When raw milk goes sour

[look11]

I have a half gallon of raw milk that I meant to make yogurt with, but never got around to. It's unopened, but I know it must be sour. Is there anything I can do with it, or should I just throw it out?

Thanks!

[MyLittleWonders]

Don't toss it ... it's even more nutritional for you now. You can use it for smoothies (raw soured milk, fresh/frozen fruit, a little honey, some coconut oil ... yum!), use it to make homemade chocolate milk (my boys have no idea when I use soured milk), use it to soak grains/flours for baking (we use it for pancake batter ... now it's gluten free pancake batter, but it works just as well). But definitely don't throw it out. (Oh, and if you have pets, they often will love a small bowl of soured milk as a treat ... our dog usually does.)

[mommamoody]

I would use it to soak pancakes (tip from Krankedy Ann). I made some ice cream with it recently and it turned out kinda sour, but that might of have been because I used pineapple juice for flavor (leftover) and it may have already of been tart.

[mommamoody]

PS I think its funny that when raw milk goes sour. It acutally tastes sour! I don't know if I ever noticed that with Pasteurized milk.

[Taedareth]

Originally Posted by mommamoody

PS I think its funny that when raw milk goes sour. It acutally tastes sour! I don't know if I ever noticed that with Pasteurized milk.

You're absolutely right - pasteurized milk doesn't turn gracefully sour; it putrefies. Bleh.

[annemarie7]

Raw milk turning sour

Hi everyone - raw milk (when pasture fed) does wonderful things on its own with all the enzymes still present; it just changes form - but every form is STILL edible - it turns to buttermilk first (and you can make pancakes or salad dressing), then sour creme and so forth -- We're a small licensed raw milk goat dairy in CT - and our customer base is mostly Europeans. You have to actually add culture to pasteurized milk to turn it into buttermilk. Pasteurized milk is missing those enzymes (lactase is removed when they pasteurize, which means you must add back in afterward - and the biggest reason most people cannot tolerate processed milk - LACTAID is lactase, so you are adding it what was removed from nature in the first place. Before we had a dairy, I was never able to tolerate milk - and actually bought this Lactaid garbage - about 6 years later, and a goat breeder - I am a bit more educated) that allow the milk to continue on it's merry process of naturally changing form. As one of my farmer co-workers once said to me, "Pasteurized milk gone bad will kill you - raw milk won't.....pasteurized milk rots." I just learned to make the Greek form of strained yoghurt, because I wanted it raw - as opposed to pasteurized...only problem is that it took 2 whole quarts to make about 12 ounces.

In one of the previous posts, I noticed questions to ask farmers who sell raw milk - and here in CT, those who hold a raw milk license automatically do testing for somatic cells, brucellosis, TB, etc. so you will know if they hold that Grade A license, they are automatically doing these tests. If you want to go a step further, ask the farm if they participate in DHIR (dairy herd improvement testing) - anyone who does DHIR testing is testing each animal individually every month...and are really on top of each girls' health - it's an even better way to keep track of things and keep quality high .

[Bella Catalina]

I also have about a quart that has soured. I poured it into a mason jar and it's sitting on my countertop.... should it be in the fridge or what... I kind of don't know what to do with it, so anyone who can talk me through it or point me in the right direction would be much appreciated!

[Pogonia]

and I've had a half-gallon sitting in the back of my fridge for probably six months. I think it's still okay, just haven't figured out what to do with it?

[MyLittleWonders]

Originally Posted by Pogonia

and I've had a half-gallon sitting in the back of my fridge for probably six months. I think it's still okay, just haven't figured out what to do with it?

I thought we were the only ones with milk that old ... we actually have a few gallons from November in our garage fridge. It's about time we strain it and have some cheese. I'm thinking garlic-herb cream cheese.

[kbchavez]

I keep thinking about that old Farside cartoon "when milk goes bad..." where two cartons of milk are holding up a store...

I accidently drank a small sip of very old milk that was in a sippy in my fridge for about 4 weeks. VILE. Maybe because I wasn't expecting it though...like when you think you're swigging milk from the carton and it turns out to be orange juice:.

[zzwhitejd]

Okay, so I have light cream that is at least 3 months old.... what do I do with it?!?!?!

[westcoastmom]

A few ideas for sour milk (from WAP site)

1. Make homemade whey and cream cheese
2. Soak organic pancake mix overnight in soured milk
3. Used soured milk or cream to make scrambled eggs
4. Used soured milk to make custard pudding or creme brulee
5. Use soured cream on a baked potato or spread on a sandwich
6. Mix a tablespoon of soued cream in a bowl of soup to liven it up and make it digestible
7. Use soured milk instead of whey to soak oatmeal overnight.
8. Mix carob powder and a little rapadura into slightly soured milk and give to your kids as "chocolate milk"
9. Used soured cream to make sweet potato casserole
10. Used soured cream to make meatloaf (NT page 356)
11. Warm slightly soured milk on the stove with some cocoa powder and rapadura to make fabulous hot chocolate
12. Make tradition British whitesauce with soured milk

[wallacesmum]

What luck to find this thread! I am intentionally souring milk to make buttermilk and sour cream, and I have some questions. I put a cup of it in a mason jar, covered, on the counter, yesterday. How will I know when it has clabbered?

Then, to make cultured buttermilk, I have to keep adding fresh milk and re-clabbering, right? What are the intervals? Then, to make sour cream, I just keep going?

[glorified_rice]

:

[wallacesmum]

Bumping.

I think it is clabbered - it smells like buttermilk and it is sort of coagulating. Seems fast, but it is hot and muggy these days.

[zzwhitejd]

What in the world is 'clabbering'?

[saratc]

Any raw milk or cream that has soured, as long as it has not formed any fuzzy inhabitants, can be consumed to your taste. Most people don't like straight sour milk or cream. Personally, I prefer it. My DH won't touch milk that has the least hint of sourness, so when milk has soured, he has been trained to stick it in the back of the fridge. I take the milk from there and use it in my tea, drinks, for soaking and baking. Mildly sour milk or cream can be used in cooking like regular milk or cream. Very sour milk or cream is great where ever buttermilk or sour cream is called for. I usually use sour milk in my baked oatmeal, granola, or other baked goods. Soured cream is really good in my biscuit recipe instead of butter (raw cream is so thick anyways, and I just add a bit more and reduce the liquid a bit), and also in my cream based soups and salisbury steak recipe.

[duckmom]

thanks for the great tips! I have some raw soured cream that I've been hesitant to throw out. you guys (gals) rock!

[runes]

when i made my last batch of yogurt, i had left the raw milk in the fridge for a few days and didn't have time to make it. when i opened the jug, it smelled slightly sour, but not in an unpleasant way so i decided to go ahead and make the yogurt.

oh, my goodness...it made the most delicious batch that i've made, yet! i love when yogurt has a tanginess to it, and this definitely did! all this time, i've been rushing to make the yogurt asap after buying the milk but the key to making yummy yogurt is to actually wait a few days. who would have guessed?

[wallacesmum]

Clabbering is thickening of raw milk, but I need to learn more about the nuances of this acidification process because my buttermilk doesn't seem to be active enough to acidify milk for cheese making, resulting in sadness during the mozzarella failure.