. Some sources suggest though if it has started to sour quite a bit, that it should be left at 80F for 24 hours to fully clabber. I believe this is to make sure that any pathogenic bacteria that might be harboring in there get completely crowded out by the beneficial bacteria.

[heatheresc]

Thanks, ladies! It does get near freezing in the back of the fridge, so I am going to get it out and test it! And I've been meaning to try making cottage cheese, guess this is a good time to do it!

I don't really understand what "clabber" means though--is this explained in Nourishing Traditions or some other resource I could look at?

[porcupine73]

Yes, clabbering is explained in Nourishing Traditions. Basically you just leave the milk sit at room temperature for 24 hours, then re-refrigerate. Some resources suggest it should be at 80F for 24 hours.

I'm not sure about clabber cheese, though. Do you just take the well clabbered milk and strain it through cheese cloth to get out the whey?

[BubblingBrooks]

Actually, true clabber is left on the counter uncovered until it molds a wee bit. Tastes like blue cheese!
Personally, I leave it on the counter covered until it separates.
Then I strain it for raw cheese. I use a thin tea towel, or a colander lined with coffee filters, set over a bowl.
You can make it whatever consistency you want.

[porcupine73]

Hm....that sounds interesting! Do you scrape the mold off, or just eat it? I had some raw milk in a quart jar that I was trying to separate into curds and whey, and it did it, after about a week. But there was some orangish mold that formed on it, not a whole lot, and some bluish mold. Wasn't sure if that was still edible?

It's been on the counter now four about a month, and it is nice and separated into curds and whey, but the mold has grown a bit more though. (It was covered with a lid the whole time).

[Adaline'sMama]

Originally Posted by porcupine73 

Hm....that sounds interesting! Do you scrape the mold off, or just eat it? I had some raw milk in a quart jar that I was trying to separate into curds and whey, and it did it, after about a week. But there was some orangish mold that formed on it, not a whole lot, and some bluish mold. Wasn't sure if that was still edible?

It's been on the counter now four about a month, and it is nice and separated into curds and whey, but the mold has grown a bit more though. (It was covered with a lid the whole time).

Please throw this away. Raw milk should not be left out for a month. What is the temperature in your house?

[littlest birds]

If it stinks, I would not use it.  But for the future, you can make buttermilk before it gets old.  Once cultured the buttermilk keeps for a very very long time in the fridge.

I use a conventional live culture buttermilk to start the culture and then keep at room temp a couple of days.