Freezing Milk

 Jars of Milk: The jar on the right has already been frozen.

We don't drink milk often and sometimes don't use it that quickly. Often, I'm concerned that it will go bad before we can use it all!

So, instead of pouring it all down the drain, I freeze it to use later!

Milk freezes very well--just be sure to leave room at the top of the container for expansion!

Mason jars are my go-to canning and storage jars and I've had good success freezing milk and homemade broth in them. In several years of freezing in glass, I've only had one breakage so far.

Of course, any plastic container or even the milk jug can be used. I like to use quart size or smaller containers since there are just two of us and milk doesn't get used as quickly!

Because frozen foods can often end up looking similar I try to always label the containers! I'd prefer not to have chicken broth in my pancakes, thank you! 

I don't have a lot of experience using milk that's been frozen for plain drinking, although I've read that some families freeze jugs of milk to stretch out grocery trips. I've used the milk for baking, cooking,  pancakes, homemade yogurt and now, for making kefir. It works great and minimizes waste!

To thaw, I remove the jar of milk from the freezer and let set in a bowl filled with cold water. If I'm planning ahead really well, I'll set it in the fridge and it'll be ready to use in a day or two.

Freezing soon-to-expire milk is one way I save money by not wasting food!